Management and staffing structure for the new public rights of way service
Case reference FOI2022/00729
Published 30 June 2022
Request
What is the proposed management and staffing structure for the new public rights of way service?
Please explain how and to what level the following elements of the service will be resourced:
• Practical site work
• Enforcement
• Supporting parish footpath officers
• Supporting other voluntary groups such as the Ramblers
• Inspections and responding to defect reports
• Bridge repairs/replacement
• Organising the Local Access Forum
• Dealing with DMMO applications. In particular on 1 April the Planning Inspectorate issued a Direction on the Council in respect of 38 DMMOs setting deadlines for each one ranging from six months to two years. How does the council plan to comply with this Direction, bearing in mind there are more than 200 outstanding DMMO applications?
Response
What is the proposed management and staffing structure for the new public rights of way service?
Team Leader (also has responsibility for the Traffic Engineering section)
PROW Officer (two full time, one part time)
Definitive Map Officer (one full time, one part time)
Enforcement Officer (full time)
PROW Inspector (full time)
Please explain how and to what level the following elements of the service will be resourced:
• Practical site work
The site work that was originally undertaken by BBLP (Balfour Beatty Living Places) our highways service provider, has been commissioned via Hoople Ltd. At this stage no additional resource has been formally allocated for the team to be able to undertake additional works.
• Enforcement
There is an Enforcement Officer and, as a part of the insourcing arrangements, an additional post was created (PROW Inspector) that will be, in part, focused on enforcement activity. The post has been advertised.
• Supporting parish footpath officers
An additional post, PROW Volunteer Coordinator, has been proposed as part of the ongoing development of the team. The post has yet to be recruited to.
• Supporting other voluntary groups such as the Ramblers
The post referred to above will also be responsible for supporting voluntary groups.
• Inspections and responding to defect reports
The yet to be recruited PROW Inspector will allow the team to respond to reports of defects and damage in a more timely manner.
• Bridge repairs/replacement
The repair and replacement of assets on the network fall under the same regime as other parts of the highway network. The capital budget is prioritised on a risk/ value basis.
• Organising the Local Access Forum
The team, in its current form, has been instructed to reconvene the Local Access Forum.
• Dealing with DMMO applications. In particular on 1 April the Planning Inspectorate issued a Direction on the Council in respect of 38 DMMOs setting deadlines for each one ranging from six months to two years. How does the council plan to comply with this Direction, bearing in mind there are more than 200 outstanding DMMO applications?
The work involved with resolving DMMO applications is often long and complex. The team have discussed progress against the current list of outstanding DMMO, including the 38 that are subject to a Planning Inspectorate Notice, and have made a bid for additional funding to help resolve the backlog.
Documents
This is Herefordshire Council's response to a freedom of information (FOI) or environmental information regulations (EIR) request.
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