COUNTY council spokesman (County sorry for footpath delay, The News, February 25) was quoted as saying in council speak: “An opposed order to add a footpath will be referred to the Planning Inspectorate for a decision which will probably be reached by way of a public inquiry. We apologise for any unavoidable delay in this process due to a number of competing priorities”.

The ‘unavoidable delay’ needs to be considered in the context of the original advice from the county council, which was that it would be forwarding the paperwork in June 2014.

This would have been already months after the matter came before the county council committee.

The lack of urgency may be due to the lack of enthusiasm expressed for rights of way by the chairman of the committee. It is now February 2015.

It should be noted that all the work needed to establish the facts had been done before the matter went to the committee, so it would appear that little more than a covering letter to the Minister was needed to send the paperwork on its way.

Despite our county councillor’s best endeavours to get a result for us, from the above the clear impression received is that County Hall feels that Ilminster and its citizens, being a comparatively small part of the electorate, can be safely ignored. This is discouraging for all parties involved in the dispute – by that I mean those who consider it is not a right of way, as well as those who consider it to be one.

They need an answer, whether for them it is the answer they are hoping for or not.

If the problem is not actually the lack of urgency or a disinclination to do anything on the matter but the lack of a quill pen, I will be happy to find them a goose feather.

  • DAVID MILLER Station Road, Ilminster