We enjoyed Adrian Chiles’s column (I’ve found my dream job. And it’s all thanks to that nasty fall into the wild garlic, 9 March) and are pleased that one of our member officers was able to assist in rectifying what was clearly a hazard to accessing wonderful countryside. We were equally disappointed that you came across an officer who did not share that ethic and ambition, but we know that that is in no way reflective of the profession as a whole. Sadly, with budgetary restraints across all local authority work, this area is often under-resourced and can lead to the potential for dissatisfaction for some officers.
The Institute of Public Rights of Way (IPROW) believes that there is immense value to society as a whole in having a well-connected, easy to use network of rights of way and other access, that has multiple benefits to the local economy through visitor spend, sustainable access between places and facilities and, as was so vividly demonstrated during the pandemic, the physical health and mental wellbeing benefits of outdoor recreation.
