Some of Norfolk's most popular walking routes could be set for major improvements, with plans unveiled which could see millions of pounds spent on them.
Council bosses hope to carry out work on the Weavers' Way, Wherryman's Way and the Norfolk Coast Path if a bid for £4.7m from the government is successful.
It comes at a time when officers at Norfolk County Council are working through a backlog of complaints about the condition of Norfolk's footpaths.
That rise was triggered partly by people making more use of them during and after the pandemic, when local outdoor exercise was promoted as one of the activities which people were allowed to do.
As of January, the council had 1,339 outstanding issues around public rights of way which it was trying to tackle, with officers saying they are often complicated matters to resolve.
Most of the issues raised are around damaged or missing signs, obstructions, overgrown surfaces, overgrown hedges or trees and poor surface conditions.
Norfolk County Council hopes a bid for a further slice of the government's Active Travel Fund will help pay for improvements, including:
- £400,000 to fix the broken boardwalk at Brancaster on the Norfolk Coast Path, which has had to be shut for safety reasons
- Replacing bridges on the Wherryman's Way at Loddon in a £400,000 project
- A further £400,000 to resurface a disused railway line on the Weavers' Way, between East Ruston and Honing
- Widening a footpath along the A149 Cromer Road between Old Hunstanton and Hunstanton so it can be used by pedestrians and cyclists
They are among 14 projects the council wants to get cash for.
Others include a £265,000 cycle lane in Thorpe St Andrew, plus new crossings and pedestrian refuges in Dereham, King's Lynn, Gorleston, Bradwell, Fleggburgh, Brundall, Hethersett and Sandringham.
Graham Plant, the Conservative-controlled county council's cabinet member for highways, infrastructure and transport, said: "If successful, this funding would be a great boost for active travel across the county.
"It will pay for the development and construction of 14 schemes across Norfolk to improve existing walking, wheeling, and cycling networks.
"We know that having clear, safe routes across the county is key to getting more people walking and cycling and making it the natural choice for short journeys.
"That’s why the schemes outlined include new pedestrian crossing, shared use paths and segregated cycleways.
"I look forward to hearing if we have been successful later this year and hope to see these improvements become a reality for people across Norfolk."
If the council does get money for the Brancaster boardwalk scheme it will help head off criticism over the delay in getting that section of the 84-mile Norfolk Coast Path, which stretches from Hunstanton to Sea Palling, reopened.
Just over a mile of the footpath at Brancaster, between Harbour Way and Butcher's Drove, was shut last year because of health and safety concerns.
County Hall said it originally identified 37 defects with the boardwalk timbers in June last year, with a fix expected by the end of the following month.
But work was delayed as more issues were found, with 83 timbers thought to be affected by rot caused by wood-eating fungi. Funding for the project has also been an issue.
On the 37-mile Wherryman's Way, which runs from Norwich to Great Yarmouth, money is sought to replace dangerous bridges at Loddon/Hardley Flood which are currently shut.
The project on the Weavers' Way, which runs for 61 miles from Cromer to Great Yarmouth would see a stretch between East Ruston and Honing, which can get very muddy, resurfaced.
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