VILLAGERS who won a bitter dispute over a footpath at Melkridge are still waiting for it to be opened to the public.

Two months have passed since Government planning inspector Sue Arnott ruled that the gates at either end of a 50-yard lonnen should be opened.

But the route, which leads from the centre of the village to the A69, was badly damaged during the floods of last winter, and is currently not passable.

This week, Northumberland County Council said there was currently no timescale for making the route available for use.

A spokesman for the council said repairs to the lonnen would be carried out in due course.

The authority said the timing of the scheme would be determined by a separate project by Highways England to prevent future flooding on the A69.

Gates went up at either end of the lonnen in March 2013, when the Halbert family, of Melkridge Hall, claimed that the land was in private ownership.

Melkridge Parish Council, supported by other residents, objected to the closure and took its case to the county council.

The authority’s planning and environment committee approved the parish council’s application for the lonnen to be reopened for use by local residents and farmers.

However, a public inquiry ensued, and took place at Haltwhistle Library in October, 2015.

In August of this year, Government-appointed inspector Mrs Arnott ruled that the lonnen should be added to the definitive footpaths map as a public bridleway.

One resident said: “The route is very useful for pedestrians and farmers and it has been a miss.

“The floods of last December caused a lot of damage and we are in the hands of the authorities as to when the repairs will be carried out.

“We’ll just have to wait and see what happens moving forward, but its a shame there are no timescales.”