Hopes rise for hamlet footpath

A footpath could finally be installed on a busy road linking a tiny hamlet with Southwell.

Residents of Maythorne have to walk on the road or on a grass verge along Lower Kirklington Road to reach the town and all its services.

While it is one of the busiest routes into Southwell it is the only one that does not have a footpath.

Nottinghamshire County Council is now working with Tarmac Ltd to provide a path.

It would be installed as part of the Nottinghamshire Highways Partnership scheme.

The scheme was launched in November 2006 to provide the council with extra expertise and resources towards improving roads and paths.

Tarmac, which is committed to the ten-year partnership, has surveyed four sites in the county, one of which is Maythorne, with a view to providing new paths.

The others are at Leverton Road, Retford, Tollerton Road, Gamston, and Sutton Bonnington.

A Tarmac spokesman said the company was looking at alternative and innovative finishes for the footpaths in line with the partnership’s commitment to sustainable solutions.

Options being considered include using recycled plastic to make kerb stones and using crushed recycled aggregate for the path.

The chairman of Southwell Town Council planning committee, Mr Brendan Haigh, said the county council had realised there were safety issues about people walking along the road.

A county council spokesman said they hoped a final decision on the footpath could be made by the end of the month.