Whilst it is good to see a few footpath obstructions being cleared in the valley it is tempered to a degree by the quality of work carried out. An example is the removal of the weird fence/stile hybrid above but the leaving in place of barbed wire on the slope leading to the new gap and around the posts to either side. It’s a bit like being swallowed by a rural jaws when walking through. You wouldn’t want to wear that new jacket you got at Christmas.
Similarly swapping a couple of hefty pallets with nails sticking out shown below for a gate is great. But….
Look at the gate! I’ll be surprised if it stands up for 18 months and why the barbed wire wrapped around the hanging post?
There is a British Standard specification for gates on public paths and amongst other things it requires barbed wire to be at least 1 metre away from the structure. The British Standard was revised in 2018 and made the needs of landowners more explicit. Both the National Farmers Union and Country landowners association were involved in revising the standard.
The examples here are not isolated incidents. Regrettably even when the council does have an opportunity to influence structures for the better through it’s enforcement work it still falls well short of a nationally agreed standard. Why is that ? (Don’t ask me 🙂 )
The gate below was authorised by the council following the removal of an obstructing fence. It does not meet the British Standard on a few points not least the padlock and chain!
Path Watch 
2 thoughts on “Some Quality Control Issues.”