Dana footpath work finally set to begin after 25 years

Shrewsbury Town Council's recreation and leisure committee was given an update about the Dana footpath plans at its latest meeting, and now the town clerk has said the path could be completed in time for the next tourist season.

The £50,000 scheme will see paving slabs put down, railings installed and the flagpoles relocated to improve access to the town centre.

The plan includes the formation of a new gated opening in the historic brick wall leading from the Dana footpath to the town centre via the castle gardens in the forecourt to the castle.

Within the forecourt, the new footpath will follow a route on Shropshire Council-owned land adjacent to the castle wall and will return through an existing historic doorway along the Castle Drive.

The plan has been at the centre of a long-running disagreement between the town council and Shropshire Horticultural Society, which withdrew its own proposal for a footpath last year.

The move follows a 25-year campaign by residents who launched a petition that attracted 1,200 signatures in 2015.

Tourism

Shrewsbury Town Council's clerk Helen Ball said: "This request has probably been on our council's agenda for the last 20 years.

"Only recently we've been able to discuss this with the Horticultural Society as they own half the land.

"We've set aside £50,000 a couple of years ago to pay for the path.

"We're hoping that now we might be in a position to start work over the winter months so the path will be ready for next year's tourist season.

"We don't want to be digging up the castle grounds in the summer.

"All the planning permissions have been granted now."

It is hoped the new footpath will solve long-running access issues for the elderly, people with disabilities, and parents with pushchairs, wishing to go from Castle Gates onto the Dana footpath.

Currently the path is only accessible via a steep flight of steps.

Shrewsbury Civic Society has also given its support to the plans.