Resident can't get home as blocked by potato crop

A Herefordshire park home resident is being blocked from getting to a nearby village – by a potato crop.

Tom Atkins of Lucksall Park, Fiddler’s Green near Fownhope, said a public right of way between the park and village became impassable when the farmer ploughed it and planted it up in April.

He and fellow residents have been told by both the parish and county councils that they have asked the landowner to reinstate the footpath.

“But nothing has been done, and now the potatoes have grown it is totally impassable,” Mr Atkins said. “Footpaths cannot be allowed to disappear.”

Fownhope parish clerk Helen Tinson said: “We are aware of the problem, and are following it up with Herefordshire Council.

“We have also been promised by the landowner that he will reinstate the path.”

A spokesperson for Herefordshire Council confirmed: “We have received a complaint from a member of the public and we will be working with the landowner to ensure that action is taken to resolve the issue in line with the council’s complaints procedure.”

David Howerski, local correspondent for the Open Spaces Society and member of the statutory Herefordshire Local Access Forum which the council is supposed to consult, explained: “If the landowner to reinstate the path, the council can have recourse to legal enforcement.

“But in the last 12 months, Herefordshire Council have prosecuted only once. Most landowners are compliant, but those who aren’t know the enforcement is non-existent.”