Hundreds sign petition on closure of 'valued' path

A petition signed by "frustrated and angered residents" over the closure of a public path in Nottinghamshire is set to be presented to Parliament.

A £250,000 "greenway" route that links Radcliffe-on-Trent to Cotgrave was closed in January 2024 after unauthorised work destabilised an embankment, prompting safety concerns.

The petition, signed by more than 1,400 people, was created by Labour MP for Rushcliffe James Naish, who said he hoped it would put pressure on the county council to allocate money for repair work in its 2026-27 financial budget.

Yvonne Ellison, chair of the Radcliffe-on-Trent Residents' Association, said she had faith that it would help reopen the "valued link".

"Two years is a very long time to be denied a public greenway," she said. "We are totally frustrated by the lack of any action.

"It was also very well used by pedestrians, cyclists, and horse riders far beyond the village because it is such a good link into Cotgrave Country Park."

The petition is what is referred to as a "paper petition", which is presented by MPs on behalf of their constituents.

Unlike e-petitions started by members of the public, there is no minimum number of signatures for it to be presented to Parliament.

Naish said it had been prompted by a "flurry of e-mails" after parish, borough, and county councillors had been left frustrated trying to secure an update on the work.

"Clearly the county council is looking at it, we've got no doubts about that, but we're at the point now where we feel that [the answers] need to be formalised," he added.

"We haven't discussed yet as a team when we will close this petition, but we will definitely present it to Parliament before Christmas... in advance of the budget setting process which concludes in January-February time."

Bert Bingham, cabinet member for transport and environment at the council, said the authority understood people's frustration at its closure.

He said due to the nature of the damage, it was an "extremely complex" issue to resolve, involving different areas of law and remedial engineering work.

"Preparatory work is almost complete, but whilst we will be seeking to move things forward shortly, it may still be a substantial time before the pathway can be fully reopened," he added.

"We are therefore also exploring potential temporary solutions that might enable us to reopen more of the route for pedestrians in the interim.

"We have been advised that the slope could slip without warning and take a section of the multi-user route with it, so this additional work (and cost) has been necessary to keep people safe."

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