Wanted—a national champion

The Friends of the Ridgeway’s debate last Sunday on the future of national trails was fortuitously timed.  It occurred a week after Natural England published its report The New Deal: management of national trails in England from April 2013.  So the debate was highly topical.

It was bright and breezy on the top of the downs at the Ridgeway Centre, Court Hill, near Wantage in Oxfordshire, where the friends held their meeting, right next to the national trail.  The friends had invited me to speak as president of the Ramblers, who have argued long and hard that the trails need an independent national champion.  The other speaker was Graham Bryant, national trail partnership manager for Natural England (NE).  Ian Ritchie of the friends was in the chair.

The path to Letcombe Bassett, Ridgeway

Graham explained what was happening about the 13 English trails, following NE’s review over the last two years and the publication of The New Deal.  He endeavoured to reassure us that trails would get the care and attention they deserve, NE would be a national champion, and the proposed local trail partnerships would provide a secure solution for the trails.  He was genial, honest and understanding.

Not in charge
I pointed out that while Graham is clearly committed to the trails and anxious to make the ‘new deal’ work, the problem is that he is not in charge.  Nor is NE in charge.  It must do the government’s bidding, and what chance is there that George Osborne will want to invest in the trails, despite the massive benefits they bring to the public.

Kinder Downfall, Pennine Way

The Ramblers were in at the start of the trails.  On 22 June 1935 Tom Stephenson, who later became our secretary, wrote an article for the Daily Herald with the headline ‘Wanted—a long green trail’.  This set out his vision for the Pennine Way, the first trail, which was opened in 1965.  The National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 brought us long-distance paths in law.

In 1988 the Countryside Commission, the predecessor of Natural England, rebranded the long-distance paths as national trails because, it said, ‘national better reflects their status, their character and their attraction to the public as a whole’.  Now the government wants to denationalise them, by handing them over to local partnerships.

Millions of pounds
We know that the trails bring millions of pounds into the local economy.  One of the factors which influenced the designation of a recent trail, Hadrian’s Wall Path, was the economic benefits it would bring to the region—I was on the Countryside Agency board at the time and recall the discussions and deliberations.  The South West Coast Path gives a staggering 600-fold return on investment, which should surely appeal to George Osborne.

NE has agreed to allocate £1.67 million a year to the trails for the next three years, which is encouraging though unlikely to be sufficient.  To quote Richard Morrison’s article in the Times on 5 April: ‘To have 2,500 miles of glorious paths maintained for £1.67 million (the price of a two-bedroom flat in Chelsea) strikes me as the bargain of the century, especially if you factor in the health benefit for 12 million people’.

Cleveland Way

But it all depends on the proposed local partnerships, and they have to lever in match-funding to NE’s grant (local contributions are required at a ratio of 1:3).  Given that local authorities are cutting their rights-of-way budgets, their future funding of the trails must be in doubt.  What if there are unexpected or massive maintenance needs?  What if part of the South West Coast Path slides into the sea (which is actually happening), or the Pennine bogs need paving?  Graham hoped the money could be found, but there’s no guarantee.

With the best will in the world, and NE has plenty, we cannot depend on NE to champion the trails.  Disastrously, government has said that NE is not to champion, campaign or challenge, it’s a delivery body.  Gone are the days of the Countryside Commission and Countryside Agency, which spoke out when necessary.  And NE is under threat of merger with the much larger Environment Agency whose focus will not be on recreation and access.  The future is murky and worrying.

Segsbury Castle, Ridgeway

So an independent national champion for the trails, as advocated by the Ramblers, is vital.  This body could promote, raise funds for and develop the trails, working with the local trail partnerships rather than through them and pursuing outcomes rather than following processes.  It could campaign for new trails—to the benefit of all.

After I had spoken, Ian opened the debate to the floor.  Questions were put to Graham and views were expressed, but no one appeared to disagree with the Ramblers.  I feel confident that there will be plenty of support for us as we take our campaign forward.