'Resolution needed' over sudden route closure

A "keep out" sign appeared in May despite there being another sign stating it was an "unclassified county road"

A resolution must be found after a public road and bridleway in Shropshire was closed without warning, a councillor says.

Fencing and a "Keep out - private land" sign appeared several weeks ago, blocking the bridleway through Flanders Ford, between Baschurch and Adcote.

Walkers and horse riders said the closures mean they have to negotiate a dangerous road, but the landowner said the route was part of their garden and not an unclassified county road.

Conservative councillor Ed Potter said the "hotly debated" matter needed to come to a conclusion so people can draw a line under it.

"From my perspective it's causing a lot of angst locally, and I think we'd like to see a resolution either which way - is this or is this not an unclassified road that people can use and cross Flanders Ford," he said.

He said he did not know who had fenced it off, although there were rumours, but he said he did not want to speculate.

"A substantial fence has been put in. It's not something that has been done lightly, and it is clearly blocking what was the route," he said.

'I'd really like an answer'

"I think there is a dispute to say this is private property and it isn't an unclassified road, and I suppose that's in the hands of legal between the person who disputes it and Shropshire Council, who would have the ownership if it was an unclassified road."

He said he believed the council was in negotiations with the person who had put the fence up.

"I was under the impression there would have been a resolution within the last couple of weeks; I've not heard," he added.

Sarah Evans-Webster, who has been campaigning to get the route reopened, said she was recently nearly hit by a car after being forced to use a road she would not normally have to.

The landowner, who does not want to be named, has said there was no evidence the route was an unclassified road, and the disturbance of the river by the horses has led to the spread of invasive plants, such as Himalayan balsam.

Mr Potter said he was aware that a letter had been sent to residents stating that it was an unclassified road and the obstruction needed to be removed, and if it was not, then the council would clear it.

"It's very difficult, as there are maps going back 200 or 300 years with it on, and on some other maps it's not there, but it does appear to be there on one of the Shropshire Council maps I've seen, but from my perspective I'd really like an answer one way or another."