Funding to improve pathways network may come from wind and solar farm developers

Elgan Hearn, Local Democracy Reporter

Developers of large energy projects could soon be helping fund maintenance work on the vast rights of way path network across a Welsh county.

At a meeting of Powys County Council’s Economy, Residents and Communities scrutiny committee on Thursday, June 12 councillors were given an update on the progress of the current Rights of Way Improvement Plan (ROWIP).

This is a legal document that sets out what the council intends to do over a 10 year period as part of the management of the rights of way network which cover 8,000 kilometres, as well as open access land including commons.

This is the largest network in the UK and does not include the part of Powys within the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park area.

Review

Countryside access and recreation lead officer Sian Barnes said: “We are planning to commence the review of the ROWIP early in the 2026/2027 financial year to ensure that the process is complete by 2028.

“That does also allow us time over the next 12 months to do a big piece of work around our volunteer programme which will be instrumental to the new ROWIP.”

She explained that part of the considerations for the new ROWIP would look at how maintenance work of the path network is funded.

Ms Barnes said: “We knew in 2017 investment of over £1 million was needed to bring the network up to a standard that’s open an easy to use, and at that stage only 38 per cent made that standard.”

She said that since then costs have gone up “significantly” and that Welsh Government grants that cover some of the costs are only available until 2027.

Ms Barnes said: “The impacts of climate change are affecting all of us, countryside assets are suffering greater deterioration because we have increasing extreme weather and predominantly warmer, wetter weather which is impacting on materials.”

Ms Barnes also pointed out the council’s own budget is “far more challenging now” than it was a decade ago.

Ms Barnes told the committee that her team were looking for funding through the Marches Forward Partnership.

“And also, with major developments including wind and solar farms, s106 funding is routinely sought from wind farm developers and can be significant,” said Ms Barnes.

Agreement

S106 agreements are a legally binding contract between a planning authority and developer which sees them contribute towards local infrastructure and services.

Ms Barnes added that “demand” to access the countryside did increase significantly during the Covid-19 outbreak and this trend has continued.

Committee vice-chairman, Cllr Gary Mitchell (Plaid Cymru), said: “It’s useful to have that update, 2028 is not that far away.

“The figures are old but if we’d have invested £1 million back in 2018, we’d have a pretty good network.”

“I would argue that the benefit that network brings in terms of tourism, and communities connecting up with each other, is vast.

He estimated that the £1 million from 2017  is now worth  £3 million to £4 million today and believed it would be worth spending this sum on the network over three to five years to bring about “phenomenal changes.”

Cllr Mitchell also wanted to see the Countryside Services team have the “ability to respond” to planning applications so that they could work on s106  agreements with more developers than just the ones involved in big energy projects.

The committee noted the report and will have a formal role in the ROWIP review process ahead of a new plan being agreed.