Councilllors call for "dangerous" Ambleside Walk pathway to be looked at after nine years of complaints

Ambleside Walk, in Canvey is littered with broken concrete and has become neglected despite continual complaints by residents and councillors.

Neville Watson, councillor for Winter Gardens said the walk is used regularly by school pupils, parents with prams and disabled scooters.

He said: “It’s ridiculous there really, and it’s time to get it sorted.

“I’ve been calling for work to be done there for such a long time now, and each time it seems to have been knocked back, or that it wasn’t a priority.

“I understand that there’s no point in repairing it if the path is something that nobody uses.

“But the Ambleside Walk situation is at the stage something needs to be done. Residents with disabled scooters and pushchairs, along with school kids use that pathway a lot.

“It links a lot of schools on the island and the lake too, so it’s probably one of the most used pathways on Canvey.”

John Anderson, councillor Canvey Central, believes work to improve the pathway could be tied in with roadwork taking place in nearby Link Road.

He said: “It’s as though it’s the area that time forgot to be honest.

“Residents have been complaining about it for years. Let’s not forget that it’s not just somewhere that people just walk through to get from A to B.

“There’s a lot of work going on to repair the surface of Link Road this week. Surely it would be a workable solution to tie the work together.”

An Essex Highways spokesperson said: “Maintenance engineers inspected Ambleside Walk on January 30 this year and will be returning as part of our annual inspection programme in January 2016.

“If the condition of the pathway has deteriorated, it will be logged for further investigation and scheduled for repair.

“Residents should report any footpath or carriageway problems online via the Essex Highways website at www.essexhighways.org/Report-a-problem.aspx or by calling 0345 6037 631.”