Crosland Moor ward councillors are calling for “urgent” council intervention as a key route is no longer accessible.

This week, Cllr Alex Vickers (Greens) handed a petition to Kirklees Council concerned with the footbridge between Row Street and Moorbottom Road, which links Crosland Moor and Thornton Lodge. She said that the footbridge had been used as a shortcut “for years”, helping residents to access the local shops, services and mosque.

She told the meeting: “This path was closed off several years ago by a developer who was supposed to repair it when the development was completed. The developer has not done this and they have put fences around the development, essentially closing the footpath completely.”

She asked the council to intervene to ensure that the repair is carried out and the bridge is back up and running “as a matter of urgency”.

Crosland Moor Green councillors Alex Vickers and Abdul Jabar at the bridge

placeholder image — Crosland Moor Green councillors Alex Vickers and Abdul Jabar at the bridge

The council will now verify the signatures and consider the petition.

Speaking after the meeting, Cllr Vickers added: “We want the council to intervene to get the path and bridge reopened. Without the bridge, it is elderly people and those who have poor mobility who suffer the most and it makes what should be a short journey on foot an impossibility.

“I have walked the route between either side of the bridge myself and it does take a good 25 minutes to get to either end of what used to be a walk of under a minute. If it was cars rather than pedestrians that were being inconvenienced, I am sure this would have been resolved months ago.”

The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) asked Kirklees Council whether it was planning to take action to get the bridge re-opened but had not received a response by the time of publication.