Extinguishment Order: Henham & Ugley
Elsenham Rights of Way and Open Spaces Committee
Please can I bring to your attention the proposed closure of footpaths 7, 37 & 38 Henham and 24 and 31 Ugley.Whilst we appreciate that Footpath 7 Henham crosses the Railway Line and perhaps should be closed, we see no reason why approx. 2 kilometers of good quality walk should be closed as well.
If one were cynical one could suggest that this is oppurtunism on the part of the landowners. We see no reason why Network Rail or the landowners adjacent to the railway should not allow a new path to be created alongside the railway as a replacement in order to make a circular route that does not involve a railway crossing.
The local residents want the crossing closed as they object from the warning toots that the trains have to make.
Network Rail should be encouraged to find replacement routes not condone closure of large lengths of the footpath network.The landowners will claim that the paths are little used. This is because they go out of their way to make the route inaccessible however my friends have walked the paths recently.
Landowners in Henham and Ugley have a reputation for blocking off footpaths (indeed several are being investigated by the ECC PRoW enforcement officer).
