First and Last – Our Living Working Landscape
Access & Ancient Sites: How To Help
Information on how you can help look after heritage and Public Rights of Way in your area, by reporting problems through the correct channels.
HERITAGE
Find out about a monument that is already recorded:
Download: Guide to the Interactive Mapping
Learn about finds reported in your area through the Portable Antiquities Scheme:
The Portable Antiquities Scheme website lets you search the national database of finds for items that have been found in your area. Not all of them are recorded on the county database and not all finds are classed as treasure.
Download: Guide to the Portable Antiquities Scheme database
Report an historic object or treasure that has been found
Make a note of the location, using GPS if possible or a map reference, take a photograph and report the find to the counties Finds Liaison Officer at finds@museumofcornishlife.co.uk.
Report damage to or information about a known site or monument
Email the Strategic Historic Environment Senior Advisor (Rural Affairs) at Cornwall Council on HER@cornwall.gov.uk. This is the best general contact email for the County Historic Record and the information can then be passed on to the relevant officer.
Report damage or information relating to an unknown or unrecorded site (including hedges and hedge furniture)
Email the Strategic Historic Environment Senior Advisor (Rural Affairs) at Cornwall Council on HER@cornwall.gov.uk. This is the best general contact email for the County Historic Record and the information can then be passed on to the relevant officer.
Report information about or damage to a Scheduled Monument
Report information to the regional office at southwest@HistoricEngland.org.uk. They will make sure the message gets through to the right officer, most likely the area Heritage at Risk Officer.
Historic England also have a very helpful and comprehensive webpage on reporting heritage crimes.
Report criminal damage or theft of heritage assets directly to the police
Submit a crime report for attention of the Heritage Crime Officer for Devon and Cornwall Police. This can be done for designated or undesignated sites and historic features. In addition to the crime itself, these reports can help the police build up patterns of activity in the wider area relating to historic sites and features.
Download: How to get in touch with Devon and Cornwall Police
Submit a designation request to Historic England
If you feel a site is of national importance and has not yet been Scheduled, you can submit a request to Historic England direct making a case for consideration by your local case office (Bristol).
Download: Designation guidance document
Record a new or unknown site so it can be added to the county record
It is not unusual to find a site or historic feature that has not yet been recorded, making a new record for such a site would potentially afford the site some protection against damage and will also allow others to find out about the site. You can either write a description of the site in your own words or use the PLP site record form below. Then submit this and any supporting information to the county Historic Environment Services at HER@cornwall.gov.uk
Download: PLP Site Recording Form
RIGHTS OF WAY
Whilst exploring the public footpaths, bridleways and byways of Penwith (and beyond), you might well come across issues which make it challenging to follow the right of way.
These issues might include:
- Damaged & dangerous gates, stiles or bridges
- Overgrown paths
- Flooding or drainage issues
- Ploughing & Crops – paths through fields not preserved (or reinstated within defined timescales following ploughing)
- Obstructions – could be a locked gate, or any physical barrier preventing someone from following the legal path line – including completely impenetrable vegetation.
- Intimidating animals
As ‘Highways Authority’, Cornwall Council has an overall responsibility to ‘assert and protect the public’s rights to use public rights of way’. (See their public rights of way webpages, containing a lot of very useful information, including rights & responsibilities of the public and landowners, relating to the above)
Cornwall Council has a system for anyone to report rights of way issues, and you can access it HERE,
The system allows you to describe the issue and upload photographs of the problem, then takes you to an interactive map showing the public rights of way, where you select the exact path and location of the issue, then add text to describe it.
The interactive map element makes it very easy to locate the issue (well worth checking out in advance of submitting your report, using the main Cornwall Council Interactive Map).
The system is open for anyone to send in reports of problems they encounter. Submitting as many good reports as possible via the official means will help Cormac & Cornwall Council to direct their limited resources more effectively.
Parish Councils
The Local Maintenance Partnership (LMP) (developed by Cornwall Council) is a partnering of the Local Authority with over 170 Parish and Town Councils. It provides cash grants to local councils to organise seasonal trimming and minor. works on public rights of way. As such, seasonal vegetation issues are perhaps best reported to the relevant Parish Council.
Green Signs
Where a public right of way meets a road, there should be a green sign indicating the path. The West Cornwall Footpaths Preservation Society work with Cormac to install green signs in West Cornwall, and welcome volunteers to contribute to their efforts identifying (and installing) missing signs.
