TWO parts of a retail park will finally be linked up, after planning permission was given for a new footpath.
For months people using Cortonwood Retail Park have been having to nip through the bushes, or negotiate the busy road and car park to get from one area to another - even though they are side by side.
The part of the park where Mark and Spencer and Outfit are located, which opened last year, are next to Asda Living and Halfords, but without access.
Wheelchair user Samantha Siddall, 26, of Kitson Court, Brampton, was struck by a car in February as she attempted to get through the car park.
Samantha said: “That new site is the probably the most dangerous part of the park, it’s horrendous for people on foot, it seems they only cater for people who drive.
“As you follow the path round there’s a blind spot where you have to go out onto the car park because there’s no dropped curb, and you just can’t see what’s coming round the corner.
“It’s all right for people who can cut through the bushes, but they’ve not really thought it through at all.
“It’s hard to find anyone that’s got anything to do with it, you just can’t seem to find who’s responsible.”
But now Hoober councillor David Roche says a new path connecting the two areas should be completed within weeks.
“I have been very concerned about this as I have seen myself people with wheelchairs struggling to get through the car park,” he said.
“The situation is that the sites on each side of the hedge are owned by different companies.
“The company on the new site, where Outfit is, have had to get permission and access rights from the older site, where Halfords is.
“I find it hard to understand what all the delay has been about.
“The good news is that this was sorted out approximately two weeks ago, and we have been told there is no reason now why the route can’t be done within the next month.”
