Chichester City Councillor to host ‘pavement protest’

A Chichester City Councillor has announced plans to protest the state of the pavements in the city. Pic by Steve Robards

In a statement Chichester City Councillor Maureen Corfield said: “Chichester’s pavements are a disgrace. Your City Council have tried for years to get West Sussex County Council and Chichester District Council to use their budgetary discretion to carry out one of their most basic duties, i.e. to keep residents and visitors from getting hurt by simply walking about town.

“People fall over holes in the brickwork, or trip on raised slabs, ruin footwear, clothing, take the shock of the tumble.

"Some get up, dust themselves off, go home shaking and don’t come back. Others need hospital treatment.

"You hardly see a pushchair or a wheelchair in the City Centre, the ride is too awful, and the sight-impaired have a hard time navigating the very uneven terrain.

"I ruined a coat once, cradling a lady whose head bled profusely after a fall in town. It was a long time ago.

“It’s a long time ago sort of problem. Pedestrians are exasperated.

“Both the County and the District Councils fail repeatedly on this year after year. Again we were told at the City Council’s Planning and Conservation meeting on Thursday June 23, after months of work to find an acceptable, sustainable, and affordable alternative to the tatty red brick infill of the pedestrian precinct, that there was no money in the coffers after all.

“It felt like we’d been fobbed off one time too many. Perhaps that is too harsh.

"Maybe those with the purse strings don’t understand the numbers or levels of frustration involved, both amongst the public out on the streets and around the Council Chamber.

"Tell us when you see or are involved in a street incident caused by the pavements so we can gather up the accident numbers, the twisted ankles, the bruises, blood, ambulance rides, the trips to town not taken, and the frustration.

“For now, write to me at [email protected] and then watch this space.

“Because, if your outcry is still not enough to change minds lodged between ears that don’t listen, there will be more activism.

“Pedestrians should, as a bare minimum, be able to walk upright down a pedestrian precinct.”