Red Row path petition submitted to Northumberland County Council

People living in Red Row, near Bedlington, have requested a pavement and cycleway connecting Red Row Drive to Barrington Road – a vital link that connects the community to nearby services.

Campaigners have said that people pushing pushchairs and wheelchairs are forced to walk on grass verges beside a busy road.

Speaking at a meeting of Castle Morpeth Local Area Council, petitioner Mandy Trotter said: “A key responsibility of local councils is to take proactive action to minimise risk to life.

“Is it an appropriate route for children riding their bikes, or elderly people, or parents with puschairs?”

A report presented to members at the meeting revealed the cost of the 500m path would be between £80,000 and £100,000 – although it did note that more detailed design would be required to determine the actual costs. Furthermore, a shared footpath and cycleway would need to be wider than just a footpath, and would be more expensive and could prove difficult to accommodate due to the width of the route.

Neil Snowdown, the council’s principle programme officer, said the project would have to go through the council’s normal Local Transport Plan programme, where it would be assessed and prioritisied along with other submissions across Northumberland.

He added: “We do appeciate that a footpath would be of benefit. We would suppport it in the next round of submissions for next year’s LTP. There’s no issues with that.

“It is difficult to prioritise that against other schemes.”

But the area’s ward councillor, Julie Foster, implored the council’s highways team to seriously consider the project and pointed to a particularly difficult section where the road crosses the railway, leading to a steep hill.

She said: “It’s something that residents have asked for over the years. Unfortunately, as with anything, it is down to money.

“I’m happy to put this forward in my submissions for the LTP. It’s quite a gradiant, there’s no two ways about it. Anyone with mobility issues or pushing wheelchairs or prams, it is difficult.

“Stakeford just seems to be forgotten about when it comes to cycleways. I know it’s competing against some good cases, but please consider it.”