Northill Parish Paths Partnership (P3 ) Group

The Parish Paths Partnership, (P3), is a partnership between county highway authorities and local councils or voluntary groups. It is national scheme which was originally set up in order to reach the government target of having the entire UK rights of way network legally defined, maintained and well publicised by the tear 2000.

P3 aims to give local people, the resources and skills to enable them to improve the condition of their rights of way and to keep them open and in use. As custodians of village life and rural values, local people and councils are uniquely placed to decide what needs to be done in order to make their rights of way easy and enjoyable to use. P3 aims to harness these local resources and skills to complement the work of the highway authorities. P3 is a national scheme and is supported by the National Association of Local Councils.

In 1992, the Countryside Commission initiated the P3 on a pilot scheme basis and supported it financially for 6 years. At the end of 1998, the pilot scheme was accepted as an outstanding success. By then the P3 movement had spread to 30 highway authorities with the involvement of over 1600 parishes and local groups. Work carried out by parish and local groups included stile, signpost and bridge repairs and installations, path resurfacing, waymarking, vegetation clearing, surveying and publicity.

Bedfordshire joined the scheme in 1993 and the number of P3 groups in the county grew from an initial 16 in 1994 to 80 in 2001.

Bedfordshire County Council is the main financial supporter of the partnership. Mid Beds District Council also contribute to the scheme.

P3 has two main aims:
· To improve and promote the public rights of way network.
· To enhance the local countryside for wider community use.

The Northill group was one of the initial groups founded in 1993. It is run by a committee of local people from the parish who meet about 4 times per year. The Northill Parish Council is represented on this committee to maintain the close relationship needed between the two bodies.

Their main work involves the repair and installation of waymark posts, stiles and kissing gates, clearance of pathside vegetation, publicity, surveying and general policing of footpaths. They work closely with the Community Development and Partnership Officer and the Rights of Way Officer at Bedfordshire County Council.

Notable achievements have been the creation of the Permissive Path along Warden Road, Ickwell, the generation of the original Three Greens Walk publication, in conjunction with the Ivel Countryside Project, the replacement of 3 stiles with kissing gates on the footpath leading from Sand Lane, Northill to the Caldecote Road and working with Rights of Way Officer to rebuild bridges over 2 footpaths (Ickwell and Upper Caldecote) in the parish. The group has also surveyed the footpaths in Old Warden where there is currently no P3 group.

The group are currently involved in producing a new improved 'Three Greens Walk' brochure with a more detailed map.

Walkers using the footpaths of the parish are invited to submit comments on conditions and suggestions for improvements to the following current committee members:

Chairman :Mike Cowell tel. 01767 627776
Hon Secretary :Linda Trevena tel. 01767 221930