Teignmouth & Dawlish Ramblers

Walking in South Devon

Footpaths

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REPORTING PROBLEMS WITH FOOTPATHS.

By John Cousens – Teignmouth & Dawlish Ramblers.

 

Since we all get so much pleasure from the footpath network in Devon, it is in all our interests to ensure that footpaths are maintained to a good standard. Therefore if you find a problem while you are out walking, please take the time to report it.

Reporting a problem is very simple - just call or email the footpath officer, Barry West. He will communicate with the Devon Rights of Way team on a regular basis and have a good line of communication with the local footpath wardens. He also works with the other footpath officers in Devon, so if the problem you want to report is outside our local area, he can coordinate with the appropriate group and try to keep track of outstanding problems. He will also assess the severity of a problem and perhaps attempt to solve it himself or with a team of volunteers rather than call on the over-stretched resources of the Council. You can of course report the problem directly to the rights of way team, but he can't then track it then.

As an alternative, you can use the facilities and download the App at Ramblers Big Path Watch . Again, we can't track a problem reported in this way.

Problems can take many forms:
- fallen trees
- broken stiles/gates/footbridges/signposts etc
- obstructions on the footpath
- significant over-growth or undergrowth that prevents easy walking
- flooding
- locked gates
- barbed wire across a path
- etc

To make a problem report useful, we need some information from you:
- the exact location of the problem. Ideally, this will include the grid reference of the location but if you don't have that, we need some other information that will uniquely identify it.
- the nature of the problem
- the date that you found the problem
- contact information for yourself so that we can follow-up with additional questions and/or resolution.

Those are the minimum requirements. However, if you are able to take a photo of the problem as well, that would be very helpful.

When you have that information, pop it in an email to  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  

Thanks for your help.

John Cousens

Tuesday, March 19, 2024