FOOTPATH MAPS AND SURVEYS
[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR.] SIR,—My attention has been drawn to the paragraph appearing in the issue of your journal for the nth inst. over the name of H. E. Bates, in which reference is made to the suggestion of the Kent Council of Social Service that a public footpath map should be prepared and exhibited in every village.
Without wishing in any way to belittle the work of the Council, it would be only fair to the Commons, Open Spaces and Footpaths Preservation Society to say that, as long ago as 1932, we made the proposal to every Parish Council in the country that such a map should be prepared, and gave them practical advice on how to set about the task. This work involved a considerable call on the society's time and finances.
While progress has necessarily been slow, owing to the need for deciding upon objections which have been raised by landowners with regard to certain cases, the work is going on all the time, and some Rural District Councils have already completed their authoritative maps, which are made up from the maps submitted by the Parish Councils in their district and those deposited by landowners under the provisions of the Rights of Way Act, 1932.
Since it is unlikely that a walker would wish to confine himself to one parish, the most convenient arrangement seems to be that the authoritative maps of the whole district should be kept at the offices of the District Council, where they may be readily inspected by members of the public.—
I am, Sir,,your obedient servant, LAWRENCE CHUBB,
Secretary.
Commons, Open Spaces and Footpaths Preservation Society, 7r Ecdeston Square, Westminster, S.W. T.
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