Core Paths Plan
Local Authorities are legally obliged, under Section 17 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, to draw up a system of paths, which are sufficient to provide the public with reasonable access throughout the area. The Council must develop the draft Core Paths Plan by February 2008, which equates to three years after the implementation of the Act.
What are core paths?
How will core paths benefit communities and visitors to North Ayrshire?
Strategic Environmental Assessment and the Core Paths Plan
Overview of the Core Path Planning Process
The Paths for All Partnership (PfAP) and Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) have produced a guide to good practice for the development of Core Paths Plans. A copy of this can be downloaded from the link below:
http://www.pathsforall.org.uk/outdooraccess/article.asp?id=161
The plan will be developed through extensive consultation with communities, landowners, access users and all other interested parties. This process provides a valuable opportunity to look at how the current access provision is working on the ground and examine:
Under the Act the Council is required to consult with the Forum, local communities, SNH and any other people that it thinks fit. This will be carried out throughout the development process and followed on into the adoption phase.
An overview of the development process for the draft Core Path Plan is available below.
Developing the Core Paths Plan
The informal consultation at stage 4 of the process to audit all of the routes in North Ayrshire is now complete. At this stage participants were also asked to identify potential path linkages with the proviso that this did not necessarily mean that these routes would be created or be part of the final core paths network. This process was carried out using the Outdoor Access Toolkit developed in partnership with East Ayrshire Council.
Outdoor Access Toolkit page
The information obtained from the Outdoor Access Toolkits was utilised to make a preliminary assessment of access needs in North Ayrshire as highlighted in step 5 of the overview. The Interim Draft Core Path Plan was developed in partnership with the Outdoor Access Forum based on this assessment.
Consultation on the Interim Draft Core Path Plan
The consultation process on the Interim Draft Core Path Plan commenced at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the North Ayrshire Outdoor Access Forum on 15 September 2007, for a period of 10 weeks. This was the second round of informal consultation as highlighted in step 6 of the overview and will inform the development of the Draft Core Path Plan.
Draft Core Paths Plan - Formal Public Consultation
The Draft Core Paths Plan and the associated Draft Environmental Report are open for public consultation for a period of 12 weeks between Monday 17 March 2008 and Monday 16 June 2008. This is the formal consultation on the Draft Core Paths Plan as required by Section 18 (1) of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 and the Draft Environmental Report as required by the Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005.
The overall aim of the consultation is to ensure that Core Paths are selected in an equitable manner, that the Core Paths Plan meets the basic access needs of the communities of and visitors to North Ayrshire and assists with the management of access and land. Therefore we want to hear from everyone with an interest in outdoor access even if you participated in the earlier consultation on the Interim Draft Core Paths Plan (IDCPP).
To view the Draft Core Paths Plan click here
Freedom of Information
| Classification : | Public | |
| Available Formats : | Website | |
| Cost of Information: | Free of Charge |
