Footpath No. 4 passes alongside Tesco before crossing the new housing development

The County Council are moving forward with plans to move a footpath in Market Deeping which crosses Persimmon’s development next to Tesco. It was discovered that the route of the footpath is now obstructed by several of the new houses and fencing following confusion as to the precise route.

The County Council are looking to resolve this and several other issues by using powers under the Highways Act to abolish the current obstructed route and to create a new route to avoid these obstructions.

I have previously expressed my concerns about this proposed new route, will be writing an objection to the County Council’s plans, and hope for the Town Council to take the same position.

I remain of the view that it is very important to get this footpath right given the potential contribution it can make to promoting walking within Market Deeping and Deeping St James. A poor solution for this small section of the footpath could significantly harm the value of the entire footpath linking Market Deeping and Deeping St James. The inevitable consequence being more traffic on our roads as more homes are built.

Once I have completed writing my objection I will publish this to provide more details as to my reasons for opposing the County Council’s plans. In the meantime, I wanted to make sure that local residents were aware of these plans. Below are links to both the legal orders themselves and the County Council’s justification for them. I’d be happy to answer any question about what these mean.

Extinguishment and Creation Orders for Footpath No. 4

County Council’s Justification for the Extinguishment and Creation orders

The deadline for submitting objections or other representations about these plans is on 2 June. These should be sent to Legal Services Lincolnshire, 45-49 Newland, Lincoln, LN1 1YS (email: sally.ironmonger@lincolnshire.gov.uk) marked for the attention of Sally Ironmonger and quoting reference SXI.ENV024.81.MKT DEEPING.

The current obstructed route which is the subject of the Extinguishment Order

The proposed new route for the footpath from the Creation Order