Our Footpaths Working Group

Footpath Working Group on a site visit on Old Park

Many people remark on the lack of signage on the footpaths and tracks they are using – getting lost can be a problem! With this in mind, the Friends of Old Park & Chequers Wood set up a Footpaths Working Group, which is working to improve footpaths and signage.

Invitations to join the group were published in the newsletter of Friends of Old Park & Chequers Wood and also went to walking and cycling organisations active in the area. The result was a very active group of around 20 interested individuals, including many Footpath Officers for the area and the Kent County Council Public Rights of Way Officer for the Canterbury District. So far, the group has succeeded in getting one overgrown footpath cleared and has improved footpath marking.

Plans for the future are set out in the Action Plan produced by the Friends Group. These include:

• Working with KCC, Canterbury Golf Club, Sustrans and other key stakeholders to ensure that the path network on Old Park & Chequers Wood is well maintained and properly waymarked.
• Facilitating public access by installing information boards at strategic points with an overall map of the site.
• Developing leaflets giving self-guided trails of the site.

Other actions which are on the agenda for the Footpaths Working Group include:

• Community projects to clear overgrown footpaths. These would be like litter picks but would involve secateurs instead of litter pickers. Guidance would be provided about where and how to cut back.
• Re-routing paths which have become overgrown. This applies particularly to the path numbered CC26 where the original route is covered in trees and bushes. People currently use an unmarked track which could become a permissive path.
• Tidying up existing waymarking. This particularly applies at the end of the park closest to the city where the waymarking is idiosyncratic and patchy. Adding to the confusion, the public rights of way are criss-crossed by many other informal paths.
• Clarifying the rules about dog walking. While dogs and dog walkers are welcome in Old Park & Chequers Wood, there is also concern about possible disturbance to ground-nesting birds, especially in the spring and summer. Ways need to be found to warn owners that dogs should be kept on leads at times when birds are nesting.

If you are interested in joining the Footpaths Working Group, you would be very welcome. Contact Jan Pahl at: j.m.pahl@kent.ac.uk

Map showing Public Rights of Way (in purple) and the Stour Valley Walk (in yellow)