In the last week or so we’ve started going out round our area identifying where footpaths and pavements are so overgrown they are not safe to walk along or are a mess.

This is not an issue caused by lockdown, rather it is a problem because the council has no dedicated budget or teams to edge back paths.

This is a problem at the best of times, but in the current crisis, with so many more people now walking about through necessity, simply to try and stay fit, it is a complaint we are getting very, very regularly now. And making sure people can actually get past each other safety is critical at the moment.

So far we have reported several dozen locations where there are issues. I believe that the Council needs to tackle this issue head on.

We are making sure that the worst overgrown areas are being addressed by working with our excellent Clean and Green staff as quickly as possible and have even been and cut back some areas ourselves, but many years of under investment in this area by the County Council can’t be fixed using existing already over worked staff.

One way or another we are going to find a solution to this in the coming weeks and months.