Rights of Way Improvement Plan (ROWIP)

The Vale of Glamorgan’s Rights of Way Improvement Plan sets out the Council’s vision, objectives and strategy for improving the County’s rights of way network.

The ROWIP is intended as an over-arching framework to guide the Council’s work to maintain and improve the rights of way network and to prioritise the work that is done, and provides the basis for annual work-planning.

Current ROWIP

The current ROWIP was agreed in 2007 and resulted in a Vision for the Vale’s public rights of way network:

“To provide, maintain and improve the network of

Public Rights of Way and countryside access for everyone"

AND

"To enable and encourage increasingly convenient and responsible

use and enjoyment of the Vale's countryside and coast”.

This is underlain by six key principles:

Access for all
Management strategy
Sustainable improvements
Better information
Improved network of routes
Wider context

ROWIP Republication

The Council are required to republish the ROWIP every 10 years and are currently in the process of undertaking this task. The Council have recently consulted widely and reviewed existing documents and processes to make an assessment of:

The physical condition of the network
The accuracy and currency of the legal records of PRoW
The provision of information about PRoW and their management

The findings of these assessments will inform a draft ROWIP that will be made available for consultation in due course.