Council not maintaining footpath - how to encourage them into action?

[lillieD]

I'm considering emailing them to ask them (nonchalantly) what the clearing schedule is for the footpath alongside my house.

They will probably reply and say 'annually or every six months,' but they haven't actually done it in years.

So then I would submit a Freedom of Information request to ask them how often they have 'actually' done it - and perhaps this would shame them into action?

I would also like to ask them to tarmac it over. Do you think they would?

If the footpath is owned by a big town or county council then by all means contact them. But if it’s a small parish council then they probably don’t have the money to clear it. Or maybe they don’t even own it?

Maybe they only do something if a problem is reported. Have you raised any concerns with them?

Your plan seems unnecessarily complicated really.

To get it cleared? Social media with pictures!
Why would you like it to be tarmac?

My council has an on line report system which you can photos pretty easy to do .

They probably don’t have enough money to do it. Are you aware that all local councils have had their budgets reduced significantly in recent years!

In the first instance, phone or email the council and tell them, and if that doesn’t work contact your local councillor and ask them to take it up with the council. If it’s not their responsibility they should be able to tell you who is. A FOIA request will take a lot longer and will not really resolve the issue. It might help to really lay it on thick about the state of the footpath and the risks etc etc.

We have similar in our parish. Who owns the footpath? That's your first port of call. A FOI request it totally over the top when a simple online form or phone call could sort it out. Are you in a parish council, or town council?

Do they own the path? If it isn't made up then there is a good chance that they don't. And I will fall in amazement if they make it up. You can't just tarmac a path. Not if you are an official body. It has to made up to certain standards.

This. Just inform them that you'd like it doing and they'll come back to you. I work for a council and the money we get is stretched so thinly and will be worse in coming years.
Please don't submit an FOI as your first point of contact.

Echoing pp comments about a FOI. You won’t get a different answer to emailing the relevant team. I work in highways for a council and often receive a FOI for an enquiry I’ve already dealt with. Council policies, budgets and work practices are the same if you email, FOI or contact the CEO.

Clearing it, I assume you mean weeds or something and tarmacking it will be separate teams most likely, but they will coordinate about over- lapping issues.

What is the footpath comprised of now if its not tarmac?

Firstly, do the council own the path and are they responsible for maintaining it? I agree that the fact it’s not tarmaced suggests it might not be owned by your council. It could be parish council or privately owned (often the responsibility of the adjacent homeowners).

Secondly, you seem to be asking for two different things. By ‘clearing’ do you mean sweeping/ cutting back vegetation or similar?

A request to tarmac the path would be considered separately as it would probably come from a different budget (funding for a new path vs a maintenance / cleaning budget).

I’d suggest contacting the council in the first instance to report the problem. It might be that they only carry out clearing work in response to requests/ complaints rather than an annual programme, especially with years of budget cuts. The next step would be your local councillor. Going straight to FOI seems unnecessary!

There is no chance they’ll tarmac it, costs a fortune. I work for a parish council, you are more likely to get info about it from your parish clerk. They’ll know all about it.

There are lots of footpaths in our parish that aren’t owned by anybody. The council do the minimum they are required because it isn’t their land. Presumably you are maintaining your boundary to keep it clear if you have hedging and not fencing.

What's the problem with the footpath? Unless it's a danger to life or limb you may not get far.

Council Tax is spread very thinly and the amount for rights of way works out at less than £1 per household per annum (I used to work for that department in a council once and someone worked it out at 42p per household per annum in our area). There was a team of two men that covered 75 parishes. I'm not sure, but I think things are even more stretched now.

You could try contacting your local parish council - they may have a parish lengthsman who can attend to such matters.

But, as others have said, if the council don't own the path they may have no legal obligation to maintain it and I very much doubt that they will be able to tarmac it (or be able to afford to tarmac it). Probably at most they will just be able to trim the vegetation back to leave a minimal passing width.

Please don't submit an FOI request over something like this.

I'd contact the local councilor.

Is it a public right of way (marked with a sign etc)? And is there a particular reason why you need it cleared? are you disabled? Or need to get a pushchair through? That might help your case.

I wouldn't submit an FOI

Try reporting it via fixmystreet.com

I've used this several times and each time the problem has been dealt with really quickly.

Depends on the status of the path. Is it owned by the Council? Is it a pavement? Is it a public footpath?

If it needs vegetation cutting back or rubbish removed, report to the Council. If that doesn't work get on to your local Councillor.

Why would they need to tarmac it, unless you mean repairing an existing surface? How long is the footpath? Councils don't have much spare cash!

Have you actually reported overgrown vegetation to the council?

To be honest, if I was that bothered about a path next to my house I'd sort it myself. I'm presuming it needs weeding and clearing. Could you get a few neighbours to help you? You'll never get it tarmacked. They barely do the roads.

I do sort it myself. The weeding, the clearing, the leaves, the litter. It's a shocker.

It's a mess - old tarmac broken up, mud, it's a right state.

Thank you!

There is a large raised water/drain cover which is a trip hazard.

It is 100% the council's land.

This kind of thing boggles my mind.

It’s a council-owned footpath and they are responsible for maintaining it. If it’s not being maintained and has become overgrown, you use the council’s website to report the problem and they will get to it at some point. It’s a complete no-brainer.

Why on earth do you think you need to nonchalantly request FOIs to shame them or whatever bollocks? Just fucking ask through the normal channels and if they don’t respond in a timely manner (given that this is the busiest time of year for foliage and arbs stuff, they might not reply in a nanosecond) then just chase it up.

Honestly, I swear people love to make heavy weather of the most basic stuff. And no, they are extremely unlikely to tarmac it for you.

So go on the Highways section of the council’s website and report it! Don’t tie some poor bastard up responding to an FOI for hours ffs.