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The following aims relate to the principle of partnership and communication:
- to create framework for the involvement of local communities, land managers and user groups in the planning, implementation and management of public access;
- to establish initiatives which encourage dialogue and understanding between access users, providers and managers and which promote responsible access;
- to raise the awareness of path networks and access areas by improving information, education and interpretation and implementing targeted promotion initiatives;
The following aims relate to the principle of positive and equitable access:
- To ensure that access provision is compatible with the needs of land managers, and where possible contributes to the rural economy.
- To identify and cater equitably for the requirements of different user groups including walkers, cyclists and horse riders, and people of all ages and abilities.
- To resolve, and take measures to avoid, conflicts between user groups.
- To develop and promote public access as a means of encouraging healthier lifestyles.
- To improve access to recreation opportunities around the principal settlements in North Lanarkshire.
- To promote social inclusion by establishing local community structures, providing local training and employment opportunities and providing local access opportunities.
- To build ownership of local access networks and to discourage vandalism, dumping, and anti social behaviour. Explore the potential of ' self-rangering' or community policing, and establish closer liaison with the police, as ways of increasing personal safety and perceptions of personal safety. Ensure safety issues are reflected in the location and design of access provision.
- To promote initiatives which facilitate and encourage local people to walk or cycle to school, work or local services.
- To make best use of existing access provision, but to create new links where this contributes to the wider network.
- To build on the existing assets provided by long distance routes and access areas within North Lanarkshire and to explore ways of extending and improving links into other strategic routes.
- To safeguard and enhance the natural, built and cultural heritage in the development, management and use of paths, through making access considerations an integral part of design and management decisions.
The following aims relate to the principle of effective implementation:
- To ensure that access is considered as an integral part of any programmes of wider environmental improvements and as a key factor in relation to new development. Development plan policies and operation of the development control process have a key role to play in implementing the access strategy.
- To establish a framework for monitoring individual access projects and the strategy as a whole.
- To make effective use of existing access provision in North Lanarkshire where this meets the objectives of the access strategy. Effective maintenance is critical to this.
- To define the role, membership and remit of a North Lanarkshire Public Access Forum, and to clarify its relationship with more local access groups.
- To ensure that all departments within North Lanarkshire Council develop an understanding of their roles and responsibilities in light of the new access legislation.
- To ensure that resources are effectively targeted, and to develop a prioritised programme for maximising income from alternative sources.
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