Town footpaths

Published: 04 December 2022

Though Devon County Council is responsible for the county’s public rights of way, Northam Town Council works with the County to maintain the public rights of way (all of which are footpaths) within the town boundaries. Northam Town Council does not maintain the South West Coast Path.

A public right of way is a right by which the public can pass along linear routes over land at all times. Although the land may be owned by a private individual, the public have a legal right across that land along a specific route. Find out more about the different types of public rights of way.

Each year, Northam Town Council members check the paths within the Parish. Local knowledge is invaluable though and residents can help by reporting footpaths that are not in good condition. The area’s footpaths are shown as purple/pink lines on the attached map, rather than pavements which run alongside roads.

If you know of any in poor condition, please report them, with as much detail of the location and path as you can give, by email to admin@northamtowncouncil.gov.uk by the end of December this year. Please use put ‘footpath condition’ into the email subject.  

To find out more about your local footpaths, bridleways and byways please use the County Council’s interactive map which displays all the public rights of way in Devon as well as access land and the Dartmoor Commons. For more information about the Devon County Council’s responsibilities, you can visit Inspections and maintenance - Public Rights of Way (devon.gov.uk).