Rights of way charter

Staffordshire has a large rights of way network, spanning over 4,500 km. The council and its partners work hard to ensure that the network is protected and maintained for everyone to enjoy. As with all areas of the council, the rights of way team has limited resources, meaning it has to focus on those issues and routes that deliver the greatest benefit. 

We work with landowners, parish councils and user groups to protect the public's right to use and enjoy the network. 

Whilst every footpath and bridleway is important, an approach is needed that concentrates our limited rights of way resources. Each route has been assessed against nine criteria (such as demand, proximity to publicly accessible land and local services), which places it into one of three categories - A, B and C. Each category has a different response time, dependent on the issue identified. For example, a missing fingerpost on an A category route will be dealt with sooner than a missing fingerpost on a C category route. The exception to this is where an issue poses an imminent danger, likely to result in a significant accident or injury, and in these instances, we will respond straightaway, regardless of a route’s category. 

The rights of way charter (459 KB) sets out the standards that we aim to meet when we have received an enquiry. Please note that these are desired standards and they are dependent on many factors, including available manpower and budget, weather and ground conditions, accessibility to the site, and environmental issues.