00:00A new crack in a towpath, which has been closed for six years, is raising concerns among the
00:05Ellsford community. The Ellsford towpath experienced a landslip caused by water erosion in 2020
00:11and since then it's remained fenced off from residents, with frustrations growing among
00:16locals and councillors who say they've had enough.
00:19I think there is every intention of beginning work next May, but I fear there is a lack
00:25of political leadership here. I'm not sure active travel and healthy walking is high
00:30on Reform UK's agenda, so I suspect without continual political pressure the work may
00:36yet again be delayed. We are in a society where there's traffic
00:42and congestion, where people are more and more busy and stressed with everyday life and
00:48to have this facility, this wonderful towpath linking Ellsford village with Maidstone is
00:55a benefit to everybody and KCC just needs to get on and get it done.
00:59It's stopping a generation, we've had Covid and now we've got this and this has run through
01:04Covid, this has run much, much longer than Covid and the effect is to get people frankly going
01:10to school by car and this sort of thing, whereas teenagers should be out on their bikes and getting
01:17to know a bit about life and enjoying their own freedom to travel and this is a major impediment
01:23to it. Kent County Council says repairs are now due to begin next May, but after three
01:28previous delays residents remain sceptical. I've been keeping an eye on it since we moved
01:33in, so we've been here for about 18 months and the first thing I looked at was you know
01:36what's going on, what are the time scales etc and it just seems that there's like a delay
01:41after delay, like I say the funding was approved but there seems to be another issue, another
01:45bit of bureaucracy red tape that's saying well we can't do it just yet. I used to meet so many
01:48people
01:49and there was lots of people dog walking and it was actually really great for people say
01:53on mobility scooters and things like that because they could come onto the footpath, they could
01:58bring their little dog and they could get all the way up to Allington Lock and go to the
02:03coffee shop there and it was a social thing for them.
02:06£1.2 million was secured through the government's active travel scheme over two years ago to pay
02:12for these repairs. But there are fears it could be withdrawn if the project continues to be delayed,
02:17and so with these costs likely to rise the longer the work is put off, councillors are fearing the
02:23worst. So here is actually a new crack that has happened in response to the landfall over there
02:28and councillors are actually really concerned that this may be the start of a bigger issue.
02:33I've contacted Kent County Council for a response but have not yet received one. In a previous statement
02:38KCC said they are committed and will continue to work closely with relevant authorities to secure
02:44approvals quickly. For now the barriers remain and residents will have to wait until next May to
02:50find out if they can finally get back on the path they've been missing out on for six years.
02:55Maizie Walker for KMTV, Ellsford
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