Cheshire could lose more than 500 miles of paths by 2026
CHESHIRE could lose over 500 miles of paths by 2026.
The UK government has set a deadline of January 1, 2026, for all historic paths to be registered for inclusion on official maps.
Any paths not registered by this time will be unable to be added to the official record.
Ramblers, a walking group in the UK, has released an interactive tool as part of their
Don’t Lose Your Way campaign that shows how many miles of unregistered paths there are in a given area across England and Wales.
According to Ramblers interactive tool, Cheshire has 513 miles of paths that could be lost after the 2026 deadline, which could spell disaster for walkers or in fact anyone who uses the paths.
Of these hundreds of miles of paths, 237 miles are located in Cheshire West and Chester, 222 miles in Cheshire East, 36 miles in Warrington and 18 miles in
Halton.
The group say that they have uncovered over 49,000 miles of paths in England and Wales that could be lost forever after 2026.
The first stage of mapping has now been completed, with the group urging volunteers to get on board to help with applications to get the paths registered and for people to donate to their crowdfunder.
On their website, the group say: “We have completed the first stage and found over 49,000 miles of potential lost paths.
“Now we need your help to prioritise, research and build the applications to save them – please sign up to join the movement.
“We are developing resources to support you, and thousands of other volunteers across the country, to undertake these tasks.
“We are looking to raise £150,000 to save these paths before they’re lost forever.
“Cotswold Outdoor, our recommended outdoor retailer, have generously kickstarted our crowdfunder with a contribution of £10,000.”