The Public Rights of Way team within Parks and Countryside maintains the network of public rights of way in Leeds.
There are 1,217 paths within the Leeds metropolitan boundary, including 625km of public footpaths, 182km of public bridleways and 9km of public byways. These rights of way can lead you through varied and changing landscapes, from urban sprawl to glorious countryside, and from a car park to a country park.
You can download answers to some commonly-asked questions about rights of way by clicking the link to the right. (This opens as a pdf in this window.)
If you have further questions, would like to see a copy of the definitive map or would like more information on walking, cycling and other recreational routes on Leeds rights of way, please call Rights of Way on (0113) 395 7400 between 8am-4.30pm Monday-Thursday and 8am-4pm on a Friday. Alternatively you can email us or write to us at: Public Rights of Way, Farnley Hall, Hall Lane, Leeds LS12 5HA.
Rights of Way Improvement Plan
In 2008 we produced a draft ten-year improvement plan for our rights of way network. In it, there are various recommendations for how footpaths, bridleways and byways could be improved over the next 10 years. We based these recommendations on a public survey carried out in 2005-6, plus responses from parish and town councils.
This questionnaire survey covered the many ways in which people use the rights of way: walking, cycling, horse-riding, accessibility scooters and other motorised vehicles, and carriage driving. The results revealed that most people rated the following in their top three priorities for improving Leeds’ rights of way:
- better signposting and waymarking
- improvements to safety at road/path junctions
- providing extra paths to link gaps in the network
You can download a copy of the draft Rights of Way Improvement Plan by clicking the link to the right of this page. If you would like to be sent a printed or electronic copy of the Draft ROWIP, please get in touch.
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