Cyclists in a spin over pathway

Cyclists and property developers have clashed over a public right of way.Riders claim a link path off Booth Road, Audenshaw, Tameside, blocked by Bellway Homes, is a public footpath and the firm must legally keep it open.But the company says the route they have blocked with rubble and tyres is not the path's original course and cyclists have strayed from the real route after it became overgrown.The path leads to the Manchester Cycle Path, also known as the Fallowfield Loop, which runs from Fairfield, near Audenshaw, to Chorlton along a disused railway track. Residents say they have since been forced to use alternative routes.Bellway Homes, who are developing a site next to the path, say they plan to create a purpose-built footpath and cycle route to link to the Manchester Cycle Path. But Janet Uncles, a legal executive from Audenshaw who regularly cycles along the Fallowfield Loop, said: "All cyclists can do is stay on the main road or cycle across the golf club grounds - you can't get a bike past the rubble to reach the Manchester Cycle Path. "Cyclists have been using this path for years. It is a massive inconvenience to find it has now been blocked."Bellway Homes have planning permission to build 97 homes on the site of the former Hepworths factory, off Booth Road.Last week, Tameside council and the company met to discuss what could be done.A council spokesman said: "The blocking of the path is an unlawful obstruction and we are trying to get the situation resolved. Bellway Homes were told they need to apply for a temporary diversion of the footpath route."But Bellway say the land they've blocked is not a right of way. A spokesman said: "After the Hepworth depot was re-located, the path was left to deteriorate. We have trimmed overgrown trees and hedgerow and offered to level off uneven ground. Bellway has also pointed out that the footpath sign has been erected in the wrong place and does not correspond to that sign at the opposite end of the correct path."