A HISTORIC road which is celebrating its 160th anniversary could be renovated to make it safer for pedestrians.

Leigh Town Council wants work to be undertaken to preserve Church Hill, near St Clement's Church, Leigh, which has fallen into disrepair.

They are worried about overgrown hedges encroaching on handrails, uneven cobbles, steps which are cracked and chipped, and poor drainage.

Town councillor Rita Cocks said the cobbles areuneven, while overgrown bushes are marring the street lamps, making it very dark at night.

She said: "It's very dark and the granite setts are not very good.

"They have not been put in properly and are all uneven.

"Walking up there in the dark, you could fall over, and I am sure many people have fallen over.

"I have turned my ankle many a time.

"It's the main pathway to get to the Old Town, everyone knows where it is.

"We would like it to look more inviting and to have some tender loving care."

Mrs Cocks said the town council had hoped to approach Southend Council for funding before its budget was set.

However, the borough council said the cost of repair and refurbishment could be too much for it to manage.

She said it was important to renovate the area to preserve its history before developers seized on it to build more flats.

Mrs Cocks said: "There's a lot of history to the old hill and it's a shame it has got lost over time.

"Perhaps doing this project will bring it back to the children. Schools could find out about it.

"The old town has history, but it's swamped by Southend Pier and all the other things."

Leigh Town Council's working parties for the north and the south of the Old Town have now amalgamated, and will work out the cost of renovating Church Hill before their first meeting, on October 10.

The working party has recommended a survey of the usage of the hill be carried out, to back up its concerns about safety.

It also wants notices to be served on residents to cut back the overgrown bushes. These suggestions will now go to the town council's transport and highways committee.

Peter Wexham, borough councillor for Leigh ward, said money should have been set aside each year by Southend Council to maintain the steps. He said: "If you go to Rye, they have cobbled steps and roads and all the different ones are made to look immaculate.

"It's pleasant for the people who go there, and in Cornwall and Devon they make a feature of it.

"But Southend Council has neglected it over the years.

"Every time someone digs it up, like the waterworks, they pack the stones back into the concrete when it is supposed to be done by experts.

"There's a special way of laying them."