Staffing
From GPG
Team Structures for rights of way work varies across highway authorities, even between ones of comparable size. A report looking at how well highway authorities perform their rights of way function is located in National Statistics.
The management of public rights of way is more than just a highway function, which is why it can sit almost anywhere within an authority.
The public rights of way service function can be split into three core areas:
- Management of the legal record, the definitive map and statement
- Maintenance and enforcement
- Promotion and information to the public, increasing enjoyment
The core areas of the service therefore cross departmental boundaries in the structure of most authorities, so the aim is to house the service where core areas will have optimum delivery. If the right of way function is also located in the same department as the nature conservation function and if possible with the authority's land management function, this brings together a more integrated approach across all functions affecting rights of way. This also is most likely to enhance communication and awareness of other legislation that has an impact on the management and enjoyment of rights of way.
Staffing levels vary immensely between authorities, depending on the size and nature of the authority and its area.
You will find more information on Working with Volunteers, and on Learning and Development.
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Structures of Rights of Way Teams
Rights of way work may sit in a number of different departments within an authority but, whichever department discharges the rights of way function, rights of way officers must work to maintain good professional relationships between themselves and other council officers. Rights of way work will have an effect on the highway, planning and leisure and tourism functions of an authority. In a two-tier system, it will also affect the functions of other local authorities. In turn, work of other departments and other authorities has an effect on rights of way. Nothing betrays the efficient working of a local authority more than a lack of communication between officers within an authority. It is the responsibility of senior management to ensure that all officers are made aware of the need to consult colleagues.
Rights of way officers must make their needs known to senior management and, where necessary, to councillors, to ensure that what is a small area of an authority's work is not overlooked amongst the more general areas of an authority's activities. It may be necessary to brief colleagues within the same or other departments in some detail so that they understand the need to consider the implications of their activities on the rights of way function. The relatively low status of rights of way work within an authority sometimes militates against due consideration of rights of way matters. It will be necessary for rights of way officers to ensure that the statutory duties in regard to rights of way are not ignored. In extreme cases officers have been tempted to make use of political pressure from user groups and other outside organisations. Officers in this position must have due regard for appropriate professional behaviour and codes of conduct. Councils operating in a two-tier system need to establish methods of communication that are efficient and effective. A particular concern is the failure of the planning process to identify and deal with rights of way over land being developed. Difficulties with the planning process may be exacerbated by poor communication between authorities. (see Development and rights of way)
The planning function
The failure to deal properly with rights of way affected by development can lead to almost insurmountable difficulties, not the least being the resultant obstruction of a right of way by a building. It is important that due consideration be given to rights of way at all stages of the planning process. In two-tier areas county council rights of way officers need to establish good professional relationships with planning officers in district councils, and county and district rights of way officers need to liaise with each other. This may be achieved by organising joint training and briefing events or by regular meetings between staff. Where necessary, rights of way officers should make senior management and councillors aware of the need for joint policies to ensure the proper working of the planning system. In areas where the planning authority and the highway authority are the same council it should in theory be easier to ensure that rights of way are dealt with appropriately in the planning process. However, it is still necessary to establish good working relationships between planning officers and rights of way officers and to ensure that the council has clear guidance within this area.
The highway function
The building of roads and improvements to the road network are also likely to have an effect on the rights of way network. It is essential for an authority to give proper consideration to the effects of changes to the road network on the rights of way network. Again, having a clearly communicated agreed policy and ensuring that the needs of rights of way users are considered early in the road improvement planning process are essential to ensure that the authority's own road schemes do not affect the rights of way network unduly. Poor planning of road improvement schemes and a lack of consideration for non-motorised users of the highway network have in the past blighted significant stretches of the rights of way network. Authorities should ensure that future schemes adequately address this issue early in the planning process.
Traffic-calming schemes and the introduction of cycleways within existing highway corridors are other examples of areas where on occasions a lack of due consideration of the rights of way network has had an adverse effect on the network as a whole. The emphasis on sustainable transport and initiatives such as safe routes to schools afford opportunities to develop and improve the rights of way network. However, there are instances of councils failing adequately to communicate details of such initiatives to the relevant officers, with the result that those opportunities have been lost. For some authorities there is a particular difficulty with dual classification of highways. Dual classification occurs where a particular route is shown as having one status on the definitive map and statement, but another, usually higher, status on other authority highway records such as the list of streets. This situation requires a combined approach from highway officers and rights of way staff so that any uncertainty over the best way to proceed in these circumstances can be resolved. Ultimately in a dispute as to the"true" status, it will be a matter of what evidence exists. The list of streets will be one part of that evidence.
The leisure and tourism functions
In some areas use of the rights of way network, or part of it, as a leisure resource or a tourist attraction is a significant part of the local economy. As with the planning function, in two-tier authority areas good communication between the district councils, which are largely responsible for leisure and tourism promotion, and the county council as highway authority is essential. A lack of liaison between district councils and county councils may result in problems arising where a promoted route requires a higher level of maintenance than is normally considered necessary. Other difficulties have been caused by the use of non-standard signage and by the negotiation of unofficial diversions. District councils that are intending to produce printed guides may find that featured routes are soon out of date due to diversions already in progress.
See also:
Relationship of the definitive map to the list of streets
Working with Legal Services
However an authority is structured, rights of way officers will inevitably have to work closely with legal services. Often legal services will be in a different department from rights of way and this will mean maintaining a good working relationship across departmental boundaries. As with any situation where responsibility is shared between two groups of people, it is important to ensure that the relationship is defined and effective, and does not deteriorate to the level of "buck passing".
The work of legal services departments and their relationship to other groups within a local authority have changed significantly over recent years. Legal services departments normally have their relationships to other groups within the local authority defined by service level agreements, which emphasise the client-solicitor relationship. In some instances, some rights of way legal work has been passed to outside legal firms; for example, in 1999 Bedfordshire County Council used a private firm of solicitors to prosecute a landowner for obstruction to a right of way in Maulden. It is still rare for a solicitor or legal executive to spend all his/her time on rights of way matters. This means that, when scheduling major areas of work requiring a legal input, such as public inquiries and prosecutions, careful planning and liaison between rights of way and legal services are essential.
Highway law in general and rights of way law in particular are not covered by the standard law degree. Most solicitors and legal executives will have come to this area of law relatively unaware of the detailed provisions, although obviously certain legal principles are common to other areas of law. Rights of way legal work also requires advocacy skills. For these reasons it is common for legal services to identify one or two individual staff members who have the skills and knowledge to specialise in rights of way work. Legal services departments differ in their practice, but it is common for solicitors who deal with other aspects of highway law to deal with rights of way matters as well. This makes sense because aspects of general highway law underpin rights of way law.
Alternatively, in some authorities solicitors who deal with planning inquiries are also allocated rights of way work, the logic behind this being that both kinds of inquiry work require similar advocacy and organisational skills. In any case, identifying particular staff members is good practice. It enables officers to develop of specialist knowledge and skills, and assists close liaison between individual rights of way officers and individual members of the legal team.
In all aspects of legal work associated with rights of way it is important for the rights of way officers and the legal officers to define clearly which areas of work will be done by which officer. This is essential in casework, both to ensure that all matters are adequately dealt with and to prevent unnecessary duplication of work. For routine processes, such as order-making, public inquiries, responding to s.56 notices and prosecutions, procedures should be agreed in advance, regularly reviewed in the light of experience and amended as necessary.
For unfamiliar legal processes, such as judicial review of a particular decision, established procedures are unlikely to exist and it will be necessary to seek specialist advice, possibly from outside the authority. It is essential that there are good lines of communication between rights of way officers and legal services. One way of achieving this is to ensure that a specific team is assigned to individual cases. Within the team, one person should take responsibility for keeping the others up to date and for the regular scheduling of team briefing meetings. In a large team one member should be chosen to act as progress-chaser. Developing individual teams in this way also helps to establish relationships with other departments.
Agency Agreements
In areas of England where there is two-tier local government, the highway authority may seek to enter into an agency agreement with a non-metropolitan district council. Agency agreements are made under s.101 of the Local Government Act 1972, and may include, for example, arrangements for the agent authority to deal with the removal of obstructions, the maintenance of rights of way and review of the definitive map. Agency arrangements were commonly entered into at local government reorganisation in 1974. Agreements from this time usually cover wider aspects of highway maintenance than responsibility for rights of way, which was often included with little thought being given to the particular needs of rights of way management. Where agency agreements exist from this date and the terms have not been reviewed, it would be appropriate to include a consideration of the agreement within a Best Value review.
Agency agreements differ widely as to their terms and structure. At local government reorganisation in 1974 it was agreed within Suffolk that the district councils would make public paths orders to effect the creation, diversion and extinguishment of public rights of way under the Highways Act. This was in addition to the exercise of their powers under the Town and Country Planning Act. The level of district council involvement in rights of way work in Suffolk varies from district to district. For example, Waveney District Council and St Edmondsbury Borough Council have highway agencies in respect of parts of their areas, enabling those authorities to play a greater role in protection and maintenance work.
The operation of an agency agreement does not remove the ultimate responsibility for the discharge of a highway duty from the highway authority. It is therefore in the interests of the highway authority to ensure that the agreement that exists between itself and the agent authority is enforceable and is carried out effectively. This may be difficult to achieve with longstanding arrangements which were structured without regard to rights of way management. It may also be difficult to review agency arrangements for rights of way where the agreement covers wider highway matters. It is important that agency arrangements are communicated clearly to the public. Widespread review of local government in England in the 1990s has led to some public confusion as to the nature of the local government in their area. Often agency arrangements differ from one district to the next within the same county, and this can lead to further confusion. It is good practice for both agent authorities and highway authorities to produce clear information for the public explaining the agency operation.
Council owned land
Many local authorities are large landowners. It is inappropriate for a highway authority to condone practices by its own land managers that would merit enforcement action by the authority were the land owned by someone else. There is a clear need for proper policy guidance to be laid down for land managers and rights of way staff when dealing with authority-owned land. At the very least such guidance needs to be consistent with the minimum standards required from other landowners, and it should be approved by councillors and endorsed by any council committee with responsibility for land management or the rights of way function. Where land is not in the direct control of the local authority land mangers, tenants should be made aware of the local authority's own policies. In dealing with tenanted land belonging to the authority, rights of way officers will need to liaise with the authority's land managers.
