Families win battle for new path

FAMILIES living on a new housing estate in Thornbury have won their battle to reconnect their homes to the town centre.

But some are still unhappy that a gateway that has been in use for more than 30 years has been blocked off.

Young mum Domonique Latham, whose story in the Voice highlighted the problems after she slipped and fell on muddy tree roots in the gateway, says the new route won’t be any safer.

Pedestrian access from Park Farm to the town centre was effectively cut off in January after the Voice made enquiries following Domonique's fall, which left her in need of hospital treatment for a back injury.

South Gloucestershire Council blocked it off with a plastic barrier and told owners Taylor Wimpey to close the gap permanently.

The gateway had been widely used by school children, parents with prams and others to cross a five-metre stretch of grass from Barley Fields to Victoria Close.

Residents said alternative pedestrian routes to school, doctors and town centre shops involved either long walks across muddy fields, or a one kilometre detour.

Now Thornbury town and South Gloucestershire councillor Jayne Stansfield says David Wilson Homes, who built the Barley Fields development, are to put a footpath across a grass area 50m away, close to the medieval fishponds, restoring the link between Barley Fields and Victoria Close.

She said the idea needs final approval by South Gloucestershire planning officers, but she hoped the work would go ahead in the spring, and that it would include improvements to the muddy area beside the ponds, and street lighting.

Jayne said: “I can't see any point in doing it at all unless it connects properly to the existing path. That's why I will be monitoring it carefully.

“Let’s hope they get it in place quickly to avoid any more distress to the residents.”

But Domonique, who runs Little Legs Dog Grooming in Thornbury, and used the gateway to take her three year old daughter Rei to preschool every day, said she believed it was “lazy” of South Gloucestershire

Council and the housing developers to block off the gateway, rather than reinstate a path that had been used for many years.

She said a yellow footpath sign on the gateposts had been removed after her fall.

Domonique said: "I can’t understand why they can’t just flatten the old gateway entrance and put in a path. It seems very simple.

"The idea of a pathway by the fishponds is dangerous. There is no fence around the ponds to protect little children, and no street lighting.”

David and Colleen Paviour, who live next to the blocked gateway said it had been in constant use since they moved in 32 years ago.

But after it was blocked off in January, they had seen countless people climbing over it, and mums lifting prams over.

Resident Steve Whiteside has been leading calls for the developers and South Gloucestershire to resolve the issue for months.

He said the planned new footpath did appear to give residents of the three-yearold phase four of Park Farm the connection they had been campaigning for.

He said: “It’s a shame that it’s taken eight months of constant badgering, a resident falling and hurting their back and some really hard work from many residents to get a solution forward for planning.

"I’m grateful to those at the town council who have supported residents throughout the journey and met with residents regularly.

"We now just need to hope that Barratt David Wilson South

West, who are funding the path, do deliver within a reasonable time frame, as it is still a daily struggle for many parents and children getting to school."

A spokesperson for South Gloucestershire Council said: "The gap in the hedge between Victoria Close and the Park Farm development is not maintained by the council and isn’t recorded as a public right of way.

"A kissing gate was installed some time ago, but we have no record of who by.

"We were made aware of health and safety concerns relating to the kissing gate and contacted the landowners, Taylor Wimpey to make them aware.

"We installed a temporary barrier to prevent further accidents and asked Taylor Wimpey to fence-off the gate while alternative access was being explored with local landowners."

Barratt David Wilson Homes South West head of customer care Adam Jones said: "The gateway that connects the footpaths in Barley Fields and Victoria Close is outside of our boundary, however we understand how important it is for residents to enjoy easy access into Thornbury.

"While we aren’t responsible for that area of land or legally obliged to carry out any improvements, we are looking at ways that could provide residents with an alternative route into the town centre from phase 4 of the development.

"We’re working closely with planners at South Gloucestershire Council so that residents can benefit from improvements as soon as possible."