Complaints for blocked or obstructed rights of way

We would like to make a freedom of information request.

1) How many complaints for blocked/obstructed rights of way has your authority received for each year for the previous six years?

2) Of these how many required a) no action b) informal advice or discussion with the relevant land manager c) formal enforcement action and d) are waiting longer than 12 months

3) How many individual obstructions were recorded as requiring action for each year for the previous six years?

4) How much has your authority spent on roadside ditch clearance in each year for the previous six years?

5) How much has your authority spent on contributions to landowners for replacement furniture on public rights of way under S146.

6) How many times have you Used the S154 duty to require the landowner to pay for works and how much have you recouped for each year for the previous six years.

7) How many live complaints remain to be resolved for each year for the previous six years?

8) How much has your authority spent on roadside ditch clearance in each year for the previous six years?

9) What is your total annual budget for the public rights of way network.

10) Within this what is the estimated expenditure on a) improvement to public rights of way b) enforcement work and c) DMMO work per annum.

1. Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) do not have accurate and complete information for the past six years. The data we have been able to gather is as follows:

Total reports of paths blocked or obstructed year to date: 437 of which 63 remain unresolved.

Preceding year (incomplete) 62 total reports of which three remain unresolved.

2. LCC do not have compete data for this. Incomplete data shown below:

a) no action - 16

b) informal advice or discussion with the relevant land manager - 35

c) formal enforcement action and - 0

d) are waiting longer than 12 months - 0

3. LCC do not have compete data for this. Incomplete data shows 43.

4. LCC have recorded spend in the following years only, where a specific funding stream was made available for ditch clearance where there was a standing water issue on the highway as a result of the condition of the ditch.

Routinely the responsibility for ditch clearance lies with adjacent landowners, unless the ditch was formed as part of a road creation or improvement scheme.

• Financial year 2021/2022 - £33,654.02 
• Financial year 2022/2023 - £199,897.33

5. LCC do not have complete data for all areas on this. Incomplete data shows LCC repaired 28 stiles but there is no record of the particular budget spent on this area of work.

6. LCC do not have complete data for all areas on this. It has sent out 17 Section 154 requests to cut back hedges but there has been no need to undertake any further enforcement action in respect of the highlighted issues.

7. LCC do not have a breakdown of this information. There are currently 66 enforcement complaints unresolved.

8. Please see response to question 4.

9. The total revenue budget for the public rights of way and access team (including staff costs, administration, maintenance and enforcement works) is £1,538,188.00.

The total capital budget for improvements to public rights of way, including surfacing / bridges etc, comes to £704,181.01.

10. 

a) £704,181.01

b) This is reactive work when necessary. I am not able to give an estimated estimate on enforcement work.

c) LCC do not have data related solely to DMMO work as the Definitive Map team deal with both DMMO and PPO tasks.