Wiggly Path future remains unclear

Councillors discovered this week that there is still a huge question mark over the future of Welshpool’s Wiggly Path.

The issue has been rumbling on for the past year after Powys County Council sold the former Ardwyn School (pictured) to developers and made it clear that they wanted to offload the adjacent land that the once popular short cut to town from Red Bank runs through.

Welshpool Town Council has been given first refusal, but, while saying they want the path to remain open, they don’t want to take on its management and costs.

At this week’s Strategy, Policy and Development Committee meeting, the issue was back on the agenda, but there was clearly a lack of progress.

Councillors were told that discussions had been held with Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust who had expressed a willingness to manage the area on the town council’s behalf through grant funding, but Cllr Richard Church believed that opportunity had now passed with a deadline missed.

Committee Chair, Cllr Phil Pritchard, who is opposed to the Town Council taking responsibility, said he had concerns about the path becoming overgrown and unpassable due to the delays.

“It is still Powys County Council’s responsibility and they need to ensure it remains in good shape in the meantime,” he said, before suggesting that PCC should lease it direct to the Wildlife Trust.

“I don’t know why we need to get involved at all,” he added.

Cllr Richard Church said he would speak to fellow Powys county councillor Graham Breeze, the representative for the area, to discuss Cllr Pritchard’s suggestion, explaining that the Wiggly Path was not a designated footpath and therefore not a responsibility for anyone to maintain it.

He also said he had spoken to a local food charity, Cultivate, about creating a community orchard there.

Councillors conceded that the path was not as widely used like before, but reiterated their support that it should remain open.

Cllr Nick Howells, who helped co-ordinate a citizen ‘Ground Force’ team last year to clear up at areas of the town, suggested that a ‘Friends of the Wiggly Path’ volunteer group could help to maintain it because it was such “an emotive subject” in the town.

An update will be provided at the next meeting.