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Leisure, Culture and Tourism
Paths and Outdoor Access
Core Paths Plan
Aberdeenshire Core Paths Plan Consultation
The first informal draft of the Aberdeenshire Draft Core Paths Plan was launched on 9 June 2008 and can be viewed on the Council website. The draft Plan can also be viewed at all Aberdeenshire Council Libraries and key Council offices as well as Thainstone Mart and local SGRPID, NFUS and SRPBA offices from 16 July 2008. ( We hoped to have the information at these locations by 8th July but there will be a slight delay in getting the material to all locations by this date).
Key Council Offices
- Banff - Town House
- Fraserburgh - Housing Office
- Peterhead - Arbuthnott House
- Ellon - Area Office
- Inverurie - Gordon House
- Huntly - Area Office
- Alford - Area Office
- Aboyne - Area Office
- Banchory - Area Office
- Stonehaven - Viewmount
- Aberdeen - Woodhill House
The informal consultation period will run until 27th September 2008 and comments received will contribute towards the preparation of the formal draft plan.
The informal draft of the Aberdeenshire Core Paths Plan can be viewed online. Copies of the document on CD (available free)can be obtained by contacting the Council's Environment Team and paper copies of the Plan are also available at a cost of £10.
E-mail: cpp@aberdeenshire.gov.uk
Telephone: 01467 628380, 01467 628481 or 01467 628396
Aberdeenshire Core Paths Plan 
Since 1997, Aberdeenshire Council's Outdoors Access staff have been working with landowners and communities to improve the rural paths network in many parts of Aberdeenshire.
The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 places various new duties on local authorities, one of which is to prepare a Core Paths Plan. The Plan should be "sufficient for the purpose of giving the public reasonable access throughout their area".
How will Core Paths be selected?
The Council collated the information obtained from the first round of consultations and have used this to draw up the first InformaI Consultative Draft Plan.
Feedback from this first informal Consultation will assist us in drawing up a final Draft Plan which will be presented for formal Consultation after November 2008.
The formal consultation is a statutory process before putting the plan to the Council for adoption and will have provision for objections to the suitability and sufficiency of the draft Plan.
What are Core Paths?
It is difficult to give a precise definition of what a Core Path will be because that will largely be determined by the results of the consultations. However, Core Paths could
- Provide opportunities for walking, cycling, horse riding and access to water
- Be multi-use paths, or may be more suitable for a particular activity
- Provide functional paths in and around communities e.g. to shops and schools as well as recreational routes for leisure
- Be an existing path or a completely new route
- A Right of Way may become Core Path but not necessarily all will; it depends on the outcome of the consultation process
- Provide short routes in and around communities or may provide links to other path networks.
But Core Paths will
- Provide the basic framework of paths to meet communities' needs
- Minimise any potential conflict with land management
- Be well sign posted, well maintained and welcoming.
How can you contribute to the consultation process?
Everyone, individuals and organisations, local residents and visitors, land managers and owners, the active and not so active, has the right to contribute their views. You may make regular use of access facilities in your area or you may never have really thought about it. You might like to get out and about locally or you may travel to other areas of Aberdeenshire for recreation. You may be someone whose land people visit for recreation. All input is vitally important to make the process successful and built on consensus.
