This is not the right path to saving money (From Bucks Free Press)

This is not the right path to saving money

9:04am Friday 5th February 2010 in

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THE Ramblers are dismayed by the threat to cut Buckinghamshire County Council’s budget for the maintenance of public paths by £68,000 (‘Overgrown country paths warning over Buckinghamshire County Council cuts’, Bucks Free Press website, January 28).

This is a relatively small saving for the council, but it will have a devastating effect on the rights of way. The county council can be proud of its record on public paths, it is one of the best highway authorities in the country. The Ramblers have a high regard for the council’s rights-of-way staff, who strive beyond the call of duty and show true dedication to their work. They provide excellent value for money.

Relatively small sums spent on paths provide recreation opportunities for thousands, as well as encouraging people to visit, and spend money, in Bucks.

So a cut in the rights-of-way budget is a false economy.

Thirty years ago the paths of Bucks were generally in poor condition, but thanks to the council, working with parish councils and volunteers from many organisations, those paths are now in good nick. Let’s keep them that way, and let’s invest in our paths, thereby levering extra money from other sources and ensuring that Bucks is a county that walkers and riders want to visit.

Kate Ashbrook, Area footpath secretary, Ramblers Buckinghamshire, Milton Keynes and West Middlesex Area, Turville, Henley-on-Thames.