by John Prince
A brand-new tarmac path that will dramatically improve access between Seaton and Hornsea along the A1035 has been welcomed by an East Riding councillor who has been fighting to get it built for almost two decades.
North Holderness ward councillor Barbara Jefferson first pushed for the path about 20 years ago after Seaton Parish Council asked her to maintain and enhance the footway, which, in places, was nothing more than a track worn into the ground.
Work finally began on the new path in March of this year and is expected to be finished in December. It runs along the northern side of the carriageway fully connecting Seaton and Hornsea with an upgraded, hard-wearing path for the first time.
Seaton village and Hornsea town centre are roughly about two-and-a-half miles apart on foot, which would take just under an hour walking along the road, or across countryside without any obstacles. Hornsea Mere, fields, drains and property boundaries prevent a completely straight route.
The new footpath will now allow walkers, wheelchair users or people on mobility scooters to get between the two much more easily and safely, as the surface is raised and flat with no trip hazards.
Cllr Barbara Jefferson said: “This is something that Seaton Parish Council asked me to provide nearly twenty years ago.
“Many of our children, as they did in those days, have to walk to school. They can’t get bus passes because they’re not three miles away from Hornsea, and that’s what started it.
“I asked the local MP at the time, Graham Stuart, if he would come along with Seaton Parish Council and he did.
“From that time, I have tried relentlessly with emails, with Teams meetings, with asking at council, ‘Please, can we have a footway for the benefit of Seaton to Hornsea?’
“I feel that we’ve achieved that, and it’s taken a long time.
“However I look at it, it is an improvement on the footpath which was there. I consider that it will be there a long time after I’ve gone, so it’s an achievement for Seaton Parish to have actually voiced their concerns and I listened to them.
“I am proud, and if people aren’t proud I can’t help it. There are people who have said to me, ‘It’s brilliant’ and that’s wonderful. That is a compliment, and compliments are very few these days.
“I think we should be proud of what we do and what we see, and I think this is an improvement for people. People who are dog walkers love it when they’re walking round the Mere. What a lovely path to walk on, especially in the sunshine.”
On the cost of the improvements, Cllr Jefferson said: “I was told three years ago that the cost and the money they were looking at was around £700,000.
“I thought that would have been money well spent. Whether they spend that in the end, I have no idea. That’s entirely up to East Riding.
“But I don’t mind saying that £700,000 is well spent, to give a better surface for Seaton-to-Hornsea people.
“It was Seaton that moved for it, and that was the important bit.”
She added: “I am getting signs put up to say that pedestrians do have the right of way, but for cyclists to give way and be respectful of each other.
“I do hope any young people that need to go to school will no longer get their trousers or skirts wet with all the wet grass!”
Reflecting on the achievement after nearly two decades of campaigning, she added: “I am proud. If something takes me 20 years and it’s good, why wouldn’t you be proud?”
A spokesperson for East Riding Council said: “The footpath between Hornsea and Seaton is being improved to enable access for residents who use that route to get to and from work, school and amenities, especially for those children who are no longer in the catchment area of the Seaton school bus service.
“It also improves the path for dog walkers, joggers and other leisure users helping towards the overall aims of encouraging walking and cycling in the East Riding, reduce reliance on car journeys, reduce community severance and improve equality for residents in rural areas.
“This scheme was approved by the council and supported by the town and parish councils and was externally funded by the Department for Transport’s Local Transport Grant to improve accessibility between towns and outlying rural villages and enable transport choice for residents.
“The work to improve the surface will provide a longer-term improvement; helping to reduce the burden on the council’s maintenance budgets for some years in the future.”
Temporary traffic lights are in place along the A1035 while the work is under way.
