Footpath Accessibility Project
For those of you who walk Footpath 10 (between Back Lane and Bank Farm), you may have already spotted the lovely new accessible gates which have replaced the tumbledown stiles ....
Published: 1 July 2024
This is all thanks to HCC Countryside Service’s Ranger, Corinne Davis-Cooke and Parish Councillor Haydn Watkins, and their band of volunteers who helped install them during the course of May and June. Plus of course the landowners who gave permission for the changes to happen. And when you see what has been achieved, we really can’t thank everyone involved enough. Read on for Corinne’s report and some photos!
Working in rights of way brings so many opportunities to improve access for users and to promote and increase the opportunities everyone has for enjoying the beautiful countryside we have. The challenge is that to see these projects to fruition there are often a number of stakeholders who must be brought together to gain appropriate permissions, find funding and to deliver the project. This means that there may be a considerable length of time between the initial idea and the project becoming a reality, but also means that the successes taste all the more sweet.
When I first started my role as Community Engagement Ranger for Hampshire County Council’s Access Team in January 2023, it was not long before I first heard about a wish to remove all stiles from fp10 in Vernham Dean. Parish councillor Haydn Watkins, who reports on the parish PROWs (public rights of way) had been trying for a couple of years to get the ball rolling but had lacked the know how and been unsure where to start. Fortunately, the parish had recently gained a new Clerk, Mims Edwards, who had worked alongside my colleague, Gemma Clinch, to deliver a stiles to gates project in neighbouring Hurstbourne Tarrant. Mims decided to make it her mission to get Haydn’s dream off the ground and contacted me for a site meeting.
Walking fp10 with Haydn, it was immediately obvious how big an issue the stiles presented. Haydn remains remarkably fit despite his advancing years, but the stiles caused him a real problem, particularly two sets of double stiles that had been constructed to protect a large hedge from livestock browsing on either side.
The first step was to gain landowner consent for the project, which fortunately was easy enough but we would still need to work out how to fund the gates. By this point we were in August 2023 and installation would not be happening before the autumn at the earliest. We were in the fortunate position of being able to offer a grant from HCC’s Countryside Access Parish Delivery Partnership, which has helped to deliver improvement projects and volunteer training across Hampshire over the last few years. Understandably with a farm to run, the landowner passed over the admin of obtaining quotes and applying for the grant to the parish clerk, who duly obliged.
The grant was gifted and the orders made, with the gates delivered to site a few weeks later. Then winter 2023-24 hit. The endless rain made land access impossible. Next thing we know, it’s May 2024 and now three years down the line from Haydn’s original inquiry, but wheels were most definitely now in motion.
I am in the greatly privileged position as a Community Engagement Ranger in Hampshire of having a large, keen and experienced volunteer army at my disposal. I know that I can put out a call for work parties anywhere in my patch and they will answer and it is so helpful when applying to grants for funding to know you have the means to deliver improvement projects with volunteer power. Over four days in May and June, volunteers helped make this project a reality, removing 7 stiles and one timber kissing gate and replacing them with 6 self-closing metal pedestrian gates. Despite their experience, the double stiles were something the volunteers hadn’t seen before and working out how to replace both with just one gate, whilst keeping the hedge protected was a bit of a head scratcher. Ultimately though, the volunteers delivered and the aim of making fp10 level access throughout was achieved.
I am incredibly proud to have finally delivered on this project, but also so aware that this couldn’t have been done without the hard working and dedication of my volunteers, the willingness and help of the landowner, and the support of the parish council. We really are leading the way in Hampshire in promoting rights of way improvements, and I love being able to be a part of it. This project has really given me a drive to deliver similar projects all across my patch in the north west of Hampshire and to see parishes gain a stile free badge.