IPROW's Beyond (the) Waymark

It's World Town Planning Day, who'd have thought there was such a thing, but we're using it to revisit the topic of planning and development because, while the system is mostly invisible, the impact of it is very obvious, with the benefits, and the problems, it can provide for public access. Big takeaway "Never lose sight of the end user".

Today we talk to Grant Mintram, a highways and transport planner who also has several years in countryside access and the connection between transport planning, sustainable transport links and public rights of way.

The views of speakers and the presenter are not necessarily those of IPROW. Nothing in any IPROW podcast should be taken as legal advice or used beyond the context of the podcast. The podcast is aimed at IPROW's members, a knowledgeable audience, though not expressly limited to them.

Find out more about membership of IPROW

IPROW is the Institute of Public Rights of Way and Access Management, which was established in 1986 as the membership organisation representing professionals involved in the management of public rights of way and access in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, principally as local government officers (and then called the Institute of Public Rights of Way Officers).

It has grown into an active and dynamic network providing advice, training, advocacy and networking to its members.

Mission Statement

To represent and promote the views and interests of members, raise professional standards, encourage the exchange of ideas and information in public rights of way and access management, and foster communication and co-operation between related bodies.

Biodiversity and the challenge to improve it is high on most agendas, including for rights of way and how management of ROW can help. Here we talk to Bryony Aitchison and Catherine Stott from ExCASES Community Researchers Group and consider barriers to accessibility and how increasing inclusion will ultimately aid biodiversity renewal, as well as multiple benefits for people and society.

Links:

 ExCASES (Exeter Centre for Analysis & Synthesis of Environmental Solutions) is part of RENEW, which is about renewing biodiversity through a people-in-nature approach.

The Outdoor Accessibility Guidance, commissioned by Paths for All and written by Sensory Trust, can be downloaded free. The guidance sets a UK benchmark for making outdoor spaces, routes, and facilities more accessible so they can be enjoyed by everyone and is guided by two principles/tools:

• Sensory Trust access chain
• Least restrictive access: By All Reasonable Means guidance Sensory Trust

Fruther to getting more Disabled people involved in volunteering and green jobs, is the work being done by the Bristol Climate & Nature Partnership. Their 2026 Green jobs for Disabled people report discusses advances in this area, and quick wins to make roles and workplaces more accessible to Disabled people.

The idea of QR codes on trails and nature spaces was floated in a workshop regarding the importance of including sign language. Signs naturally are symbols and text, so adding Braille should be standard, and a QR code to a video in sign language to enable a Deaf person to be included is easy. And, importantly, contribute to the ‘signals’ of belonging discussed in the episode. Input from anyone already using QR or NaviLens technology for this or equivalent purpose would be welcome.

The views of speakers and the presenter are not necessarily those of IPROW. Nothing in any IPROW podcast should be taken as legal advice or used beyond the context of the podcast. The podcast is aimed at IPROW's members, a knowledgeable audience, though not expressly limited to them.

Find out more about membership of IPROW

IPROW is the Institute of Public Rights of Way and Access Management, which was established in 1986 as the membership organisation representing professionals involved in the management of public rights of way and access in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, principally as local government officers (and then called the Institute of Public Rights of Way Officers).

It has grown into an active and dynamic network providing advice, training, advocacy and networking to its members.

Mission Statement

To represent and promote the views and interests of members, raise professional standards, encourage the exchange of ideas and information in public rights of way and access management, and foster communication and co-operation between related bodies.

Marking National Dog Day, we revisit a topic which is a challenge to managers of most public open space - dogs. In this episode, we again welcome Stephen Jenkinson, a countryside access consultant with long association with conversations on behaviour of dog walkers.

In this episode we explore recent changes to the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) Act 2025 which received a lot of public attention last year and affects dogs within an access perspective.

Links referred to:

• Dealing with irresponsible dog ownership: practitioners’ manual 
• ‘Traffic light’ dog-walking zones can benefit people, dogs & environment

The views of speakers and the presenter are not necessarily those of IPROW. Nothing in any IPROW podcast should be taken as legal advice or used beyond the context of the podcast. The podcast is aimed at IPROW's members, a knowledgeable audience, though not expressly limited to them.

Find out more about membership of IPROW

IPROW is the Institute of Public Rights of Way and Access Management, which was established in 1986 as the membership organisation representing professionals involved in the management of public rights of way and access in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, principally as local government officers (and then called the Institute of Public Rights of Way Officers).

It has grown into an active and dynamic network providing advice, training, advocacy and networking to its members.

Mission Statement

To represent and promote the views and interests of members, raise professional standards, encourage the exchange of ideas and information in public rights of way and access management, and foster communication and co-operation between related bodies.

Legislation is part of every job in rights of way, the basis of everything we do. In this episode we talk about how legislation comes about, the challenge of influencing its correct drafting and ending up with law that works in practice.

Here we talk to John Trevelyan, known to members as co-author of 'The Blue Book', Rights of Way A Guide to Law and Practice, about his years in the rights of way world and influence on legislation we work with today.

Members interested in knowing more about the intricacies of making legislation may find two blogs of interest: a behind-the-scenes account of law-making from a recently retired civil servant  and Hansard's Legislation Watch.

The views of speakers and the presenter are not necessarily those of IPROW. Nothing in any IPROW podcast should be taken as legal advice or used beyond the context of the podcast. The podcast is aimed at IPROW's members, a knowledgeable audience, though not expressly limited to them.

Find out more about membership of IPROW

IPROW is the Institute of Public Rights of Way and Access Management, which was established in 1986 as the membership organisation representing professionals involved in the management of public rights of way and access in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, principally as local government officers (and then called the Institute of Public Rights of Way Officers).

It has grown into an active and dynamic network providing advice, training, advocacy and networking to its members.

Mission Statement

To represent and promote the views and interests of members, raise professional standards, encourage the exchange of ideas and information in public rights of way and access management, and foster communication and co-operation between related bodies.

Introducing Emma Peters who joins our presenter team to bring you more episodes on all topics Definitive Map and legal, referred to fondly by one of our Directors as The Dark Side (as opposed to The Outside). Emma sets the scene for future episodes on the Definitive Map (Def Map or DMS) as the foundation of all rights of way work from modification orders to replacing a bridge.

The views of speakers and the presenter are not necessarily those of IPROW. Nothing in any IPROW podcast should be taken as legal advice or used beyond the context of the podcast. The podcast is aimed at IPROW's members, a knowledgeable audience, though not expressly limited to them.

Find out more about membership of IPROW

IPROW is the Institute of Public Rights of Way and Access Management, which was established in 1986 as the membership organisation representing professionals involved in the management of public rights of way and access in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, principally as local government officers (and then called the Institute of Public Rights of Way Officers).

It has grown into an active and dynamic network providing advice, training, advocacy and networking to its members.

Mission Statement

To represent and promote the views and interests of members, raise professional standards, encourage the exchange of ideas and information in public rights of way and access management, and foster communication and co-operation between related bodies.

There are many invasive species which rights of way and access workers are likely to find in their work. Minds usually go to flora species like Himalayan Balsam, rhododendron, cherry laurel but in this episode marking National Invasive Species week 11 May – 17 May, we talk about three fauna species, how they may affect use of and maintenance of public rights of way and access land, and what to do about them.

Links referred to or more information:

•  Asian hornets: www.nonnativespecies.otg/alerts/asianhornet, [email protected]
•  Oak Processionary Moth: Tree Alert, oak processionary moth monitoring, Forestry Commission, [email protected]
• Signal crayfish: https://www.gov.uk/report-environmental-problem, www.crayfishuk.org/wp, www.nonnativespecies.org Recommended disinfectant Virkon Aquatic

The views of speakers and the presenter are not necessarily those of IPROW. Nothing in any IPROW podcast should be taken as legal advice or used beyond the context of the podcast. The podcast is aimed at IPROW's members, a knowledgeable audience, though not expressly limited to them.

Find out more about membership of IPROW

IPROW is the Institute of Public Rights of Way and Access Management, which was established in 1986 as the membership organisation representing professionals involved in the management of public rights of way and access in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, principally as local government officers (and then called the Institute of Public Rights of Way Officers).

It has grown into an active and dynamic network providing advice, training, advocacy and networking to its members.

Mission Statement

To represent and promote the views and interests of members, raise professional standards, encourage the exchange of ideas and information in public rights of way and access management, and foster communication and co-operation between related bodies.

Vegetation management on rights of way at appropriate times to accommodate wildlife is a challenge, increasingly so as global heating extends nesting periods and affects migration patterns. Field workers are used to considering birds when planning work, but what about other species? This episode's guest is Charlotte Rimmer who discusses the dormouse, its hibernation, the effect of climate change and disturbance, and how to look for signs of dormice when planning work to avoid further impact on this threatened species.

The views of speakers and the presenter are not necessarily those of IPROW. Nothing in any IPROW podcast should be taken as legal advice or used beyond the context of the podcast. The podcast is aimed at IPROW's members, a knowledgeable audience, though not expressly limited to them.

Find out more about membership of IPROW

IPROW is the Institute of Public Rights of Way and Access Management, which was established in 1986 as the membership organisation representing professionals involved in the management of public rights of way and access in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, principally as local government officers (and then called the Institute of Public Rights of Way Officers).

It has grown into an active and dynamic network providing advice, training, advocacy and networking to its members.

Mission Statement

To represent and promote the views and interests of members, raise professional standards, encourage the exchange of ideas and information in public rights of way and access management, and foster communication and co-operation between related bodies.

Most IPROW members being local authority officers, they naturally consider public rights of way and access from that viewpoint but it is important to also be aware of the view of users and landholders. In this episode, we talk to the manager of a small mixed estate, with both arable and livestock farming, conservation areas and a shoot, about what public access means for the landholder (someone who owns, leases or manages land).

The views of speakers and the presenter are not necessarily those of IPROW. Nothing in any IPROW podcast should be taken as legal advice or used beyond the context of the podcast. The podcast is aimed at IPROW's members, a knowledgeable audience, though not expressly limited to them.

Find out more about membership of IPROW

IPROW is the Institute of Public Rights of Way and Access Management, which was established in 1986 as the membership organisation representing professionals involved in the management of public rights of way and access in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, principally as local government officers (and then called the Institute of Public Rights of Way Officers).

It has grown into an active and dynamic network providing advice, training, advocacy and networking to its members.

Mission Statement

To represent and promote the views and interests of members, raise professional standards, encourage the exchange of ideas and information in public rights of way and access management, and foster communication and co-operation between related bodies.

chapter at 39:42

The Definitive Map and Statement is the statutory record of public rights of way -- footpaths, bridleway, restricted byways and byways open to all traffic -- which is conclusive evidence of the rights marked on it, without prejudice to those not yet shown. That apparent contradiction arises from recognition that the process of preparing the Map, begun in 1949, was flawed, resulting in an incomplete and inaccurate record and this episode explores its story of the last seventy five years.

The Definitive Map and Statement is the basis of every task a public rights of way officer undertakes, whether they work directly with landholders, or the public, or with the legalities of maintaining the Map itself so it's important to understand its history and current situation.

Harry Goodchild, Definitive Map Team Manager at Hampshire County Council and Fiona Plane, Definitive Map Officer at City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council talk to Gemma about how the Definitive Map came about, how its omissions are slowly being rectified, and the immensity of the task that aims to be fair to all involved.

The views of speakers and the presenter are not necessarily those of IPROW. Nothing in any IPROW podcast should be taken as legal advice or used beyond the context of the podcast. The podcast is aimed at IPROW's members, a knowledgeable audience, though not expressly limited to them.

Find out more about membership of IPROW

IPROW is the Institute of Public Rights of Way and Access Management, which was established in 1986 as the membership organisation representing professionals involved in the management of public rights of way and access in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, principally as local government officers (and then called the Institute of Public Rights of Way Officers).

It has grown into an active and dynamic network providing advice, training, advocacy and networking to its members.

Mission Statement

To represent and promote the views and interests of members, raise professional standards, encourage the exchange of ideas and information in public rights of way and access management, and foster communication and co-operation between related bodies.

James Nevitt & Spencer George of the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (D.I.O.) of Ministry of Defence (M.O.D.) talk about their Respect the Range campaign, aiming to raise public awareness of how the MOD training estate is used and what the public need to know and consider in planning their route or using the land.

Towards the end of the episode, there is a request for ideas for the CSF Project, which can be send to [email protected].

The views of speakers and the presenter are not necessarily those of IPROW. Nothing in any IPROW podcast should be taken as legal advice or used beyond the context of the podcast. The podcast is aimed at IPROW's members, a knowledgeable audience, though not expressly limited to them.

Find out more about membership of IPROW

IPROW is the Institute of Public Rights of Way and Access Management, which was established in 1986 as the membership organisation representing professionals involved in the management of public rights of way and access in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, principally as local government officers (and then called the Institute of Public Rights of Way Officers).

It has grown into an active and dynamic network providing advice, training, advocacy and networking to its members.

Mission Statement

To represent and promote the views and interests of members, raise professional standards, encourage the exchange of ideas and information in public rights of way and access management, and foster communication and co-operation between related bodies.