An open letter to the Rt Hon Liz Truss, Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Dear Secretary of State,

I am writing on behalf of The Coffin Lane Campaign which is an action group based near Axbridge in Somerset. We applied to Somerset County Council in August 2014 to add a missing section of footpath between the communities of Axbridge and Cross & Compton Bishop to the Definitive Map. Currently the gap in the route forces pedestrians to walk along an extremely busy road much used by large vehicles including quarry lorries. There is a narrow grass verge partially obstructed by signage which is the only way to continue along the route. However, there are approximately 305 outstanding applications and the Council has not (since 2011) scored applications for priority, although its procedures provide the capacity to apply the scorecard Appendix F to the Rights of Way Improvement Plan. The Council’s own estimate of the time it will take for our application to be determined varies from 23 years to 45 years.

Nearly all the other applications are from equestrian and motorcycling organisations to upgrade footpaths to bridleways; we consider that our application and other similar ones of which there are approximately 12, should be prioritised because it is a matter of public safety: we need a continuous, safe footpath and cycleway so that local people can access amenities including shops, schools, GP surgery and pubs etc without having to put themselves at personal risk, or to drive a vehicle. Our path fulfils objectives stated in the Somerset County Plan (which encourages the increase of physical activity for health reasons) and the authority’s Rights of Way Improvement Plan 2 Appendix A, which references the Sustainable Community Strategy and the importance of good quality walking and cycling routes which link residential areas to areas of employment, education, recreation and services. It also refers to safety and environmental considerations.

The Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, supported by the Government’s Paths for Communities initiative, gives a cut-off date of January 1 2026 for the adding of paths and rights of way to the Definitive Map. We have applied to the Planning Inspectorate to order a determination, but are writing to you to raise our grave concern that unless urgent steps are taken to give priority to applications such as ours, rights necessary to safe passage will be lost. Given that Somerset County Council has ceased to prioritise applications and has up to a 45 year backlog, the Coffin Lane Campaign appeals to you, as Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, to direct Somerset County Council to give priority to our applications and other similar ones and determine them forthwith.

Yours faithfully,

Mrs Tess Gill, coordinator, Coffin Lane Campaign