Many of our bridleways are in very poor condition. This is a safety hazard to riders and horses and it forces more riders onto the roads. We are working hard to get thinks improved but we do need your help. Nothing has a better effect on the politicians who control the purse strings than complaints from their electorate.

The County County has ultimate responsibilty for the bridleways (and footpaths) and your safety on them. It delegates the seasonal care of the paths to the parish councils via the Local Maintenance Partnership (LMP). The CC gives the parish about £55 for every Km of path in the parish. The parish is then responsible for their clearance. The job done depends upon the diligence of the parish and the effiicency and enthusiasm of their contractor. .In general we find bridleways are cleared to FP standard at best. They should be cleared to 2.5 metres wide and 3.5 metres high.

In fairness the budgets are not really adequate especially if the paths have been allowed to get into disrepair. The CC Public Paths Improvement Program (PPIP) program is supposedly bringing all important paths up to standard but slow progress is being made.

Please do report the condition of your bridleways to ourselves via our Bridleway Reports page. BUT please also complain to your parish council and also to the County Council.

IF OVERGROWN:

CONTACT YOUR PARISH COUNCIL in the first instance.
It is important that your local parish council is aware that riders do rely on using use the bridleways). A list of parish council contacts may be found via the County Council web site. http://cwic.cornwall.gov.uk/cwic-sql/pc_lst.asp

If you are not satisfied with the response please contact the County Council

IF BLOCKED: REPORT IT TO THE COUNTY COUNCIL Email: accessteam@cornwall.gov.uk

IF UNSAFE, DIFFICULT GATES, OR UNRIDABLE SURFACE:

REPORT  IT TO THE COUNTY COUNCIL Email: accessteam@cornwall.gov.uk

It is important to note that the County Council Can only deal with problems on definitive rights of way. ie Bridleways, Byways and Footpaths. See Rights of Way.

For Access problems on other than bridleways or byways See Ridden Paths.

It is most important that all problems are reported

• Safety issues should be addressed quickly
• Many issues will be addressed over the next three years by the Public Paths Improvement Programme
• The more you report, the County Council will be made further aware of the difficulties faced by riders

Please also report problems and or the council's response to the BHS County Access Officers.

email: bhsaccesscornwall@btinternet.com