deteriorating footpath network needs more support. so it is not all bad news. i am in the rural market town of bradford on avon. this has got a really good footpath network. to show you what one looks like, here is a great sign to show you where you are going, and here is a gate thatis you are going, and here is a gate that is open. 0ften you are going, and here is a gate that is open. often in our investigations we can see that these sorts of dates were kept closed. just over a year, this is what farmers who encourage access onto their land do, they do not plant crops along the line of the path so that you can see the gap. that allows good access was stop as our investigation found, there are real issues. local councils have many competing priorities. how high on a priority list should this be? campaigners have said to us that everybody should have access to places like this. the important for our physical and also mental health
requests, we have found out that there are problems across the entire network stopping us from fully enjoying the countryside. there are nearly 32,000 blockages or obstructions on the footpath network that need dealing with. that is over 4,000 more access issues than the year before. access campaigners say our figures show a shocking abuse and neglect of the public path network. local councils say they are doing their best and working closely with local volunteers, like here in monmouthshire. the task is getting more urgent. the way the climate is changing is exacerbating the problems. the undergrowth is growing much faster than it has done in the past, so it is not getting trodden back in the same way. we are finding that the structures themselves are also being eroded by the high rainfall, which again is causing problems. this team is doing what it can, but it is clear that our