As many people will be aware the work previously carried out to make the path safe, was substantially undone in the recent flooding.

Alan Kingston and Adrian Hardman were notified on the 9th of August via the following email:

Hi Alan,

Unfortunately the excellent improvements to the footpath surface have been undone by the recent severe weather, leaving the path in an unsafe condition and depositing a large quantity of stones in the Church grounds.

The recent torrential rainfall caused the level of the pond to rise and overflow, despite the recent addition of a second overflow pipe.
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Previously an overflow of this size would have simply flowed across the path and down into our property, re-joining the natural flow of the stream.

However, on this occasion, the wooden planks that were put in along the boundary to hold the stones in place acted as a barrier and re-routed the water down the path towards the Church, lifting the stones as it went.

As you are aware, the piece of land between Church House and Church Pond, where the footpath runs, is unregistered and does not belong to us and in any event, being a public footpath, the duty to maintain it in a safe condition rests with the Council.

Currently I would suggest that it is more dangerous than it was prior to the recent work being carried out.

Regards,

James Hickman
Church House
Elmley Castle

As yet there has been no response.

If you want to chase them up click the links below and refer to footpath EC540

Alan Kingston
Adrian Hardman

This has exposed a number of quite large tree roots that could easily cause someone to slip or trip:

The problem was reported to the County Council several months ago, but initially no action was taken and the County Council were reluctant to accept that the work was their responsibility.

I raised the issue with Councillor Mackison on the 15th of January and on 24th January received the following email:

Dear Mr Hickman

My attention was drawn to the issue with the above footpath that you had raised by Cllr Anna Mackison because not only do I work within the relevant section of the County Council but I also live in Elmley Castle. I have taken a look at the path and since spoken to the officers concerned. The conclusion we reached is that the ground has been washed and worn from between the tree roots, not the tree roots interfering with the footpath and that the appropriate solution is to fill the gaps between the roots. This is the responsibility of the County Council not the landowner, as you have already pointed out to my colleagues.

I will ask Alan Kingston, when he returns from leave, to contact you and to arrange for the necessary work to be carried out. Would you be good enough to allow access for a vehicle through your field in order to deliver materials (obviously this would need to be with the agreement of Middle Farm also as it would require access along the edge of the big meadow from the road)?

Thank you for drawing the state of the path to our attention.

regards
David Goode
Countryside Mapping Manager
Worcestershire County Council

I have given my permission for our field to be used for access so hopefully the path will be made safe shortly.

A big thank you to Councillor Mackison and David Goode for their assistance.

The stile seperating this path from the paddock belonging to Church House has been taken down, along with the fence on the Pond side. Hopefully this will make it easier for people to use the path in the future.

James Hickman
Elmley Castle