Ghost footpath exorcised

8.40.00am BST (GMT +0100) Fri 20th Jun 2008

Thursday evening's planning committee was asked to authorise the diversion of a footpath in Paulton, Bradford on Avon, to allow five new houses to be built by Selwood. A short extra length of footpath going around rather than across the site will be created.

However nobody has walked the official route of the footpath for at least 30 years, because in the 1970s garages were built across it, and at that time nobody bothered to do the required footpath diversion.

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A similar oversight in Westbury a few years ago led to a new house being built over the line of a footpath and meant that ramblers were banging on the front door demanding their legal right to walk through the house, much to the embarrassment of bungling developers and council staff who had allowed the situation to develop.

In this case though nobody seems to have insisted on rambling through the garages.