PLANS have been revealed to unveil a new £25,000 footpath which serves as an “appropriate reference” to a former MP who helped save Basildon Golf Course.

The new Lady Basildon path, which would run from Sparrows Hern to Club Kingswood’s car park, and parallel to Clayhill Lane along the edge of the hedge line within the open space, is part of the council’s Westley Heights area committee’s proposals to spend more than £36,833 on community projects.

Kerry Smith, Independent councillor for housing and property, said the path is officially named after a character in Oscar Wilde’s ‘An Ideal Husband,’ but also serves as an “appropriate reference” to Baroness Angela Smith.

This is after she helped “aid the battle” to save Basildon Golf Course from being reshaped with rubble in 2008 when she was the town’s Labour MP.

Mr Smith said: “Clayhill Lane is the highway to the Club Kingswood car park and Basildon Golf Course. This time of year, people have to walk through a muddy field or highway where there is no pavement. It’s a very tight narrow road.

“You can’t duck on the side of the road because there’s hedges and trees there. The new path is a safety measure.”

He added “The path is to save lives, that’s what it’s about. When the weather’s nice, I’m not worried. But as soon as the rain comes, that’s when I worry.”

The committee is set to approve the £25,754 funding on November 4, while meeting agenda documents highlight it as a “new granite dust footpath”.

The projects which will also be funded from the £36,833 pot include £1,500 of investment in the delivery of the “crunch” waste collection service, £3,000 spent on a Christmas switch-on event and £2,500 of funding to be awarded to Basildon Helping Hands Foodbank.

Mo Larkin, ward councillor for Nethermayne, added: “Any investment I welcome in our ward. Any investment is good for Basildon, is good for our area.

“I think everybody is quite happy about it.”