The Council is currently putting together a plan of a basic framework of paths that will serve the needs of residents and visitors throughout Dumfries and Galloway. This is our 'Core Paths Plan', required by the Scottish Government under the Land Reform Act. In the future these paths will be featured on the OS 'Explorer' maps as a purple dotted line.

THE STATUTORY CONSULTATION PERIOD FOR THE FINAL DRAFT OF DUMFRIES AND GALLOWAY'S CORE PATHS PLAN IS NOW CLOSED.  LATE SUBMISSIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

Page updated: 02/10/09

Background

The Scottish Government has asked Dumfries and Galloway Council, like all local authorities, to map the paths considered to be key to the area. These are termed 'Core Paths', and should give residents and visitors reasonable access throughout Dumfries and Galloway. To do this, the Council has looked at a set of routes identified by the public at events organised by community councils. Paths which have good community support, serve one of a number of functions and can be brought into a reasonable condition within three years are being proposed as core paths. Paths which compromise the safety of those taking access aren't included, nor those which duplicate existing routes in an area.

Most of the proposed core paths already physically exist and they can include existing rights of way, off-road paths, coastal routes, farm tracks or even minor roads. The paths provide a mixture of functional and recreational uses including walking, cycling, horse riding, access to water and other forms of non-motorised recreation. They should be well sign-posted, maintained and welcoming. In addition to providing a network for reasonable access, core paths will help to realise a wide range of additional benefits including promotion of healthier lifestyles, reduced car usage, increased tourism and assisting landowners to manage visitors.

Formal Consultation

The Formal Consultation period is now over.  The Council' access staff are now responding to comments made following the following procedure:

If the comment is a positive endorsement of the plan or a specific path, we will note these comments.  If the comment is a negative observation regarding the plan, the legislation or people's behaviour, then we will note these comments, unless we can send information on the nature of the comment which we believe maybe helpful.

If a member of the public who doesn't manage the land involved requests a change then we will endeavour to contact the land-manager involved before making a change to the plan.  If we agree with the suggested change we will edit the map; log the change and ask the respondent to withdraw their objection.  If the change requested to the plan involves inserting a new route, then the route would have to meet the criteria followed in the assessment phase and be advised to the land-manager.  If we do not agree with the suggested change we will meet with or write to the respondent and explain our reasoning.  If appropriate we will ask them to withdraw their objection.

If a respondent who manages land requests an amendment or change to the plan, either as a representation or an objection then we will follow the following procedure:

Carry out a site visit, preferably with the land-manager present.

If we agree with the suggested change we will edit the map; log the change and ask the respondent to withdraw their objection.

If we disagree with the suggested change following the site visit we will ask an access colleague from another district to carry out an additional site visit and give their determination on the issue.  We may contact the Community Council and request information and opinions.  We may contact a panel from the Outdoor Access Forum to give their opinion. 

The final decision on whether to make an amendment or not will be taken by the four access officers and the principle countryside officer as a group; the principle officer will have the casting vote in the event of a split opinion.  The group will be guided by 'Part 1 Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 Guidance for Local Authorities and National Park Authorities' published by the Scottish Executive, 'Core Paths Plans A guide to good practice' published by the Paths for All Partnership and Scottish Natural Heritage, and supplementary advice notes from the Paths for All Partnership and Scottish Natural Heritage. Where we have an issue not addressed by any of the foregoing then we will formulate a general principle that we will apply across Dumfries and Galloway. 

We will attempt to resolve all objections to the plan by February 2010.  If we are unable to resolve objections we will send the plan to the Scottish Government and they will decide whether to overrule the objections and adopt the plan, or to hold a public enquiry and rule on the objections.

The Core Path initiative is a duty arising from the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003. For more information on the Act, please go to Scottish Natural Heritage - Access

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Timetable

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Final Draft Core Paths Plan: Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)

The Environment Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005 requires all plans and programmes to undergo Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). This applies to plans and programmes in certain sectors (e.g. forestry and town and country planning) which are determined to have significant environmental effects. SEA provides a systematic process for identifying, predicting, reporting and mitigating the environmental impacts of proposed plans and programmes. A  Strategic Environmental Assessment [7Mb] has been carried out to assess the environmental impact of developing the draft Core Paths Plan."

Annandale and Eskdale:
 Scheduled Monuments Gardens Designed Landscapes [1Mb]
 Conservation Sites [11Mb]

Nithsdale:
 Scheduled Monuments Gardens Designed Landscapes [1Mb]
 Conservation Sites [8Mb]

Stewartry:
 Scheduled Monuments Gardens Designed Landscapes [1Mb]
 Conservation Sites [4Mb]

Wigtown:
 Scheduled Monuments Gardens Designed Landscapes [1Mb]
 Conservation Sites [3Mb]

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Contact Us

To make sure that you are notified of opportunities to contribute to the core path planning process, please complete the online form.