Intervention by Liberal Democrat Councillors has successfully resolved long running issues with a section of pavement on Yorktown Road, Sandhurst, outside the Boots Pharmacy.
Damage to the pavement in this location has been an issue for some considerable time, presenting a dangerous hazard to pedestrians, with at least one resident suffering serious injuries after tripping and falling on the uneven surface earlier this year. Historically Bracknell Forest Council had been unable to resolve the issues directly as the section of pavement lies on privately owned land.
Borough Councillor Naz Zahuruddin explains how the Bracknell Forest Liberal Democrat team stepped in to finally achieve long overdue resolution to the problem:
“Following an elderly resident’s injury on this path in late January this year, Lib Dem Sandhurst Town Cllrs Nicky Coppins and Sophie Forster brought this issue to my attention. It was very unfair and completely unacceptable for our resident to go through such an ordeal as this pavement should have been repaired years ago.
After meeting with the resident I was set on getting this resolved once and for all.
Whilst I am aware that previous Councillors, representatives of other political groups and even Bracknell’s MP, James Sunderland, are understood to have made overtures to the landowners regarding this issue in the past, these efforts continued to prove ineffectual. It was clear to me that this case called for an alternative approach to that which had been tried, tested and failed in the past.
As the section of pavement is on private land, the Council’s Highways department were unable to carry out repairs directly and only have very limited enforcement powers. As that avenue had been exhausted, I reached out to officers at the Public Protection Partnership to explore options for enforcement on the grounds of public health and safety.
Further to consultation and co-ordination with BFC Legal Services, the Public Protection Partnership served an enforcement action notice under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. This was the first significant step which has led to a positive response and the landowner finally confirmed in March that the much overdue repairs will be carried out on 22-23 April.
Whilst we acknowledge the efforts others have made in the past to resolve this issue, it was the dedication of the Lib Dem team to leave no stone unturned, leading and co-ordinating across various Council departments including Highways, the Public Protection Partnership and Legal Services, which has finally seen this issue resolved. This is the level of action and dedication Sandhurst residents have entrusted us to deliver, and we intend to continue coming through for them.”
Councillor Zahuruddin also expressed his gratitude to the numerous Council officers, from across multiple departments, who came together to deliver the much need solution.
Posting on the We Love Sandhurst Facebook group, one affected resident said:
“It was my wife who had the serious accident outside Boots in January. Nobody other than Nicky Coppins, Nazar Zahuruddin and Sophie Forster of the Lib Dems were interested as it was on private land. They promised that they would work tirelessly to get the path repaired as we didn’t want this to happen again to anybody else. The people we sincerely thank are the three Lib Dems.”
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