Council says Titnore Lane footpath could cost £1.2million: but resident says his plans cost just £57,000

After years of campaigning, West Sussex County Council accepted Barry Burks’ plans to fill 265 metres of missing sections of footpath along the half-mile stretch of Titnore Lane between Titnore Way and the A2032.

But he said that he was ‘astounded’ when a feasibility study commissioned by the council said it would cost just under £1.2million. As this figure was for the whole road, he decided to approach Landbuild, a consultant used by the council, to get a costing for his proposal.

This came back at £57,141.50 – within the council’s highways department budget for the proposed scheme, Mr Burks said. The stretches of footpath would link the existing paths between St Barnabas House hospice and the Northbrook Recreation Ground near the children’s play area.

The retired electrical design engineer said: “This is a real safety issue for the local residents, and West Sussex County Council is not taking this seriously enough.”

Barry first took action after his wife Jean and two friends were brushed by a passing car’s wing mirror in Titnore Lane in December 2016, months after moving into one of the newly built homes there. He started a petition to fill 300 yards of missing sections of footpath along the half-mile stretch of Titnore Lane between Titnore Way and the A2032.

A county council spokesman said: “The proposal is to join the existing footway at the college to the south with the existing footway adjacent to the children’s play park, to the north of the recreation ground.

“There is a commitment to continue with the design of this scheme in the next financial year.

“We would then have to consult locally and also consider if budget constraints would allow a footpath to be built.”