Gwynedd Council and Snowdonia National Park intend to review their Rights of Way Improvement Plan (ROWIP).
The ROWIP is a strategic document used by the Local Authority to manage, develop and promote its Rights of Way network. The ROWIP will set a structure for identifying, prioritising and planning for improvements to the Rights of Way networks and access to the countryside for the benefit of walkers, cyclists, horse riders, individuals with mobility problems and others.
Rights of Way are not roads, but do include footpaths, bridleways and byways (narrow, unsurfaced roads).
As part of the review, we would like to hear your opinion on how we can plan ahead and improve and maintain the Rights of Way network in Gwynedd.
To assist you to answer some of the questions, we’ve provided an explanation of the system used to categorise the paths.
Categorisation System
The categorising system of Rights of Way has been adopted by Gwynedd Council to help prioritise resources for maintaining the rights of way network. Most paths in Gwynedd are in 1 of 4 categories. Currently Gwynedd Council prioritise resources to maintain paths in categories 1 and 2, which are approximately 45% of the network.
Category 1
The majority of these paths are used significantly or they form connections within towns and villages or between public transport facilities, car parks and leisure attractions.
These include:
- Routes promoted by Gwynedd Council, Snowdonia National Park including the Coastal Path.
- Paths that connect urban and inter-urban paths.
- The Lonydd Glas network and paths with huge potential for upgrading to meet “Active Travel” requirements.
Category 2
Popular paths used mainly for leisure and recreation including paths around communities, circular walks or access to beaches or Open Access land.
These include:
- Routes promoted by Gwynedd Council and the Snowdonia National Park and community groups.
- Paths with less potential for upgrading to meet “Active Travel” requirements.
Category 3
These are paths which are used less frequently, but they form connections between the paths in categories 1 and 2. They could potentially be used to encourage walking between communities or to form parts of future promoted routes.
Category 4
Path with no use or obvious potential and where a reasonable convenient alternative route exists in higher category paths. Usually there are little or no future potential for forming practical connections to other access. They also include paths with doubt about their status with little prospect of satisfactory resolution.
