We the residents in the surrounding areas affected request that Swindon Borough Council follow through with their commitment to build a footpath comprising of a rolled stone surface through West Quor Ground from Widhill Lane Bridge to the end of the path alongside Cooperative and Abbey Farm Educate Together Primary School. This was supposed to be done during summer 2024 and there is no update to date.

If no improvement is made this means that residents will have to navigate the muddy bog like conditions for yet another autumn and winter. Currently this path is used by residents either side of the A419. Abbey Farm Educate Together Primary School is increasing in capacity every year that passes which means more parents, students and staff may be walking to the school via this route and the Cooperative is the nearest shop within walking distance for most estates leading off Ermin Street.

The following people also use this pathway:

• Cyclists
• Mobility scooter users
• Scooter users
• Parents with babies in pushchairs
• Great Western Academy students (as there are no walking links to Tadpole via Ermin Street)
• Dog walkers
• People commuting to and from work
• Horse riders

If this is not addressed properly and a footpath installed then this will add to the amount of traffic building up round Cold Harbour junction in addition to the chicane which has been repaired numerous times already on Ermin Street. Some families who do not have access to a car are having to walk this way to reach Abbey Farm School alongside heavy traffic flow.

Should a footpath be installed then more residents would use this instead of having to walk further than needed and avoid the hazard of navigating the mud every autumn and winter and this would also help decrease the amount of cars on the road in the immediate area.

Please see below SBC's response forwarded on by Blunsdon Parish council when this matter was first brought to their attention:

"This route starts as Public Bridleway 5, Blunsdon, and runs along Widhill Lane to the bridge over the A419 and after that bridge the route is classified as Public Bridleway 9, St Andrew.  Widhill Lane is used by the residents of the Lane with vehicles to access their properties and those residents have responsibilities for the majority of the maintenance of the Lane.  After the A419 bridge the route is unsurfaced until it reaches the Abbey Farm development off Lady Lane.  The developers of Abbey Farm surfaced the route through their site but did not undertake any works to the surface of the approx. 150m section of route between the development and the A419 bridge.

As this route is a public bridleway any surfacing should be suitable for horses, cyclists and walkers and would be 3m wide rather than just a narrow footpath for walkers and would probably have a rolled stone surface rather than a tarmac surface.  The Borough Council, as highway authority, is responsible for the surface of this route which hasn’t changed since the areas on both sides of the A419 have been developed and when the requirements for the route have changed.  I hope during April to identify funding that will enable the route to be surfaced during the summer of 2024."

As of 28th June 2024 a schedule for construction was to be implemented but there has been no response to date.

Above: End of footpath near AFET Primary and the Cooperative.