Whenever anyone is confronted with any of the vast array of possible faults and obstructions that occur every day on the footpath network it is essential always to be considerate but, at the same time to be aware of personal safety. Especially as some problems are so serious that they are a matter for the police and they should be reported immediately.
Fortunately the majority of the problems encountered are no more than an inconvenience and they can be dealt with by,
talking calmly to the landowner
reporting the problem to the appropriate Highway Authority
Anybody can report a footpath problem and it is quite straightforward to do; if you want to find the contact details for the Highway Authority appropriate to a particular area then view our Highway Authority information.
Some problems on the footpath network are more persistent or more serious and they can now be dealt with by serving a s63 notice on the Authority and again this can be done by anyone. The forms and the procedure to be used can be accessed from the DEFRA website.
If you feel that you really cannot take direct action then you can let us know and we will investigate the problem, report a footpath fault.
You can also help Highway Authorities directly by monitoring the state of their paths for them:-
Sheffield Council who are seeking volunteers who walk the same paths regularly to join their Adopt A Path Scheme and to submit report forms regarding any problems encountered whilst walking their paths. The link above gives further details of the scheme, including a simple form for reporting faults to the Council.
Derbyshire County Council who are looking for volunteers to conduct 6-monthly audits (normally May and November) on on small selection of their path network each year. Volunteers are asked to audit paths against certain features (eg signposting, stiles, surface condition, obstructions) and complete a check list issued by the Council. Whilst there are no details of this scheme on the DCC website, their Rights of Way Section can be contacted here
