A leading county councillor has expressed his frustration after an application to change a well-used lane to a public footpath has yet to be dealt with - despite being on the waiting list for nearly four years.
Cllr Ron Hussey applied in June 2008 to convert Cranbourne Lane, a pedestrian route at the end of Wessex Close through Cranbourne Business and Enterprise College, to a public right of way.
He told the Observer he wants the authority to update the public rights of way map to ensure walkers can still use the path connecting Cranbourne to Kings Furlong
According to Hampshire County Council, the application is still number 22 on a waiting list of 61 applications. It could still take up to two years to resolve.
Staffing levels in the department have decreased from three full time officers to the equivalent of one-and-a-half specialist officers.
The Basingstoke central county councillor criticised the authority for not having the manpower to deal with the number of applications.
“To to slash the team by 50 per cent the outcome is inevitable, the backlog is going to get longer,” he said.
“The backlog will continue to increase, the rate of applications is greater than they can clear, then the service will continue to go down the tubes.
“I understand the need to look for efficiency but don’t try and con the public in with measures that are an excuse for cuts that affect the level of service. A cut is a cut.
“Efficiency is about finding newer and better ways of doing things while still achieving the same level of service in quality and quantity.”
But Cllr Keith Chapman, the council's cabinet member for culture and recreation, said applications could take years to resolve and added that the list was prioritised based on demand.
“Each year we receive many applications to change this map and these can take some time to complete,” he said. “Any proposed change involves an investigation and decision by Hampshire County Council, often followed by a lengthy appeals process which requires cases to be submitted to the secretary of state for decision.
“While we recognise that it can take some time to complete this process, we must balance our resources against a range of other important responsibilities and duties.”
