Local councillors have welcomed the start of works to make the paved area in front of a busy parade of shops in Woodthorpe a safer place for pedestrians.

In recent years a number of residents have tripped and fallen on rocking and uneven paving slabs in front of the shops on Moorcroft Road which prompted councillors to seek to persuade the current leasehold owners of the land – Morrisons supermarket – to take action to make the area safer.

A petition signed by 60 concerned local residents was presented by Cllr Stephen Fenton to the previous Leaseholders – McColls – in October 2021, but this did not prompt the necessary repairs.

Then in September 2022 Cllr Fenton notified the leaseholder and freeholder of a particularly nasty incident where a lady had tripped and fallen, sustaining two swollen and badly bruised knees, bleeding hands, a fractured finger and bleeding lip. She was stranded on the ground until a passing motorist stopped and offered help. Councillors also requested that council officers write to the landowner to encourage them to take steps to make the area safer.

Cllr Fenton commented “It has taken a long time and lot of effort, but it is great to see work underway to make the paved area in front of the shops safer.

“There has recently been welcome investment to transform the interior of the nearby Dick Turpin pub, and we want to encourage people to shop locally and support the fantastic businesses that we have in Woodthorpe. If people feel safer when they are out and about, then that’ll be good for business.”

There are signs that long-awaited repairs to the paved area in front of the shops on Moorcroft Road may be imminent.

In recent years a number of residents have tripped and fallen on the rocking and uneven paving slabs in the area. Local councillors have been trying to persuade the leasehold owners of the land – Morrisons supermarket – to take action to make the area safer.

Morrisons’ latest response does offer some hope of progress. They state “everything has been approved and repair work will be carried out soon. Please note there will be a lot of aspects that need to be for the repairs, please give us some time to get this done with the correct process.”

A petition signed by 60 concerned local residents was presented by Cllr Stephen Fenton to the previous Leaseholders – McColls – in October 2021, but this did not prompt the necessary repairs. Then in September 2022 Cllr Fenton notified the leaseholder and freeholder of a particularly nasty incident where a lady had tripped and fallen, sustaining two swollen and badly bruised knees, bleeding hands, a fractured finger and bleeding lip. She was stranded on the ground until a passing motorist stopped and offered help.

Cllr Paula Widdowson also requested that council officers write to the landowner to encourage them to take steps to make the area safer.

Cllr Fenton commented “Residents and local businesses are fed up with the continued failure of the landowners to make the necessary repairs so that this area is safe for pedestrians. The latest response from Morrisons does offer some cause for optimism, but these warm words needs to be backed up by prompt action.”