PRESSURE on Hampshire County Council to shelve its plan to extend a Grayshott footpath has resulted in a speedy U-turn.

Last week’s Herald reported Hampshire had come under fire from the Grayshott Society and the parish council for going ahead with a plan to extend the footpath from Kiln Way to Firway to benefit eight households.

They both objected it was a waste of “scant resources”, which would lead to “further urbanisation” of the local gap between Grayshott and Headley Down.

This week, both organisations welcomed the announcement by Headley ward member Floss Mitchell the plan had been dropped last Thursday following her discussions with officers.

Mrs Mitchell made it clear, however, that shelving the footpath did not mean Hampshire CC could increase the amount it could spend on resurfacing Boundary Road to help raise the £80,000 needed for a permanent repair to the access to Grayshott Surgery. She said: “This decision will be disappointing to some residents of Firway, the majority of whom were in favour of the project last year, In July, I was notified work was due to start in September.

“I reported this to the parish council at its meeting in August. The parish informed me it did not support the project and had made its objections known in January.”

Mrs Mitchell then received objections from a number of residents. Had she been involved in the decision-making process earlier in the year, before her election, she would not have supported the project.

“Without strong local support for the project, I took the view it was not good value for money,” she added.