WALKERS in Shinfield have been going the extra quarter of a mile, after a footpath thought to have been used for around 60 years was blocked.
A short escape path connecting the western end of Leyland Gardens with a registered public right-of-way running between Hollow Lane and the eastern end of Leyland Gardens has been blocked.
The route can be seen on some house deeds dating back to 1962, explained resident Pat Smith, whose name has been changed.
Ms Smith said that the cut-through was blocked in November by the landowner, and residents have been pushing to have it registered as a public right of way.
“Anyone walking from Leyland Gardens to the Black Boy roundabout and beyond now has to make a considerable detour thanks to the closure,” Ms Smith said. “It’s about a quarter of a mile.”
A spokesperson for the borough council said that they don’t have any authority to remove the obstruction.
“The path is currently not recorded as a public right of way or an adopted highway,” they said.
Ms Smith said that residents submitted a claim for public access to the land in February last year, before the route was blocked, after the landowner said that they were planning on closing it.
“We heard nothing for months,” she said.
Ms Smith said that part of the evidence submitted included an Ordnance Survey map showing the path.
She said that the land registry, however, does not include the route, as its map of the road was made when it was unfinished.
She believe that the borough council did adopt the route, as it has been tarmacked.
The council spokesperson said: “We are currently investigating the evidence submitted with the claim, along with any other evidence available, to determine whether there is evidence of any public rights.
“This process is a complex legal investigation and includes discussions with the landowner as well as an examination of all other evidence available to the council such as historical records.
“We are in the process of gathering and analysing the evidence that has been submitted regarding the path.”
Ms Smith said that she couldn’t understand what the delay was, and said that is has been almost a year since the claim was submitted.
“They’ve had 11 months and they’ve done — as far as I’m concerned — zero,” she said.
