The Rights of Way Improvement Plan is a five-year plan to make improvements to the countryside access network.  'Improvements' can be about improved information, as well as physically providing links or improving gates 'on the ground'.  The Rights of Way Improvement Plan is sometimes abbreviated to ROWIP.  Every Highway Authority was required to produce one by November 2007. 

Every ROWIP should include: 

• An assessment of the existing countryside access opportunities, their condition or adequacy,
• An assessment of people's use of countryside access, including people with limited mobility,
• A conclusion which highlights where the provision and the local need can be prioritised.