Dover Lane,the popular path off Dunford Road to Washpit Mills, is best left to the Hippos at the moment. The mud is boot top deep and unavoidable. A sorry mess for October.
As our regular reader will know there are few all new public rights of way problems in Kirklees. Most are recycled versions of age old issues never properly sorted by our hapless bureaucrats.
So it is with the surface of Dover Lane. Over a year ago PathWatch highlighted Washpit Mills – A Missed Opportunity .The thought of getting this path repaired and upgraded by a developer and at no public cost (which was offered but the council failed to secure) was on my mind today as my boots filled with cold black mud whilst negotiating the lane.
This path links an approved development of 50 houses to a Bus Stop on Dunford Road. Whilst the Council declares a climate emergency on the one hand its planners fail miserably to gain an improvement which would benefit locals, the new home owners and of course poor old planet earth. As it is you can’t really blame anyone living at the future Washpit Mills development for driving everywhere. Where’s the alternative?
PathWatch spoke to Johnny Morris the council’s wildlife zsar who told us “We prefer to see the state of this public footpath in a much more positive light. Whilst it may no longer be suitable for bipeds I can reveal that following an extensive fact finding visit to The Gambia, very nice at this time of year by the way, we are launching a scheme to encourage overnight stays in Holmfirth from Hippopotamuses. Whilst Dover Lane may seem to be inconveniently situated in the Northern Hemisphere there is a bus stop on Dunford Road with direct links to the rail network from Huddersfield. What Dover Lane can offer the well healed and adventurous travelling hippo is year round mud and a range of excellent farm style accommodation which includes an all you can eat silage offer.”
You couldn’t make it up.
Path Watch 