Lincolnshire County Council looking into improving Running Furrows path near Priory Ruskin Academy after months of lobbying from Grantham resident

A man has spent months campaigning for improvements to a ‘poorly graded’ footpath that is plagued with large puddles after wet weather.

Grantham resident Bob Ford has been lobbying various authorities in an effort to see improvements made to the Running Furrows path, which connects North Parade to Kingscliffe Road and passes by Priory Ruskin Academy.

Different sections of the path are owned by different authorities, including Lincolnshire County Council and Network Rail, who lease it to Sustrans, making it difficult for improvements to be made.

Bob has described the last 12 months as “inter council ping pong” at times, as he chased answers over the path.

He now feels that he has made a breakthrough, after LCC confirmed that options were being explored to improve the path.

Bob said: “I have been informing all parties for over 12 months to complete a simple task of resolving the excessive puddling of the main access walkway to the Priory School and Manthorpe estate which sees a foot fall of over 2,000 people a day from local residents and school children.

“During the wet months the puddles are over 40mm deep and cover large parts of the footpath, making it very difficult to use the path for all concerned. The footpath is poorly graded and made of the wrong material for the high footfall.”

LCC will now be looking into possible options for improving the path, with a decision expected to be made in the coming months.

Chris Miller, head of environment for LCC, said: “Whilst it is recognised that this is a well-used route, it is not currently recorded as a public right of way.

“The county council will be looking into what may be possible to improve the route in the coming months; however, it will have to be weighed up against other similar projects around the county.

“This site is particularly complicated because it isn’t recorded as a public right of way but is recognised as a route used by children to access the adjacent school. There are also multiple owners to the path, all with different responsibilities.

“The team is still reviewing all of the options, with a decision expected to be made in the coming months.”