While out cycling recently I noticed that Right of Way SM26 at Salsburgh had disappeared. This was a very short ROW, linking two roads over some rough ground. It was unsignposted. I contacted the Outdoor Access Officers at North Lanarkshire Council regarding this, and it would appear that somewhere in the planning process, the existence of the ROW had been overlooked. Greenspace and the Outdoor Access Forum should have been involved in the consultation, which simply did not happen.
I was involved in the consultation process for the creation of the North Lanarkshire Core Path Plan (CPP), and I wanted all existing Rights of Way included in the CPP. My recommendation was not adopted by NLC, had they done so this simply would not have happened. North Lanarkshire Council are carrying out a review of the CPP, and I have again requested that all existing Rights of Way are included. Time will tell whether they decide to do so.
Additionally, had the path been signposted, it would have been glaringly obvious that a footpath with a legal standing was here. As it stands, only some Rights of Way are signposted, and NLC took the decision not to allocate any funding to create a standardised signage for Core Paths. One of the biggest factors in whether a path is used or not is whether it is signposted. If NLC want to encourage awareness of the path network, and with that increase use, then it is about time they actually put funding into it. I won’t hold my breath though.
The Airdrie Rambler 