4.5 Travel to Leisure
The Quality of Life survey identified that the people of Cornwall felt the least accessible services in Cornwall are leisure and cultural facilities. When looking at issues surrounding accessibility to leisure and recreation, it is easy to think that such facilities are primarily provided for visitors to the County. However, it must be remembered that even in the peak of the tourist season, 60% of people in the County at any one time are actually full time residents who equally benefit from access to key leisure facilities including the beaches, attractions and the public rights of way network.
The public rights of way network and indeed the Cornish Way multi-use trail network are key attractions in their own right, as well as providing alternative access to many parts of the County, including key leisure and cultural attractions. Through the development of the Rights of Way Improvement Plan (ROWIP), the pubic are being consulted on which sections of the network they believe are in the most need of improvement and which sections are of a greatest benefit to them and their quality of life. The ROWIP will then aim to identify potential sources of funding to maintain the highest priority routes to ensure they remain accessible for the people of Cornwall to use. The ROWIP will also identify key urban paths for upgrading, providing access to key services such as schools and retail and linking in with other initiatives such as the 'Safer Routes to Schools' programme.
Three additional key areas the ROWIP intends to focus on are the 'Village to View', 'Village Connections' and 'Town to Country' projects. All three projects are broadly based around the key principals of improving access to the countryside, coast and neighbouring villages for the residents of the County. The ROWIP is covered in greater detail in Appendix B.
The bus and rail network serves many of the key attractions and open spaces in Cornwall, providing access for visitors and residents alike. The level of service is generally increased throughout the key visitor months, servicing many of Cornwall's resorts, towns and attractions. Whilst this service on the face of it may appear to be solely provided for visitors, the services do provide additional ways for residents to access leisure and recreational facilities without the need of a private car.
However, the greatest challenge lies in encouraging residents onto alternative means of access to leisure and recreational pursuits rather than being dependent on the private car.