PETERSFIELD residents are fighting plans for a cycleway from the massive new 276-home development proposed off Ramshill, which they claim could cause serious accidents.
Campaigners claim cyclists unfamiliar with the road, or travelling too fast, could shoot out into the busy Ramshill road at a specially dangerous point.
And they are angry that their suggestion to reroute the cycleway and footpath has been Òdismissed out of handÓ by planners.
This week veteran councillor Elsa Bulmer, who is also a cyclist and lives off Ramshill, put her weight behind the residentsÕ battle to have the cycleway rerouted.
She told members of Petersfield Town CouncilÕs planning committee on Tuesday: ÒThose of us who know Ramshill and the dangers of coming onto it by foot or on a bicycle, know that there will be a really serious accident if this goes ahead.Ó
The alarm was raised among residents when planners made a special presentation to town councillors recently on proposals by Bryant Homes to build 276 homes on land close to Kingsfernsden Lane and Ramshill.
They were worried about the cycle and footpath from the site running along the narrow Skinners Lane and joining the busy Ramshill at a point where there was a high embankment on the opposite side of the road and no pavement.
Residents have proposed that the footway should instead run alongside the railway line and the cemetery and come into the town centre via North Road.
The safety of the cycleway is just one of several issues concerning the Bryant Homes development which concerns Ramshill resident Richard Shelton-Agar.
He said Skinners Lane was not wide enough to cope with too much usage and joined Ramshill at a dangerous point: ÒThe lane abuts three houses which have vehicular rights of way down it,Ó he said. ÒThe road is too narrow for vehicular traffic and bicycles and pedestrians.Ó
This week another, resident Scott Gibbons, of Ramshill, sent his concerns to East Hampshire District Council.
He said Skinners Lane was the only right of way to his home and he objected to its use as a cycle and footway on the grounds of safety.
Concerned residents are hoping to organise a public meeting in the Petersfield Community Centre to discuss all aspects of the proposed Bryant Homes development.