Public Rights of Way consultation

Overview

Public Rights of Way are rights across land accessible by the public, and which allow them to pass along them at any time they choose.

You can walk on all Public Rights of Way. Some Public Rights of Way are also open to horse riders, cyclists or motorists

You can use:

• footpaths - for walking, running, mobility scooters or powered wheelchairs
• bridleways - for walking, horse riding, bicycles, mobility scooters or powered wheelchairs
• restricted byways - for any transport without a motor and mobility scooters or powered wheelchairs
• byways open to all traffic - for any kind of transport, including cars (but they’re mainly used by walkers, cyclists and horse riders)

Public Rights of Way are listed and described in the Definitive Map and Statement which are held by the local authorities.

Public Rights of Way are marked with signs or coloured arrows, for example yellow for footpaths, blue for bridleways.

The Council manages the Public Rights of Way Network in Reading, which constitutes 41 footpaths, three bridleways and one restricted byway. Some of these are key routes connecting people to key destinations, such as the town centre, Reading Station, Green Park and Thames Valley Business Park. They are used by people traveling to work and school, as well as rural-type routes that are used for leisure purposes. 

Why your views matter

The Council has a duty to prepare a Public Rights of Way Improvement Plan, which was first published in 2007.  We are now reviewing and updating this plan in order to ensure that the network is kept up-to-date and well maintained, to better integrate the network into the overall transport network, to provide a better experience for its users, and to encourage more people to choose to walk or cycle for local journeys. This all contributes towards the Council's Corporate Plan 2021/22 'healthy environment' theme. 

In order to inform this review, we are inviting you to have your say on how you currently use our Public Rights of Way Network, what the barriers are to increased use, and what you think we could do to enhance the network.