THERE were no prosecutions against landowners who failed to keep the county’s network of public footpaths open.

It emerged last month that Herefordshire Council had not taken any court action over such cases in the last decade – despite their being ‘known persistent landowners’ responsible, according to veteran campaigner David Howerski.

Now the local authority has hit back at his suggestion that this was down to a fear of costly legal challenges.

A Herefordshire Council spokesperson said: “We aim to resolve most cases early on, typically through a formal letter, which allows us to address problems efficiently and ensure compliance without needing to escalate to legal proceedings in most cases.”

They added that the lack of prosecutions reflects the authority’s focus on resolving issues through engagement and cooperation with landowners, with court action only being pursued as a last resort.

“The council does not avoid taking legal action against persistent offenders due to concerns about costs,” the spokesperson stressed.

Responsibility for the rights of way network, which extends some 2,164 miles around the county and is key to making swathes of it publicly accessible, was recently passed from the council’s public realm contractor Balfour Beatty to the council’s own officials.

But Cllr Toni Fagan told fellow councillors that this ‘has been an absolute disaster’, due in part to loss of longstanding council staff, coupled with IT problems.

“It would be great to get a grip on the public rights of way service,” she said.

Cllr Fagan later said she was aware of 47 closed paths in the county, of which 31 needed bridges that are way beyond the capacity of volunteers.

With an ongoing lack of resources to address the problem is a challenge with the role of local parishes in maintaining footpaths being ‘absolutely key’ to keeping them open– yet these still need funding and training, she added.