Ken Wright
This profile of Ken by Jeff Seaman was first published in Kent
Area News in Autumn 1999.
The study at Ken Wright's home in Bromley is crammed with files
and books relating to footpath issues. On the evening that I
visited him to find out about his joint roles as Chairman of the
RA Kent Area Footpath Committee and Footpath Secretary for the
Ramblers' Bromley Group, he showed me just some of the paperwork
that he has to process. There is an awful lot of it.
Ken has been a member of the RA since 1984; Footpath Secretary
for Bromley for 11 years and Chairman of the Footpath Committee
since February of this year. He has a comprehensive
knowledge of the laws relating to footpaths, most of which he has
acquired by personal research and experience. "We have
60 local footpath secretaries in Kent" Ken explains.
"We try to have at least one in every area but it's not
always easy to find enough volunteers. Most of the local FP
secretaries hold down demanding full-time jobs and have to fit
their Ramblers' roles into limited spare time. That speaks
volumes for their dedication".
Ken is retired from full-time work but even so, he has to be
careful to control the amount of time he spends on footpath
work. "Sometimes I spend all day, and then the evening
as well, working for the Ramblers. If I let it the work
could take up twelve hours or more a day, seven days a week.
And if I let that happen I'd never get out to do any actual
walking or anything else come to that! Keith Potter, who is
Area Footpath Secretary, is also retired and does far more work
than I do. He does so much work, as well as walking, that I
suspect he never sleeps!"
Because he is a local FP secretary himself, Ken Wright is
ideally suited to chair the Area FP Committee. He is
obviously a 'hands-on' Chairman, thoroughly conversant with the
role that FP secretaries perform, and thereby understands and
shares their concerns and difficulties. Ken told me that the
role of the FP secretary is " a bit elastic". A
job description does exist; it may change from time to time, but
for Ken the primary objective of the job will always remain
constant; to represent the interests of walkers by ensuring that
the footpath network is kept in good order and that no paths are
obstructed. "And how", I wanted to know, "are these
objectives achieved?" The answer is almost always via
the County Highway Authority, because footpaths are very much part
of the Queen's Highway as Ken was keen to point out. "Anyone
blocking a footpath is, in effect, and certainly legally,
committing the same offence as someone blocking a road or, come to
that, a motorway!"
Ken Wright and the FP Secretaries (No! that's not a new pop
group) have pretty close and regular contact with the Highways
Dept. of the KCC. Feedback on obstructions, poor signing and
other FP problems comes mainly from members who encounter such
problems when they are out walking. These problems feed
through to the local FP secretaries who then refer them to the RoW
Officer at County Hall or, in some cases, to the Unitary
Authority. "The role of the FP secretary is largely but
not totally a reactive role", says Ken. "The
problems come in and one has to deal with them. The volume
can be substantial. But we also get involved in a pro-active
manner. For instance, the Bromley Group approached the
Council to offer help with surveying RoW". Apparently,
the Council has performance indicators, one of which requires them
to maintain the FP network in good order. However, they
don't have the resources to survey the paths. Enter
Ken Wright and his band of volunteers! Job done!!
Bromley Council were able to meet that particular performance
indicator and take steps to ensure that the path network for which
they are responsible is in good order. "But quite
frankly, the average FP secretary is overburdened", says Ken,
"so it is always going to be hard for them to find time to
take the initiative. And the RoW Officers are also
overloaded. So it can be time-consuming to get things done,
anyway".
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Ken Wright leaving the 2010 AGM
However, Ken is keen to stress how much he enjoys his dual roles, and
when he talks about his work for the Ramblers his enthusiasm is
palpable. Clearly, most FP secretaries feel the same. They are
dedicated, enthusiastic people without whose work the FP network would,
undoubtedly, be beset with problems.
There is no doubting Ken Wright's knowledge and expertise. He
could probably mount a successful case himself, but when it comes to
obstructions it is only the Highway Authority that can actually
prosecute a case through the Courts. This is why obstructions are
referred to the RoW Officers at the Highways Department.
"Generally, they will do something about it". The law is
quite complex. Landowners have a statutory responsibility to clear
path obstructions, but all is not quite as straightforward as that
statement would have one believe. For instance, the Highway
Authority is responsible for the actual surface of a path and, indeed,
for undergrowth, but the landowner is responsible for ensuring that
overhanging vegetation does not impede the way. Furthermore, and
this was a complete surprise to me, landowners can authorise horseriders
and/or cyclists to use a footpath but if, as a result, the surface is
damaged the Highways Authority has the power to force the landowner to
repair the damage at his own expense.
As well as dealing with problems raised by members, FP secretaries
also deal with Diversion and Extinguishment proposals, and, in many
cases, co-ordinate and lead the opposition. Helpful guidance comes
to the attention of FP secretaries through the Rambler's regular
publication "Footpath Worker". Ken also keeps a
close eye on the Definitive Map and the accompanying Statements which
give very detailed RoW information. His 'bible' is "Rights of
Way - a Guide to Law & Practice" by Riddall and Trevellyan.
Some cases, inevitably, end up at a full Public Enquiry and, as Ken
points out, when that happens the workload entailed in putting a
reasoned and convincing case can be substantial. On some occasions
confrontations with landowners are unavoidable but, thankfully, fairly
rare. Ken's background, which included a spell as pay negotiator
during the Heath era, makes him well-suited to negotiate through
difficult cases. As he has only been Chairman of the Area FP
Committee since February he has yet to meet all of the Kent RA local FP
secretaries. However, he is determined to do so. He is very
keen on Keith Potter's initiative in planning training sessions to make
the Area's FP organisation as professional as possible. The
problem, of course, for both trainees and trainers, is time.
Ramblers in Kent are well served by Keith Potter, Area FP Secretary, and
by Ken Wright and the 60 local FP secretaries whose dedication and hard
work help to protect our interests. We are often unaware of the work
that they do but without it our footpath network would be only a shadow
of what it is now.
Ken Wright was interviewed by Jeff Seaman who
is a member of the Maidstone RA Group, living in Sittingbourne. He has
"walked seriously"' for about 7 years. He is a Commercial
Manager in the wine and spirits trade and edits his company's monthly
customer magazine as well as contributing to several trade journals.
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