Horse riders feel forgotten by new transport plan

Lucy White said horse riders needed safer travel routes across Essex

Horse riders criticised a council's plan for new green transport after it failed to mention how bridleways would be improved.

Cycle lanes and footpaths were in Essex County Council's draft proposals to "better connect" people, but equestrians said they had been forgotten about.

Lucy White, of the Essex Bridleways Association, warned vulnerable riders needed more off-road routes as a matter of safety.

A council spokesman said: "We recognise bridleways are a key part of the county's green infrastructure and will ensure this is reflected in the final strategy."

Unlike footpaths, bridleways can be used by a combination of people walking, cycling, using wheelchairs and on horseback.

More than 37,000 horses are kept in Essex, according to the county's safer roads partnership.

Ms White said "disjointed" bridleway networks forced riders onto busy roads

Ms White, from Layer de la Haye, said the existing bridleway network was "disjointed", often forcing riders onto busy roads.

"We're slowly losing some of our rural landscape, pushing horses onto the road, and they don't want to be there," she said.

"I don't think we're asking for special treatment; we just want to be included in having this safer access everyone else will get."

'Massively restricted'

The Conservative-run council has been consulting residents on its draft transport strategy, titled A Better Connected Essex.

It aimed to make travelling across Essex greener, with sustainable travel routes better connecting towns and villages to services.

However, the Essex Bridleways Association said without safer access for horses, their journeys would be "massively restricted".

The local authority said people still had the chance to shape its strategy and encouraged them to share any concerns.

"This is a vitally important part of the strategy's development, and the responses we receive will help us improve and finalise the strategy," the spokesman added.

"We thank the Essex Bridleways Association and everyone else who has shared their views."