Caerphilly county: 18-year campaign over footpath claim

Campaigners say they are determined to win access to the area

An eighteen-year campaign to get legal recognition for a path through bluebell woods has stumbled over a landowner's appeal.

One campaigner told an inquiry she has been walking the path in Tredomen, Caerphilly county, since she was a child in the 1950s.

But a woman who bought land there in 2002 said the path was not in use and crosses her property.

A report from the planning inspectorate is expected in October.

"We're determined, we don't want to lose this footpath as we only have one left," said Susan Smith, 74, telling an inquiry she has been walking the path since she was a little girl.

In 2017 she resubmitted an application, first started in 2005, to have a public right of way declared between Park Lane, Tredomen, and an existing footpath. In 2019 Caerphilly council agreed to the proposal.

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But landowner Ellen Salton appealed, telling the inquiry by Welsh government agency Planning and Environment Decisions Wales (PEDW) there was no clear path and the area was not used by residents.

She put up "private property" signs to deter residents, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

The woodland path (pictured 17 years ago) has been closed to the public since a landowner appealed against its status as a right of way

Residents argued the signs did not appear until two or three years after Ms Salton bought the land.

She claimed there was a "conspiracy" against her.

Planning inspector Janine Townsley must decide, on the balance of probabilities, whether the path was used for at least 20 years prior to 2002 without "force, secrecy or permission".

That was the view of council planning officer Stefan Denbury, who made the 2019 decision.

He has been accused of "inexperience" by Ms Salton's representative.

Andy Dunlop told the inquiry: "This order should not have been made if a proper investigation had occurred."

A map showing the route of the path from Park Lane in Tredomen to an existing footpath

But the council's barrister, Howard Leithead, said Mr Denbury was a "professional officer with a professional qualification".

He also responded to Ms Salton's claim the area was not used by residents.

"If people weren't using that path, why would they campaign so hard for so many decades for the right to do it?" Mr Leithead asked the inquiry.

Resident Diana Tura described the bluebell woods along the path as her "sanctuary".

"All the people in Tredomen just want to keep what we have, nothing more," she said.

Another community member, Brian Elliot said: "We have used the through route over many decades consistently," adding the community wants access to the "peaceful" area.

But David Horgan, who owns a nursery in the area, spoke in support of Ms Salton. He said he had never walked the footpath described by the residents.

During the past four years, the path has remained closed while the appeals process takes place.

Mrs Smith said she was disappointed the path had been closed during that period, adding she would like to see the path go back to how it was "straight away" if the order is approved.