Northcroft Councillors show the walking ways

10.57.01am BST (GMT +0100) Fri 25th Apr 2008

Local councillors representing residents of Northcroft Ward are leading a 'walk of discovery' this Saturday morning (26th April), to publicise the Walking Map of Newbury produced last year by the West Berkshire Partnership. A similar map of Thatcham's urban byways is currently being surveyed.

The walk is intended to be fun but has a serious purpose. Northcroft Ward Councillor Tony Vickers explained why;

"Within months of publication, one route on the Newbury map is threatened with closure following action by residents plagued by anti-social behaviour to 'gate' a well-used 30m 'cut through' linking Robert Sandilands School with Speen Lane via Speen Lodge Court. I am concerned that new powers to impose Gating Orders could make these Walking Maps out of date before they are even issued to residents.

"I have no problem with Gating Orders where a route is seldom used by ordinary people," continued Cllr Vickers. "However I am concerned that the Council's policy to encourage people to walk and cycle for short journeys could be undermined by a tiny minority of people causing problems in a few areas - and abuse of the new powers to gate urban alleyways. There are other ways to deal with anti-social behaviour. Gating Orders can simply move trouble makers into new areas without tackling the cause. Meanwhile innocent users of our footpath network are inconvenienced and the Council wastes taxpayers money on making both the Gating Orders and the Walking Maps."

West Berkshire Council is currently drawing up a Protocol on Gating Orders, which is likely to include provision for making local parishes pay for them. It will also try to limit Orders to land the Council owns. However Cllr Vickers believes there is uncertainty over who owns the land across which many of the paths on Walking Maps go. He has put a Question to the Council's Executive Member for Highways, Cllr Keith Chopping, on this - to be answered at a meeting of the Executive on Thursday 25th April.