The council of a parish or community may undertake the maintenance of any footpath F2, bridleway or restricted byway within the parish or community which is, in either case, a highway maintainable at the public expense; but nothing in this subsection affects the duty of any highway authority or other person to maintain any such footpath F2, bridleway or restricted byway.

The highway authority for any footpath F2, bridleway or restricted byway which a parish or community council have power to maintain under subsection (1) above, and a F1non-metropolitan district council for the time being maintaining any such footpath F2, bridleway or restricted byway by virtue of section 42 above, may undertake to defray the whole or part of any expenditure incurred by the parish or community council in maintaining the footpath F2, bridleway or restricted byway.

The power of a parish or community council under subsection (1) above is subject to the restrictions for the time being imposed by any enactment on their expenditure, but for the purposes of any enactment imposing such a restriction their expenditure is to be deemed not to include any expenditure falling to be defrayed by a highway authority or district council by virtue of subsection (2) above.