The Rights of Way Improvement Plan for RCT - Rhondda Cynon Taf

former railway track by the river. In thenorth of the County Borough openaccess land is extensive, in placesadjoining the terraced streets. In thesouth, the footpath and bridlewaynetwork is denser, crossing acountryside of farms and small woods.The AssessmentThe Assessment quantified the extentof the countryside access networkavailable for public recreation andenjoyment. Details were presented forthe County Borough as a whole andfor each ward. Almost 25% of theCounty Borough is designated asaccess land (outside the BreconBeacons National Park), most of thisbeing in the north of the borough. Thesouth has a greater concentration ofthe extensive 743 km public rights ofway network. Most people have accessopportunities close to where they liveand work.The Assessment also considered theneeds of users and of specific groups.This drew on the results ofconsultation with interestedorganisations and the general publicthrough the Issues Paper and a publicquestionnaire. Further information wasobtained through examination ofexisting internal and external strategicpolicy and consultation with a range ofpartnership bodies, which haveundertaken their own consultationexercises. The improvement of theaccess network has clear links, forexample, with the Council’sCommunity Plan and the emergingaction plans of the five thematicpartnerships as well as the AreaRegeneration Partnerships.To build a detailed picture of accessprovision, a ward-by-ward assessmentof the access network has beenconducted. This includes Open Accessland, Forestry Commission land, KeyCountryside Sites, parks, permissivepaths and footpaths, bridleways,byways as recorded on the DefinitiveMap. The results are presented insummary tables, graphs and maps forthe County Borough as a whole, withthe ward descriptions, maps and fulldata presented in appendices. Thetables showed the length of path andthe area of open access in relation tothe population and area of the ward.The results of the Assessment haveinformed the preparation of the Draftand the Final Plan.4Out & About: The Rights of Way Improvement Plan for Rhondda Cynon Taf