A 'slap in the face' for community council's footpath plans

Adding that stretch to the planned path will mean lengthy discussions with private landowners and more potential delays.

A councillor called for “joined-up thinking” and criticised conditions imposed on potential funding by a national transport charity.

Ecclesmachan and Threemiletown Community Council members have campaigned for a safe footpath to connect to the two villages, which lie just over a mile apart on the steep and winding B8046 road east of Linlithgow.

West Lothian Council has plans in place but cannot afford to build the footpath, and so turned to Sustrans to seek funding.

But the national, government funded charity, which promotes sustainable travel, has asked for the path to link the villages to Uphall Station, four miles south of Ecclesmachan.

Extending the path to Uphall would mean encroaching on private land, stalling the council in detailed negotiations over land transfer and potential compulsory purchase orders.

Councillors on the Linlithgow Local Area Committee called on the charity to relax “onerous” rules to allow at least the path link between the villages to be built.

Operations manager Andy Johnston told the meeting that the designs were in place, using council-owned verges and land to link the villages.

Councillor Tom Conn said: “A footpath between Ecclesmachan and Threemiletown. That’s what the community council wants.

“It just seems to be a slap in the face. All the work has been done in the community. The design has been done. Then, because another organisation wants to go to Uphall Station, the project comes to a halt.

“If the connection was built between Threemileton and Ecclesmachan then you are actually linking into the 38 bus route, and therefore to Linlithgow railway station. There needs to be exceptions to the rule. It needs joined-up thinking.”

Mr Johnston admitted that the rules for bidding for funding were “quite onerous”, with strict rules that footpath/cyclepaths have to be 2m wide. It is this width demand which means conversations would have to be had with landowners to extend the footpath south to the station. Contact with landowners has yet to take place.

Mr Johnston added: “It’s unfortunate that the council doesn’t have capital funding to be able to fund that [work] themselves. The only alternative is to look at grant funding. The application is quite onerous because of what Sustrans is looking for in minimum widths and surfaces.”

Chairing the meeting, Councillor Sally Pattle said: “It does seem ridiculous that this project cannot go ahead. They’re not interested if it’s a bus because that’s the evil roads. They want to direct everybody to active travel but for rural communities that’s just not a practical reality.”

Councillor Conn added: “At times the gold standard may not be achievable but surely the wider project should be looked at. The exception should be looked at.”