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Public rights of way - local delivery scheme

The Lancashire County Council Public Rights of Way - Local Delivery Scheme is restarting due to popular demand and is again an opportunity for parish/town councils in the County to be involved in looking after public rights of way in their community.

Parish and town councils in the scheme can complement and support the work undertaken on the network by Lancashire County Council's Public Rights of Way Team and it provides an opportunity to identify certain works on public paths you think the community would benefit most from and use the grant accordingly. Lancashire County Council's Public Rights of Way Team has run the Local Delivery Scheme for several years, except for the recent hiatus, and many parishes and town councils have taken part in the past.

One of the main benefits to local councils is that they can carry out work which would normally fall below our intervention threshold but which is important to local residents. Examples include mowing grass along a village centre path so that it looks nice even though it is already usable without that work or replacing faded, but still legible, signpost 'fingers'.

Lancashire County Council will offer the grant plus materials (gates, signposts, etc.) - the scheme includes vegetation clearance, signposts, waymarks, steps, gates, and assistance from yourselves with proposed developments in your vicinity that could affect any public right of way. The scheme does not include stiles or enforcement action and only covers ways shown on the Definitive Map and Statement.

Joining the scheme(s)

In previous years the scheme has run from 1 April to 31 March the following year which has not easily allowed vegetation clearance at the time it is most needed or before nesting season so the revised scheme will work to calendar years. You are invited to opt into the scheme for calendar year 2027 so that partners will be ready to act in relation to vegetation clearance when the growing season starts in early Spring.

If you wish to opt into this grant scheme, please apply before 31 December 2026. You will need to provide contact/bank details (even if you have participated in the scheme previously) and it would help us if previous applicants also would alert us to any contact details which have changed since any previous application.

Any applications received after 31 December 2026 will still be considered but could be subject to delay or reduced payments. Note that the clerk, or chair, can apply provisionally if it is not possible to have a formal decision before that date. Please email PROW@lancashire.gov.uk with 'Local Delivery Scheme' as the subject to assist us to process applications as smoothly as possible.

Please report any work undertaken in relation to the Local Delivery Scheme by email to prowreports@lancashire.gov.uk, in the same way that you make any reports of overgrown hedges and other problems that you encounter on the public rights of way.

Public Rights of Way Local Delivery Scheme Grant

£400.00 for the year 2027 per participating council paid in advance as a lump sum. (Unspent monies can be carried over to the following year with agreement from the Public Rights of Way Team).

Relevant public rights of way within the scope of the scheme

The Local Delivery Grant should only be used in relation to the line of the public rights of way shown on LCC's maps and in accordance with the guidance below regarding what can lawfully be done, what can be done with/without the landowner's consent and what is the landowner's or the public's responsibility. It is a condition of application for this grant that all work will be carried out in accordance with the guidance and that at the end of the year participants submit a report listing the work carried out during the year.

The definitive map and a digital working copy can be found on Lancashire County Council website's MARIO system (or type "MARIO LCC" into Google or other search engine and it will be amongst the top results).

The scheme includes any public path or byway on the MARIO system on the Lancashire County Council website.

  • Footpath (walkers, runners, joggers) – shown as purple dashed line on MARIO

  • Bridleway (as footpath plus ridden or led horses and pedal cycles) – shown green

  • Restricted byway (as bridleway plus non-motorised vehicles) – shown red/brown

  • Byway open to all traffic (any traffic, but not necessarily suitable) – shown olive

N.B. It does not include:

  • Permissive paths including those in parks, etc.

  • Private paths (ones without public rights) such as access tracks

  • Roads

  • Unofficial or informal diversions except with prior agreement of both the landowner/tenant and the Public Rights of Way team

Works covered by the scheme

Participating councils are invited to carry out the following works on behalf of Lancashire County Council on the public rights of way network.

Planning watch

Public paths that may be affected by development: The Parish Council and residents are generally aware of proposed development before Lancashire County Council is consulted on planning applications. Similarly, they are often aware of works carried out under permitted development and of unauthorised works which may eventually be the subject of a retrospective application. By the time the Public Rights of Way Team have this information and a member of the team happens to be in the vicinity (we do not have enough staff to make visits to inspect such things), the original state of the path and the land has changed when construction vehicles have churned up the ground, fences been erected, or structures added/removed. A record (digital photographs) of the paths taken before any works on the ground commenced can be very helpful. If participants in the Local Delivery Scheme can take such pictures and send a link to these to PROWplanning@lancashire.gov.uk this can help us to ensure it is eventually restored or replaced to a suitable standard.

Vegetation clearance around structures

This is particularly valuable because a single point (e.g. a stile or gate set in a hawthorn hedge) overgrown can prevent or deter people from using the whole path. It takes a disproportionate amount of time either to require the owner of a hedge, or to send someone from elsewhere in the county, to clear vegetation over very short distances around:

  • signposts (where a hedge is trimmed mechanically it inevitably leaves a small amount around and often obscuring the sign)

  • gaps, gates & stiles in hedges (where a hedge is trimmed for height and width the gap for the path is often missed)

  • gates (although the gateway itself may be clear getting to the latch might involve reaching into a thorny hedge which can be remedied in a few seconds with a pair of snippers and thick gloves)

  • gaps, gates, and stiles (around the base of the structure itself weeds can grow which can impede access)

  • corners of fields (where a margin has been left around an arable field or where an electric fence is used within a pasture the 2 or 3 metres to reach a gap, gate or stile in the corner can become overgrown)

However, local volunteers or lengthsmen can keep on top of this throughout the year with shears, loppers, or strimmer.

Waymarking where the route is not obvious

Waymarks (circular plastic discs with arrows on) attached to existing structures (with the agreement of their owner) or on posts erected for the purpose can assist members of the public to find the route which reduces inadvertent trespass, removes the excuse for deliberate trespass and provides confidence to inexperienced walkers/riders. Waymarking sounds simple, but it requires thought and accurate map-reading, taking into account where users can see it when approaching from either direction and ensuring that it is the legal line which is indicated (not a bypass of an unlawful obstruction or a trodden line on the ground (these can lead to additional rights of way coming into effect). Please ask us for discs when you are planning to do waymarking and please do not nail them to trees.

Surface repairs

  1. muddy path can be repaired by laying stone.

  2. drainage can be improved.

  3. ruts can be filled in.

  4. potholes can be filled where necessary for pedestrian or equestrian use (but not for private vehicular access).

  5. edge boards to prevent a stoned surface slipping or washing off the side.

Signage

  1. Fingerposts where a public path leaves a road.

  2. Waymarks where needed to assist the public following a right of way. Discs are nailed to stiles, gates, and other posts. Please do not nail them to trees.

  3. Waymark posts installed where there is nothing else to affix waymarks to but make sure it is not in the way of private access or agricultural operations.

Handrails, steps and boardwalks

  1. Handrails on one or both sides to assist the public using steps, ditch crossings, boardwalks, or other features where they might be needed.

  2. Steps are sometimes installed on steep banks. These often take the form of boards to hold back the soil or stone fill and are themselves held by 2 stout pegs. Many old wooden ones have rotted – we now use plastic. These steps may need repair because they are collapsing, or the height is too great, or the fill has eroded. New steps can be created only where there is no viable alternative – steps should not generally be used where a ramp is possible.

  3. Boardwalks can help people get across boggy ground. We generally use plastic as the environment for boardwalks is inevitably damp.

  4. Ditch crossing – up to 2m. These need to be level and firmly mounted and may or may not have a handrail.

Undergrowth

  1. Vegetation growing through the surface of the path, can be mown or strimmed and may need to be done more than once in the summer months.

Participating councils can carry out works on behalf of the landowners where this would benefit users of the paths:

Overgrowth

  1. Vegetation growing from land outside the boundary of the public right of way and sticking out over it or hanging down over it.

  2. Overhanging trees which reduce headroom or might break off.

  3. Overgrown hedges encroaching into the right of way.

  4. Fallen branches or trees across the path.

Gates

  1. The first consideration where a gate is out of repair is whether it is necessary or whether it would be simply better to remove it. A gate can be for stock control or because it was there historically (interpreted as before 1949) – there is often no need to have a gate leading into a field of cabbages, a car park or domestic garden.

  2. Gates may be difficult to open or close and may need adjustment of the hinges of latches. An easy to use latch is far less likely to be left open.

  3. Latches may need replacing, repairing, or modifying.

  4. Gate posts may need to be replaced where they have rotted or been damaged or simply need resetting where they have shifted in the ground.

  5. Gates must be safe and convenient for the public to use.

Please note that the scheme no longer includes stiles. In the interests of improving access for as wide a section of the population as possible we do not authorise stiles nor do we generally carry out repairs on behalf of the landowners, but we do offer to replace stiles with gates instead. Where the landowner has a right to have a stile for historical reasons, they might choose to repair the stile themselves, rather than agree to installation of a gate. Any work carried out on stiles is, therefore, outside the scheme, is not on behalf of LCC and would be at the parish council's liability.

Consultation

As a matter of courtesy, where possible participating councils should contact the landowner or tenant before carrying out the work. Also they often have very useful information about the land. It is not always possible to find who owns land or to be able to contact them. Be aware that some landowners may not wish work to go ahead for various reasons.

Although it is not strictly necessary to get permission to carry out most of these works, where permission has been refused by a landowner or tenant who has been consulted please report this to PROW@lancashire.gov.uk and do not engage in confrontation with the landowner or tenant.

There is no need to consult with the Public Rights of Way team before carrying out works if these guidelines are followed.

Delivery methods

Work can be carried out using volunteers, landowners, or contractors. Whoever carries out the work must be insured, competent and where applicable qualified (e.g. for power tools). The grant can also be used for purchasing equipment for volunteers to use.

Anyone carrying out the work must carry out a risk assessment before starting the work and take appropriate mitigation measures. Those commissioning or carrying out the work must be aware of any potential buried or overhead cables and other infrastructure.

Materials

In addition to fingerposts (or fingers for existing posts), waymark posts and gates we may be able to provide some plastic posts, boards, pegs, and other materials free or at cost, depending on demand and availability.

Reporting

Please email PROWreports@lancashire.gov.uk with the subject 'Local Delivery Scheme' when you have completed a job stating:

  • Path reference (e.g. FP1004023)

  • Location (grid reference, W3W or simple description e.g. junction with Church Lane)

  • Date completed

  • Nature of work (e.g. 50m overgrowth clearance)

  • Please include a before and after digital photograph (low resolution, please)

We also ask participating councils to provide an end of year report giving the list of works during the year (to include the same details as above).

Please note, whether your council takes part in the scheme or not, the best way to report issues which you are unable to resolve yourself is direct to the Public Rights of Way Team by emailing PROWreports@lancashire.gov.uk.

Applications

Applications via email should be received by the Public Rights of Way Team no later than 31 December 2026. We realise that meetings may not be held during the relevant period so we have allowed as much notice as possible but we can also accept a provisional application from the clerk, or chair, pending a constituted decision by the meeting, to meet the deadline. Please indicate on the application form if it is provisional.