ACCESS


PATHS


at Derbyshire County Council kindly put us in contact with colleagues who have been responsible for upgrading footpaths with steps, and also suggested looking at the Footpaths handbook produced by The Conservation Volunteers (TCV, previously BTCV). Richard has also found some excellent information produced by Woodland Stewardship, who provide information for woodland owners in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin, USA. Their online guide to Recreational Trail Design includes a short section on steps, highlighting a few basic


Building Steps S


Responding to a reader request we find out how to build woodland steps with a variety of materials


ydney Leleux manages a woodland for his local church, and recently asked Smallwoods how other members build steps in their woods. Richard Taylor


step-building techniques that are common anywhere in the world. Members John and Valerie Godsmark also


recommend the TCV handbook, adding: "A friend of ours had a steep slope he wanted to access and he managed to procure a redundant wooden staircase which fitted perfectly!" Life is not always that simple, especially if you are improving or adding steps on a public footpath, and you have to consider the legal implications of such work. "As a National Park, we have many steps in woodlands on permissive and PROW (public right of way) footpaths," says Celia Thomas. "These are made using timber pegs to support a timber step ['riser'], with the tread filled with local material or stone. As these nearly always


HEAD HEAD


become trip hazards as material sinks behind the timber upright, maintenance is key." Maintenance and responsibilities are key issues for Iain Burgess, who is a Senior Ranger with North Yorks CC and is responsible for public rights of way in the area. More often than not he prefers steps to be contained within what he describes as a box, rather than open at the sides. This type of steps involves more work and material and expense to build, but will last better because the back- filled material behind the wooden riser is less likely to spread and be lost. "If the steps aren't contained the sides will get worn," he says, acknowledging that he has to consider that his team may not return to conduct maintenance very often. If you want to repair or install steps on a public footpath, says Iain Burgess, you must first gain permission to do so from the highways authority, which is likely to be the county council or unitary authority, but not a district council. There will be a Rights of Way Department you can contact. Responsibility for the top 24in of such a right of way is vested to the authority, who can do whatever they like with the path. Technically the highways authority doesn't own any trees on the path, but can fell them if they are obstructing access. The owner has to be informed, and is given seven days to remove any felled material. After that the authority can take the wood, which according to Iain Burgess is normally ash. You'd be surprised, he comments, how often a footpath is diverted by a sapling, which then grows into a substantial tree on the line of the path. Ideally highways authorities will want to


Steps being cut into a steep and narrow slope at Mickley Barras, Yorks. Local ranger, Iain Burgess, says that path design often has to be adapted to the terrain. Here each individual step is built as a 'box' to reduce the loss of material behind the riser. Here the risers are held with metal pegs


20 Smallwoods New Year 2014


work in partnership with woodland owners wanting to improve a path, perhaps providing some materials, but also approving or rejecting the design of the steps. "The public right of way comes first," says Iain Burgess. "Such rights inflict a responsibility. We prefer to work in partnership, tending to say no only when woodland owners want to surface a bridleway and when they want to build steps with just a few half rounds." Iain also prefers any pegs to


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Ben Law says that the cleft chestnut steps have made ascending a 1:3 escarpment much easier (top left). At Blubberhouses, near Harrogate Yorks, Iain Burgess's team replaced existing steps (left) with a 'contained' box that comprises treated wooden 'stringers' on the sides, which are held in place with posts. The steps are back-filled with aggragate so that they don't become too muddy, and


can drain. Elsewhere,


the local council installed steps on a public footpath through Phil Hanson's woodland (right). "They seem to work quite well," he says, "but need replacing every few years."


be sunk into the ground behind the riser, with screws or nails holding the riser to the peg, so that it is hidden and is neater. Reportedly, a peg behind the riser is physically stronger than one in front, but presumably relies on the fixing for strength. The Woodland Stewardship guidelines show pegs being driven down through a thick riser into the ground below.


Extracting timber The biggest issue Iain Burgess has with woodland owners is the extraction of timber. There may be a right to take vehicles up and down a right of way, but it is likely to cause damage. "We would make sure any repairs are done," he explains. "Ideally woodland owners shouldn't extract along a footpath, and damage is a criminal offence. The highways authority will make


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suggestions when it comes to extraction, both to retain a public right of way and reduce damage. If necessary, when there is continued use of machinery, they may impose a temporary closure. This can be done for five days, or for up to six months, with a cost associated to longer closures as the authority has to advertise this in the local press, six weeks prior to the right of way closing. You will be expected to put up notices, and the condition of the track or path is likely to be photographed before and after the work.


Details For the Footpaths handbook produced by The Conservation Volunteers (TCV) visit http:// store.tcv.org.uk/product-category/books/tcv- handbooks. The handbooks cost £11.95 each. For free information from Woodland Stewardship visit http://woodlandstewardship.org/?page_id-1226.


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