FOOTPATHS used by generations of children and their families as a safe shortcut to school are at risk of being closed, a councillor has warned.
Cllr Bob Barr, of Lymm, leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on Warrington Borough Council believes council officers could be planning to close the paths which cross a field between Oughtrington Primary School and the Bridgewater Canal.
He says pupils from both the primary school and Lymm High School have used the paths for generations as a shortcut to school or to Lymm Village.
Recently, however, unauthorised “fly grazing” of horses has made the paths dangerous – and horses have escaped from the field and caused a nuisance, having to be rounded up by the police.
Cllr Barr has raised the issue with borough council officers suggesting that the well-used paths should be made public rights of way.
He said: “Despite aerial photographs proving these paths have been used for a very long time, the officers are unwilling to turn them into public rights of way. They argue that there are alternative paths around the field that are not much further in distance.”
They also claim the field boundaries have occasionally been closed during the last 20 years so continuous use – necessary to establish a right of way – could not be proven.
Cllr Barr said: “I disagree. The officers are using a technicality to potentially exclude residents from council-owned land.
“They may be doing this to protect the sale value of the land if it was ever to become available for development.
“However, the land is in the green belt and there would be strong opposition to development by residents. Such development is against council policy anyway.
“A way to make development less likely would be to confirm the two paths across the field as public rights of way to allow continued access to all who want to use them in the future.”
1 Comment
I recently visited Walton Gardens and was able to walk freely over the grounds – something I would not have been able to do if Cllr Bob Barr had achieved his aim of offloading the Hall and gardens off to a hotel group! Does Cllr Barr seriously think that the multiple thousands of people who signed the petition to save Walton Hall and Gardens are likely to forget his part in trying to deny the people of Warrington access to this beautiful site? Electioneering antics such as the story above are pathetic.