Public Rights of Way (PRoW)

Research

Stages

Go back to Public Rights of Way (PRoW) summary

These are the questions we answer during the Research stage.

Answering them wil help us learn more about the Public Rights of Way (PRoW) consideration, determine if a data standard is required and whether we know enough to move on to the next stage.

  • Do we understand the lifecycle of a Public Rights of Way (PRoW)?

  • Do we understand how the data is created/produced?

  • Where will or should the data be used?

    • Local plans - PRoWs are referenced a number of times in local plans, so we think that this consideration feeds into the process of creating a local plan as LPAs should have improvement plans in place as part of this.
    • footpaths, bridleways and byways

  • Who are the statutory consultees for Public Rights of Way (PRoW)?

    The highways authority

  • Other than the statutory consultees who are the primary users of Public Rights of Way (PRoW)? How do we expect them to use Public Rights of Way (PRoW)?

  • What are the planning needs for this data?

    Public rights of way are likely to feature on policies maps, to demonstrate accessibility, while also having green infrastructure benefits. When assessing a site to be allocated, the presence of public rights of ways are likley to feature in the assessment of the site, but are unlikely to restrict the allocation of the site, as the assumption is that the site design will take into account the presence of the public right of way.

    In development management, where a developer is seeking planning for a site which has a public right of way, the presence of the public right of way will need to be taken into account when designing the layout of the site. If this is not feasible, then the public right of way will need to be diverted, which requires a separate planning application.

  • Who are the types of users who might benefit from having access to Public Rights of Way (PRoW) data?

    Landowners, developers and site promoters, to be able to take the presence of PRoW into account in the early stages of seeking planning.

  • What are some potential uses of Public Rights of Way (PRoW) data?

    Understanding the presence of PRoW is useful for developers, landowners and site promoters to take into account during the early stages of progressing a site. This will influence site design and layout.

  • What's the value of adding Public Rights of Way (PRoW) data to the platform?

  • From what we have learnt so far are there any risks to making Public Rights of Way (PRoW) data available?