Right Way nominees announced
Durham "most nominated; for new IPROW "Right Way" accolade
Three Durham County Council rights of way experts have been nominated for prestigious new national awards – making Durham the country"e;s most nominated county.
Senior Rights of Way Officers Victoria Lloyd and Audrey Christie, and Rights of Way Officer Stephen Ferguson have all been nominated for a "Right Way" award, a new industry accolade from the Institute of Public Rights of Way Management (IPROW), the professional body representing people working in rights of way and countryside access.
The trio are among just 19 rights of way experts from across the UK nominated for the prestigious awards, the first of their kind to highlight the achievements of people working to improve and manage rights of way.
The other 16 contenders for the new access "gongs" are
Bath and Somerset Council Rights of Way Officers Will Steel and Jenny King; Hampshire County Council Rights of Way Officer Emma Noyce; Bob Fenton and Rosalinde Shaw, Rights of Way Officers with Hertfordshire County Council; Carol Ramsden, a public path order specialist with Birketts solicitors in Ipswich;
Senior Rights of Way Officers Ian Baugh and Graham Rusling from Kent County Council; Independent rights of way consultant Sue Rumfitt of Bedford-based Sue Rumfitt Associates;
Ian Blomeley, Enforcement Officer for Monmouthshire Countryside Services; Stirling Council rights of way officers Penny Stoddard and Richard Barron; Cheltenham-based rights of way consultant Roy Hickey, from Public Rights of Way Services Limited;
Michael Fowler, Public Rights of Way officer for Newport City Council; Worcestershire County Council"e;s Countryside Mapping Manager David Goode ; Mike Walker, Buckinghamshire County Council"e;s Group Manager for Rights of Way and Access;
Tom Bindoff, a technical expert from access specialists the Access Company and founder of Stoke-based Centrewire.
Winners will be announced at the 2008 IPROW conference which is to be held in the Victorian spa town of Llandrindod Wells in Wales on September 23 and 24.
IPROW Executive Officer Geri Coop explains: "Rights of way work is, by its nature, a highly critical and contentious area and its officers on the front line face a lot of flak. That doesn"e;t always reflect the enormous strides that IPROW and its members are making in the drive to raise standards of access management for the benefit of the public and landowners and in making sure that professional standards are driven even higher.
"This year we"e;re changing all of that and the Right Way awards are the perfect opportunity to showcase the achievements and initiatives that contribute the most to improving access to the countryside or help to drive up standards in our profession."
Nominations for the 2008 Right Way awards have been submitted from inside and outside IPROW and cover a range of projects and achievements, from the launch of a county countryside access plan to the creation of information packs designed to encourage patients to improve their health by making the most of local walks.
