Ashby Town Council debates future of Wainwright’s footpath, concerns raised over risk to Ivanhoe pupils
At an Ashby Town Council meeting last night, councillors discussed on-going issues with the closure of the connecting the road near Ivanhoe College to the new Money Hill carpark.
In June, Leicestershire County Council agreed to a Temporary Traffic Regulation Order to stop public right of way through land owned by Wainwrights, stating that pedestrians walking through an active haulage depot could pose a 'high risk.'
At the time, Ashby Town Council criticised the decision, stating: "This is an important route connecting the new Money Hill development and the [...] carpark with the Town Centre. We believe there are other interim measures for improving the safety of the route that T Wainwright Ltd, as landowner, could have taken without seeking full closure."
Speaking at the meeting last night (7th July), Councillor Chris Smith said the footpath had been closed 'without our knowledge or consultation,' and the authority 'have seen no plans to do something about it.
"The landowner can take relatively simple steps to make it safer. We've given them a few weeks to find a resolution but we're not going to sit back."
Amongst the Council, however, there was a disagreement in what the next steps should be. According to Councillor Pejman Zamani, he has spoken to the land owners at four or five meetings with them and the County Council and it appears that Wainwrights have no intention of re-opening the Public Right of Way.
Councillor Zamani is keen to put forward that the closure of the path is making the surrounding area dangerous for the students of Ivanhoe College, who are now having to walk on the road where there is only pavement on one said to walk to and from school. Cllr Zamani has described this as 'a lot more dangerous that the footpath through Wainwright's yard. '
An option Councillor Zamani put forward was for the council to purchase an alternative strip of land on the other side of the fence that is also owned by Wainwrights. This land has been valued by Wainwrights at £500,000.
This suggestion was not favoured by other members of the council.
Speaking on the issue, Councillor Murrae Blair-Park said: "It's a right of way that needs to be opened. It was a right of way before Wainwrights and it needs to be opened.
"There has been no effort to make it safe. The landowners haven't been transparent, and the County Council have not been transparent.
"We shouldn't have to pay to buy land for a footpath that should be there already - it is them [the landowners] that need to provide a safe right of access."
Councillor Blair-Park described the handling of the matter as 'very cloak and daggers,' saying that a 'little clique' from across various authorities have been trying to sort matters behind closed doors. 'I'm annoyed how it has been handled, there never should have been money on the table.'
Cllr Blair-Park was keen to emphasise the fact that the landowners have to respect the right of way and that they are using it as an opportunity to make money.
He and other councillors also raised frustration over a possible conflict of interest that could be affecting the decisions being made over the footpath. With one councillor pointing out Dan Harrison previously represented Wainwrights only a short time before becoming Leader of the County Council.
Between this and the small number of Councillors breaking away from the group to have meetings with the landowners without being fully transparent to the Council, it appears there is lots of wires being crossed within the Council over this decision.
An alternative option that was favoured by the Councillors over buying the land was Councillor Carl Benfield's suggestion that they could pursue legal action against the County Council to get the ruling overturned.
Ashby Town Council were not made aware of the request for the path to be closed until it had already been approved, meaning they were not given the opportunity to object. Mayor of Ashby Councillor Damilola Ojuri said: "I am disappointed by the County Council's handling of this."
Going forward, the authority is seeking legal advice ahead of a meeting with the County Council in the coming weeks, hoping for advice on whether they have a case.
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