Annual Report for Footpaths in St Margarets, Newton and Michaelchurch parishes 2026
The very wet weather during winter months made it difficult to walk the footpaths but now in the spring it is full speed ahead. There are in these three parishes 29, 17 and 29 footpaths/bridleways, most long in length and with several stiles between fields.
The new footpath grant scheme is cumbersome and introduces further time-consuming activity for a PROW volunteer, whereas in previous times the onus was on the landowner to maintain and replace the stiles when defective. There are many stiles which are rocky but basically acceptable where tamping could stabilise them, or where the stile is good but the steps have fallen or collapsed. The new PROW grant requires the volunteer to supply what three words, photos and the written permission of the landowner for stiles to be ordered and our contractor to install them. This past year three stiles were ordered and installed really well by Matt Cobb. However within these three parishes there are many stiles which are in need of replacement, not just replacing with alternative solutions such as gates when there is a stable stile already in situ. Every effort should be towards encouraging landowners to continue to order and install stiles as has happened in the past. Another problem arose when a steep field was ploughed up for potatoes and where, after lifting the crop, the soil became waterlogged, topsoil washed down the field and the stile at the bottom of the field had approximately 18 inches of soil piled up almost to the top of the stile. Ceri Belli is pursuing this for me. Last year her intervention was successful in getting three silage bales removed from streams
This year we have until September to produce a list of stiles which need replacement and to allocate funds to replace the most unsatisfactory. Maybe reminding landowners of their responsibility to keep PROW open and accessible, and that a dangerous stile causing an accident could give rise to a claim against them.
There was an unofficial meeting of footpath officers in Much Birch attended by approximately 20 volunteers. Ceri Belli the salaried footpath inspector for South Herefordshire was there, and there was a lot of useful discussion. The news is that there are to be four rather than only two salaried officers which will lighten their load and give more accessibility to the volunteer officers. There has also been a training session for Strimming and Hedge-cutting.