Three Rivers District Council (TRDC) adopted its Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) at a meeting last month.
The LCWIP is a policy document which sets out infrastructure changes to encourage cycling and walking locally.
However, when Abbots Langley and Bedmond councillors Vicky Edwards and Ian Campbell considered the details of the LCWIP, they discovered that no improvements to walking infrastructure had been planned in the village.
Plans were subsequently proposed for a Core Walking Zone (CWZ) around Abbots Langley High Street with suggestions for improvements, such as improving paving, lighting and crossings.
Cllr Edwards explained: “The failure to designate a CWZ in Abbots Langley was a lost opportunity, which would see the village lose out on funding for footpath improvements.”
The proposals were sent to TRDC leadership in July and proposed at a meeting a few weeks later. However, the proposal has since been voted down.
Cllrs Edwards and Campbell are now working on the proposals to be investigated and consulted on for adding to the LCWIP at a later date.
Cllr Edwards said: “Residents often approach us with suggestions to improve local footpaths to encourage walking locally, but often there is not enough money available, or they do not meet the county council’s criteria for repair.
“That is why it is so important that our village should not be excluded for extra funding.”
Councillor Sarah Nelmes, Deputy Leader of TRDC, said: “The CWZs form part of the approved but not yet adopted LCWIP. We have consulted on the LCWIP from 2022, and since then, this has not been raised as an issue.
“As stated previously, specific routes in the LCWIP will return to TRDC for further consultation with councillors and residents where suggestions, including the designations of CWZs, can be made.”
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