A PETITION asking Warrington Borough Council to improve a footpath in Woolston Park has received hundreds of signatures.

Residents were upset in October after the council appeared to have done a U-turn over creating a permanent footpath in the park, running between Manchester Road and Green Lane.

The path would have been restored to its original 3m width, made as a solid tarmac surface and reinstated on the Warrington cycleway map.

But the council is only planning on doing minimal work on a path described as ‘not fit for purpose, slippery and dangerous’ due to the existing hard-surfaced path on the east side of the brook.

Now a petition to deliver the path has been signed by 250 people and was presented to Cllr Kate Hannon, executive board member for parks.

Cllr Ian Johnson said: “The path is now in a very poor condition and not fit for purpose.

“The strength of feeling by people living close to the path and those who like to walk the area from a little further afield is very strong and, with the awful state of the path, they called for urgent improvements as promised.

“Everyone appreciates the difficult financial circumstances the council is in but commitments ought not to be torn up.

“Footpaths were the third-highest rated improvements sought for the park during consultations and I am sure there can be ways to deliver this – even if this is in two phases with the works tied in to larger contracts to resurface the road to get a good price.”