MC Posted November 18, 2009 Report Share Posted November 18, 2009 I am asking the PW crew for a bit of help. After a run in with a jobsworth from colchester council this morning about walking Merlin on a playing field I need to find out where the footpaths run on it. I know there are at least two although I think there may be more. Does anyone know a website? without me getting lost in the bowels of council websites etc. Cheers Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyb Posted November 18, 2009 Report Share Posted November 18, 2009 Try - http://wtp2.appspot.com/wheresthepath.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Posted November 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2009 Thanks Gary, That clearly shows one but there is another that is signposted. I just want to know the route of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garyb Posted November 18, 2009 Report Share Posted November 18, 2009 It should show on the OS map surely... ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wymberley Posted November 18, 2009 Report Share Posted November 18, 2009 MC, hi, Public footpaths are a County Council thing. I serve on my local town council "public rights of way committee" but what I tell you may well not apply in your area. Unless the county publishes what is known as the "definitive map" for paths on their web-site, you'll probably need to eyeball it. This is not likely as they cover each town or parish so they'd have to publish loads of them. Colchester Council should have a copy for it's area at their offices. However if that fails, the council (Colchester) should have a sub-committee as described above, have a chat to one of the councillors who is on it; thats what they're there for. You did not say who owns the playing fields, so it may also have what is known as "permissive" paths over it. Finally, unlike Devon, paths are not a high priority for many councils, so you may just find that other paths are there but not on the map. The council will know about them but obviously in the current financial climate, has to prioritise it's workload and will only act if there becomes a possibility of them being lost for whatever reason. Hope that helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zapp Posted November 18, 2009 Report Share Posted November 18, 2009 Go to www.multimap.com, put in the postcode of where you want to look, find the area and then select "OS Maps" on the top left of the map screen. It has aerial imagery available so you can compare with accuracy to hedgerows etc. HTH ZB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supersonic Posted November 18, 2009 Report Share Posted November 18, 2009 If you are going to take a large helicopter for a walk in a public place - expect hassle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Posted November 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2009 If you are going to take a large helicopter for a walk in a public place - expect hassle. Yes very clever, Merlin is a springer spaniel and was named after the engine in a Spitfire, and his dad was called "Magician of Wickham" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
windrush Posted November 18, 2009 Report Share Posted November 18, 2009 I am asking the PW crew for a bit of help. After a run in with a jobsworth from colchester council this morning about walking Merlin on a playing field I need to find out where the footpaths run on it. I know there are at least two although I think there may be more. Does anyone know a website? without me getting lost in the bowels of council websites etc. Cheers Martin Talking of bowels, you didn't say what the nature of the complaint was i.e. that there was no footpath or that you weren't on it or that animal excrement and playing fields don't mix. I believe councils can issue Dog Control Orders (or some such instrument) to exclude dogs from areas designated by the authority. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Posted November 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2009 It should show on the OS map surely... ? It only shows one which is in the wrong place, There is one that runs from the end of the road I live in across the field in question and then across a farmers field. It is marked with a concrete Public Footpath sign at either end. I have e mailed all my local councillors along with the local press nad phoned the council so if nothing else I will be a thorn in their side for a while. Thanks Wymberley for your help, I will go down the local council offices when they open later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Posted November 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2009 Talking of bowels, you didn't say what the nature of the complaint was i.e. that there was no footpath or that you weren't on it or that animal excrement and playing fields don't mix. I believe councils can issue Dog Control Orders (or some such instrument) to exclude dogs from areas designated by the authority. The issue is that the field in question has two football pitches and a cricket square in the middle of it. There is a sign that say "Please keep dogs off pitches" which is fine, I have no issue with that. However I was walking along the edge of the grass with Merlin at heel off a lead, the jobsworth gets out of his car and says that "You are not allowed dogs on the pitches" I reply that he isn't on the pitches. He then starts spouting off that the whole field is a pitch and he will be fining people if they disobey the sign. I told him that the sign is a request and not an order as it says "Please" rather than "Dogs not allowed on pitches" He then proceeds to tell me that it is an offence to let dogs foul in a public place, this really gets my goat and I show him the bag carrier on the lead and tell him that I always pick up after my dog and I hope he has proof if he wants to make accusations. I then tell him he should get up to the field on a sunday afternoon after a football match to see the litter that is left, he then laughs at me and says he only works monday to saturday and he isn't coming up there on a sunday. This is the point when I tell him that he is a jobsworth and is not bothered about the real issues. He then tells me that the field is private property, I ask him when that happened because it has been a public playing for a very long time possibly well over a 100 years and certainly well before Colchester had a borough council or they had any say in Wesy Mersea. He then retorts and says the council own it. This is true and it is a public amenity and as a coouncil tax payer I am using one of the amenities that I pay for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adp Posted November 18, 2009 Report Share Posted November 18, 2009 Did you ask for his name and employee ID along with the details of the legislation that they would be using? Its amazing when you start asking jobsworths for this kind of information how many will run away. I do get really annoyed with the amount of dog c**p that gets left around on paths particularly if I am walking the mutt in the dark so it's possible that they are reacting to complaints about that kind of thing and not clueful enough to note the difference between you and the annoying dog owners.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al4x Posted November 18, 2009 Report Share Posted November 18, 2009 best call the OS people if its shown in the wrong place as they are usually right unless of course its been moved over time which isn't necessarily legal. Otherwise your council will have a rights of way jobsworth who might actually help as they seem to want access for all and sundry at the expense of everything else Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Posted November 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2009 (edited) I did ask for his name which wasn't that difficult as he was waving his ID in my face like it was a winning lottery ticket. When I questioned him about where did it say on the sign about the fines he shut up and his mouthy female passenger in the car started on about dogs not being allowed "On Here" I have phoned the council and typically it wasn't their department despite the woman I spoke confirming that she was the mans boss, as soon as I started saying who I was and what I was phoning about they said that will get someone to ring me back. Which of course they won't. I have e mailed my local councillors one of which I have known for years and he is also an Essex County Councillor. He is known well for supporting the locals so hopefully he will get involved. Al4x The concrete Public footpath signs have been there for over 20 years, THey were put there by the council when the road was built where I live. If it runs in a straight line from sign to sign (which I know it doesn't have to) then they have just built some tennis courts over it. The track runs across a farmers field and I sure if that was wrong he wou;ld soon say something about it and the ammount of people who walk across it Edited November 18, 2009 by MC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reddan Posted November 20, 2009 Report Share Posted November 20, 2009 If you think you are right just ignore him. Some people have too much time on their hands. Was the ID even from the council? Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ME Posted November 20, 2009 Report Share Posted November 20, 2009 Next time tell them that Merlin is a cat and not a dog. Job done. Next please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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