OPEN spaces campaigners fear rights of way across North Yorkshire could be lost due to new plans to categorise public paths.

The Open Spaces Society (OSS) has expressed concerns over a North Yorkshire County Council consultation on its plan to put pathways into categories so some will receive little or no maintenance.

Kate Ashbrook, general secretary of the society, said: “We are deeply concerned about this. It appears that those routes which are afforded low priority will be neglected and consequently less used, and they could in effect be lost even if they are not closed legally.

“Public footpaths and bridleways are highways in law, just like any road. The county council has a statutory duty to maintain all the highways in its area – it would not allow an obstruction to remain on a public road, and it should treat public paths in the same way.”

She added: “There is no recognition in the consultation document of the economic benefit which can be reaped from public paths. They attract income to the county from walkers, riders and cyclists and therefore it pays to invest in public paths. This is illustrated by the fact that there are Walkers Are Welcome towns in North Yorkshire which are benefitting from the encouragement they give to walkers.”

A North Yorkshire County Council spokesman said: “The public rights of way network in North Yorkshire is one of the longest in the country. Maintenance is arranged by a small team of council officers with support from landowners, contractors and a dedicated group of countryside volunteers.

“The service is now looking at ways to continue managing the network with less money. The proposal to categorise routes and prioritise issues will allow routine maintenance to be focused first in areas where paths are agreed as being more important or better used.

“Changes put forward also recommend the category of the route being partly determined by the value placed on it by the local community. This will help us to ensure that the work we do in future is directed towards paths that are most important to the people that use them.

“We are also proposing to work more closely with parish councils and the Ramblers to help deliver what we all want, which is a well maintained network of paths. The proposals are about being smarter in the way we spend our money.

The public consultation on the proposals ended on March 19 and we are now evaluating the responses.’’