‘Don’t overlook us’: Protesters call for improvements to key riverside footpath

Protesters gathered along a riverbank at the weekend as they continued their calls for improvements to their “link into town”.West Lynn residents want to see the public footpath between Willow Tree Close and Clockcase Road, which helps to provide a quicker route into the town centre, upgraded.However, their current plans were not enough to secure money from the latest round of West Norfolk Council’s CIL funding allocations.

Despite the setback, which the borough council said was down to issues including provision of quotations, members of the West Lynn Action Group are continuing to push their case.Around 30 determined residents – including local councillor Alex Kemp, a man aged in his 90s, a child with special needs and two dogs – congregated along the riverbank on Saturday to plead their case. Karen Champion, press officer at the Action Group, said members want a grass section of the footpath next to one of the rain shelters to be resurfaced.

“It serves for people that put their proper walking boots on, but it doesn’t cater for the rest of the population in the way that it should,” she told the Lynn News.“It can be quite uneven. One of the chaps who has used it after hours when he couldn’t get a taxi said it was very difficult to use after dark.“This is the message – don’t overlook us. We are not going to be ignored.”The group is planning to submit a fresh CIL bid in time for the next round of funding applications in July.

However, members still hope to have their original rejection overturned. Borough council cabinet member Jim Moriarty previously said there is clear guidance for applicants to the scheme, and that any application that does not follow this cannot be granted funds.Speaking after the weekend protest, Action Group secretary Alison Fletcher said: “I just feel that West Lynn deserves more.

“It is our traffic-free link into town. If you have got a child or baby in a buggy, you don’t want to be walking up that main road with all those big lorries. “That would be a perfect pathway that you could run along. People now just turn around and go back.“We deserve a share of whatever is happening on the other side of the river.”

Borough councillor Alex Kemp, who represents West Lynn, said: “West Lynn residents are 100% behind the footpath. “There are two riverfronts in Lynn, and both need attention.“This path is a short-cut into town for walkers.”

Got a story? Email kris.johnston@iliffepublishing.co.uk