Rights of Way Consultation 2022

The majority of respondents have used a Public Right of Way (PRoW) in Portsmouth (66%). Meanwhile, just under a third of respondents do not know what a PRoW is (32%).

The highest proportion of respondents use a PRoW at least several times a week (43%). Of those respondents 15% use a PRoW ‘daily’.

Understanding of the ROWIP document is low as only 21% of respondents found the document ‘easy’ or ‘very easy’ to understand. A similar proportion of respondents (19%)  found the document ‘difficult’ or ‘very difficult’ to understand whereas over half of respondents gave a ‘neutral’ response (57%).

Respondents who found the document difficult to understand said it can be improved by adding more images or graphics in the document (22%). Particularly, respondents feel that maps could be more detailed and contain more information on each PRoW. They also feel an accompanying summary document with less technical jargon would be beneficial (20%).

The majority of respondents ‘agree’ or ‘strongly agree’ that the correct actions have been identified in the Statement of Action (64%).

The majority of respondents (60%) ‘agree’ or ‘strongly agree’ that the Statement of Action correctly identifies and addresses the future needs of the public in terms of usage of the Rights of Way network.

The majority of respondents (58%) ‘agree’ or ‘strongly agree’ that the Statement of Action has adequately identified areas of potential improvement.

Some respondents comment that there needs to be more information provided on the Rights of Way before they are able to make a judgement on if the Statement of Actions are the right ones (36%). Other respondents feel that focusing on improving right of ways should not be a priority as Portsmouth is already highly pedestrianised and accessible by walking and cycling (18%).

The purpose of this report is to provide a comprehensive summary of the Rights of Way consultation 2021. The consultation focused on the following specific research objectives:

• To understand current usage of public rights of way
• To assess how understandable the ROWIP is and opinions on the proposed actions
• To measure the extent to which the ROWIP identifies and addresses the future needs of the public with regard to usage of the rights of way network

In order to meet the research objectives, a quantitative online survey was launched on 15 November 2021 and was open for twelve weeks in line with statutory requirements.

It was promoted through ongoing targeted marketing and communications channels to maximise consultation engagement:

• Social media
• PCC email marketing distribution lists
• Media release encouraging participation
• PCC website

In total, the survey received 1,052 responses and a written response from the Friends of Old Portsmouth Association (FOOPA). The comments received from FOOPA have not been analysed as part of this paper but have been reviewed, and any proposals, where relevant, will be incorporated along with the overall responses to the formal consultation.

It is difficult to calculate the statistical robustness of this consultation because it is unclear how many individuals interact with Portsmouth’s Rights of Way. However, assuming a ‘total population’ of 175,205 people (the latest mid-year estimate from the Office for National Statistics for people aged 16-90+ in Portsmouth for 2021), this volume of responses ensures a 95% confidence level with a margin of error of 3%, well within acceptable parameters.