What this consultation is about
We’re facing budget pressures like never before and need to cut £157m by 2018. Reductions in Government grants, inflation and greater demands on areas of our budget for adult social care and vulnerable children mean we must rethink the way we deliver our services. It means some services will remain, some will be run differently but some will have to stop.
Our cabinet considered a report at a meeting on 7 July 2015 which identified that the countryside service was required to make a saving of £1m, as part of the overall savings we need to make. A proportion of this amount needs to be found from the rights of way budget.
The rights of way budget pays for a small team of people who manage the rights of way network - the footpaths, bridleways, restricted byways and byways open to all traffic across the county.
We think that we can save the money we need to on the rights of way budget by revising targets set out in the Rights of Way Charter and we are proposing staff reductions as a result. If this is approved we would expect to save around £163,000, which represents approximately 33% of the budget.
This consultation asked you for your views on this proposal and as to how a potential reduction in the service would affect you.
The consultation is now closed. A report was presented to Cabinet, 26 January 2016, agenda item 20.