Public Rights of Way - Our Works

We have dedicated specialist teams that work on our PROW network who are skilled in working in the countryside. Their work is produced by our PROW Officers team who answer your enquiries and survey the network. The work is risk assessed and then managed through a programme which, after safety, is driven by the seasons. Much of our work is remote and only accessible across the fields and so is closely linked to ground conditions, farming practices and environmental factors such as species protection.

Volunteer work parties, Parish Councils and farmers also play a vital role in the upkeep of our paths.

Small Works Programme

Most of the works we do are small jobs like replacing or repairing items such as fingerposts at the side of the road, small bridges across ditches, waymark posts to mark junctions with other paths and steps to help manage gradients. We tend to do work to bridges during the autumn and late spring when the ground is dry enough for us to get across fields with our materials and equipment and when we don’t interfere too much with farming. Work closer to the road and that are not directly a hazard to users, like replacing fingerposts, will often be done over the winter months.

Cutting Programmes

Please see our Vegetation Cutting page where you can find out more about the ways we cut and when, and also where you can view the paths that we cut. Our Winter cutting programme 2023/24 is currently underway. 

Large Schemes 

Alongside the smaller jobs, we will also do large improvement schemes for paths that need more attention and bigger investment. Generally the work will be long sections of surface improvements. They are prioritised via a scoring matrix that considers disability access, rate of deterioration, current condition and volume and type of usage.

These are the schemes we are working on this year: 

2023 Schemes

Location
Works
Start date
Project Completion Notification
Byway 41 Stisted Surface and drainage improvements Completed  
Byway 34 Widdington / 37 Debden Surface and drainage improvements Completed  
Byway 47 High Roding and 53 Great Dunmow Surface and drainage improvements Completed  
Footpath 33 Ongar Revetment construction Completed  
Byway 13 Shalford Surface and drainage improvements Completed  
Footpath 13 Elsenham Surface improvements Completed  

2022 Schemes

Location
Works
Start date
Project Completion Notification
Bridleway 19 High Easter  Surface and drainage improvements Completed Completion Certificate
Byway 61 Willingale Surface and drainage imrovements Completed Completion Certificate
Byway 93 Braintree and Bocking Surface and drainage improvements Completed Completion Certificate
Byway 37 Debden (part of) Surface and drainage improvements Completed  
Footpath 33 Ongar Revetment installation Postponed until 2023  
Byway 33 Ashdon Revetment installation Completed  
Byway 41 Stisted Surface and drainage improvements Postponed until 2023  

2021 Completed Schemes

Location
Works
Start date
Project Completion Notification
Byway 42 Stebbing Surface and drainage improvements Completed Completion Certificate
Byway 4 Coggeshall Surface and drainage improvements Completed Completion Certificate
Byway 22 Doddinghurst  Surface and drainage improvements Completed Completion Certificate
Byway 5 Abbess Roding and 1 Fyfield Surface and drainage improvements Completed Completion Certificate
Byway 7 Wethersfield Surface and drainage improvements Completed Completion Certificate
Byway 5 Bardfield Saling Surface and drainage improvements Completed  
Footpath 19 Ingatestone and Fryerning Boardwalk replacement Completed  
Footpath 5 Doddinghurst Boardwalk replacement Completed  
Byway 75 Debden Surface and drainage improvements Completed  

2020 Completed Schemes

Location Works Project Completion Notification
Byway 31 Elmdon Surface and drainage improvements Elmdon 31
Footpath 16 Earls Colne Boardwalk replacement  
Footpath 13 Tilbury Juxta Clare Boardwalk installation  
Byway 4 Clavering Surface and drainage improvements Clavering 4
Byway 33 Henham Riverside revetment to counter erosion Henham 33
Byway 45 Little Burstead Surface and drainage improvements Lt Burstead 45

2019 Completed Schemes

Location Works Project Completion Notification
Byway 99 Thaxted / 22 Tilty / 26 Broxted Surface and drainage improvements Thaxted 99/ Tilty 22/ Broxted 26
Byway 14 Kelvedon Hatch Surface and drainage improvements Kelvedon Hatch 14
Byway 63 Clavering/ 3 Berden Surface and drainage improvements  Clavering 63/ Berden 3
Byway 4 Elmdon / 8 Littlebury Surface and drainage improvements Elmdon 4/Littlebury 8

Local Highway Panel PRoW Schemes 

Find out about the works that your Local Highway Panels fund and how you can apply

  • Byway 12 Kelvedon Hatch (2019) Surface and drainage improvements Kelvedon Hatch 12
  • Bridleway 239 Basildon (2020) Surface and drainage improvements Basildon 239
  • Footpath 2 Hawkwell (2020) Surface improvements Hawkwell 2
  • Byway 34 Stebbing (2021) Surface improvements
  • Footpath 50 Thaxted (2021) Boardwalk installation
  • Byway 75 Debden (2022) Surface maintenace