Rights of Way Improvement Plan

Leicestershire County Council is responsible for over 1915 miles (3084km) of public rights of way, including paths in both the countryside and urban areas. They are important for leisure, travelling to work or school and health and wellbeing. They're part of what makes Leicestershire a special place to live, work and thrive.

Although Leicestershire's rights of way network has developed over hundreds of years, we recognise that it must meet the current and future needs of the public. Every council that is responsible for public rights of way must have a Rights of Way Improvement Plan (ROWIP). This spring, we will be reviewing our ROWIP, producing a draft document which sets out a long-term vision to develop and manage the public right of way network in Leicestershire.

A right of way is a public highway that anyone, by law, has the right to use. There are 4 types:

• Footpaths for walking, mobility scooters or powered wheelchairs
• Bridleways for walking, horse riding, cycling, mobility scooters or powered wheelchairs
• Restricted byways for walking, horse riding, cycling, mobility scooters or powered wheelchairs and horse-drawn carriages
• Byways for all modes including motorised vehicles

Have your say

Your views will help us to make sure that our new Rights of Way Improvement Plan meets the needs of communities within Leicestershire
If you use public rights of way, we'd like to know about your experience and how important they are for you.

If you don't use public rights of way, we'd like to know what prevents you and what, if anything, we can do to support you in using them.

Your feedback will help to develop the priorities and actions of the draft Rights of Way Improvement Plan, which will be produced in spring/summer 2025 and will be published for formal consultation.

Complete the survey online(Link is external and opens in new window)

Thank you for taking the time to have your say. Your views are important to us.

If you wish to request a hard copy of this survey, please email choosehowyoumove@leics.gov.uk(link sends email)

In addition to the survey, you can also use the Social Pinpoint map(Link is external and opens in new window) feedback tool to highlight specific rights of way routes you use and let us know how they could be improved.

Please note that our survey will close on Sunday 16 March 2025.