Agenda item

To consider the application to divert part of Public Footpath No.12 in the parish of Pott Shrigley

The Committee considered a report which detailed an application requesting the Council to make an Order to divert part of Public Footpath No.12 in the parish of Pott Shrigley.

In accordance with Section 119(1) of the Highway Act 1980, it was within the Council’s discretion to make an Order to divert a public footpath if it appeared to the Council to be expedient to do so in the interests of the public or the owner, lessee or occupier of the land crossed by the path.

During consultation for the Cheshire East Rights of Way Improvement Plan in 2010, Pott Shrigley Parish Council contacted the Public Rights of Way Unit with a suggestion to divert part of Public Footpath No.12 Pott Shrigley.  The suggestion was logged  and added to the Improvement Plan as an aspiration.  In 2012 the landowner of the path, Mrs Veronica Shelly, contacted the Pubic Right of Way Unit to confirm her support for the proposed diversion and the proposal was added to the waiting list for Highways Act diversions.  It had now reached the top of the list and had been initiated in the interests of the public.

The proposed route had been in place as a permissive route for a number of years. This path had a width of two metres with a 1.2 metre compacted stoned surface.  It passed through a small wooded area before exiting through a kissing gate onto a layby on Shrigley Road which provided parking and where a parish council notice board was located.  The length of the proposed route was approximately 59 metres.   The proposed diversion would provide a safer exit point onto Shrigley Road, thereby improving public safety. 

The Committee noted that no objections had been received during the informal consultation and considered that the proposed route would not be substantially less convenient than the existing route.  Diverting the footpath would be of benefit to the public as would provide a safer exit point onto Shrigley Road.  It was considered that the proposed route would be a satisfactory alternative to the current one and that the legal tests for the making and confirming of a Diversion Order were satisfied.

The Committee unanimously

RESOLVED: That

1        An Order be made under Section 119 of the Highways Act 1980, as amended by the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, to divert part of Public Footpath No.12 in the Parish of Pott Shrigley by creating a new section of public footpath and extinguishing the current path, as illustrated on Plan No. HA/116 on the grounds that it is expedient in the interests of the public.

2        Public Notice of the making of the Order be given and in the event of there being no objections within the period specified, the Order be confirmed in the exercise of the powers conferred on the Council by the said Acts.

3        In the event of objections to the Order being received, Cheshire East Borough Council be responsible for the conduct of any hearing or public inquiry.