Footpath closure sparks protest

20 November 2009

RESIDENTS are up in arms about plans to build an eight-storey block of flats at Roneo Corner which will mean they have to catch a bus to cross the road!

If the plan gets the go-ahead, the main pedestrian access from South Street to Hornchurch Road will be closed for two years.

It would mean residents wishing to use the walkway will have to catch a bus to get from one road to the other, or go on foot - which could take up to 30 minutes.

Ruby Milton, of Rom Way Action Group, has been putting together a petition against the closure of the footpath.

Ruby, of Rom Crescent, said: "There are a lot of elderly people round here who use this route to get to Tesco and the other shops.

"Commuters use it to get to and from the station, and because of heavy traffic at Roneo they often get off at South Street and walk through here.

"People use it for the YMCA, so the closure will actually affect everybody. People won't be able to go anywhere."

The road from South Street's junction with Rom Valley Way and Hornchurch Road does not have a pavement.

Pedestrians can either walk up Clydesdale Road and down Park Lane to Hornchurch Road, or back up South Street and through an alleyway - dubbed 'mugger's alley' for the lack of lighting - to Rom Valley Way to get to Hornchurch Road.

Ruby said: "People will have to walk for 30 minutes when it should take two."

So far almost 300 people have signed the petition.

John Underwood, 61, of Milton Gardens, said: "People are going to have to get a bus to go 50 yards round the corner. I can't believe we've not been consulted about it."

Mavis Clark, 74, of Fraser Close, who uses a mobility scooter through the walkway to get to her doctor and to Tesco, said: "There are no kerbs to worry about here. If it closes it's going to take me 45 minutes instead of five."

Iris Fox, 87, of Fraser Close, who uses a walking stick, said: "I won't be able to walk up Clydesdale Road because it's on a hill. I'll have to get the bus."

Jon Mandell, store manager for Tesco, said: "It certainly will adversely affect my business. A lot of customers come by foot."

Planning permission for 121 flats, a health centre, restaurant, and new pedestrian access route was granted in October, 2007. People have until Wednesday to write letters of representation on the application to the council.