Campaign aims to improve town's pavements

Ramsey residents have been encouraged to report issues with pavements during the campaign

Residents of a northern town have been asked to highlight concerns with paths and pavements in a bid to reduce "slips and trips".

Ramsey Commissioner Chris Martin said the Safer Surfaces – Safer Spaces scheme would gather feedback on issues, such as potholes, to make the area "more accessible".

He said some residents were "more housebound than they need to be" because they were "a little bit frightened that they might tumble or take a fall".

Although some in the town have suggested the walkways were "not too bad in general", resident Vivien Quane said the paths near her home on Queen's Pier Road were "terrible".

Concerns can be submitted online or in person by visiting the local library before 28 September, when the responses will be forwarded to the Department of Infrastructure (DOI).

Elected to Ramsey Town Commissioners in July, Martin said some people had pointed out some of "the undulations, issues and potholes" when he was canvassing for votes.

He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service he had been made aware of a "number of incidents and accidents" where people "had tumbled out of their mobility carts" on polling day.

He said once the feedback had been gathered the authority would consider problems it might be able to fix, alongside working with homeowners and the DOI to resolve the issues.

"Hopefully we can reduce incidents and accidents where people are unnecessarily injured and their confidence is boosted," Martin said.

Local authority chairman Alby Oldham said local pavements were "not as good as they could be"

The campaign has been backed by chairman of the commissioners Alby Oldham, who also runs a community hub at the old courthouse on Water Street.

He said a scooter hire scheme offered by the centre gave visitors a "good chance of seeing most of the town", but he found he had to advise people of the safest route to use "to avoid anyone coming off".

He said the improvement scheme was important for the "health and safety" of the town as the pavements were "not as good as they could be", particularly outside former Lloyds Bank branch on Parliament Street.

Ramsey resident Vivien Quane said various pavements in the town were "breaking up"

Ms Quane, who uses a four-wheeled walker as support to visit the town from her sheltered accomodation, said she regularly got "stuck in potholes on the pavements".

She said while she loved some large trees nearby to her home, the walkway was "all broken up around the roots so you have to stop and think about where you're walking".

While the paths on the outskirts of town were a bigger issue than the shopping street, the 81-year-old said she found there were also areas there that were difficult to get around.

"It's just lack of maintenance, that's what all about," she said.

"It's not fair on anybody, we all pay our rates so why isn't it being looked after?"

Robert Fox shared his views as a visitor to the town

Colby resident Robert Fox, who was visiting Ramsey to meet a friend, said he thought the paths he had used were "not bad", but added he only tended to spend time in the centre of town.

Assisted by a walking stick, he said: "I can get in and out of the car okay... and I don't tend to have to go very far when I'm here."

"I suppose you just have to be careful."

Winifred Whitehouse said she understood concerns by residents about some paths in Ramsey

Winifred Whitehouse, who lives in Ramsey, said "up until now I haven't tripped over" but there were some areas she tended to avoid to prevent that.

She said she felt the walkways in the town were good "in general" but "some could be better in some places".

"I can understand why people want to see work done" to improve certain areas, she added.

Additional reporting by the Local Authority Reporting Service.