Oxfordshire Area Ramblers, the Oxford Fieldpaths Society (OFS) and the Countryside Access Team (CAT) of Oxfordshire County Council have worked together to develop a network of PPWs throughout the County. To date about 80% of the County’s 320 parishes now have a PPW in place. Unfortunately your parish is not one of them. The main purpose of a PPW is to walk the footpaths in his/her parish on a regular basis, equipped with a pair of secateurs to trim away any vegetation that is impeding the footpaths, particularly at stiles, gates and bridges. The PPW also reports to the CAT any serious and less-serious problems affecting the footpaths so that the information can go onto the CAT’s database of such problems; hopefully to be resolved, especially if the problem is a serious one, such as a dangerous tree overhanging a path, or a bridge that is considered to be unsafe to cross. The PPW receives twice a year, from the CAT, a list of footpath problems for the parish which can then be checked on the ground; sometimes a problem is resolved locally but the Field Officer of the CAT is not informed that it has been so.
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