HIGHWAYS chiefs insist a new footpath at Melkridge has nothing to do with a long-running dispute over a neighbouring lonnen.

Northumberland County Council workers began constructing the path between the A69 trunk road and Melkridge village, on Monday. It will take pedestrians along a route to the east of Melkridge Hall.

The county council said the work was being carried out on behalf of Highways England.

On Wednesday, a Highways England spokesman said: “The new footpath is to allow pedestrians who live north of the A69 a route into the village without having to walk on the grass verge. It is in the interests of health and and safety.”

The spokesman said the new path is not associated with a separate lonnen, which runs between the A69 and the village, to the west of Melkridge Hall.

The dispute over the lonnen was sparked three years ago when the Halbert family, of Melkridge Hall, erected gates to prevent public access.

An attempt to include the lonnen on the county council’s definitive map as a restricted byway led to a public inquiry being called.

Last week, government-appointed planning inspector Sue Arnott confirmed that the lonnen be declared a public bridleway. The alteration to the definitive map will now be re-advertised, to give the opportunity for objections.

To complicate matters further, the lonnen was swamped during December’s floods, leaving a crater three metres wide by two metres deep.

This week, a Melkridge resident said that the new path is unnecessary, pointing out: “If the lonnen is reinstated and repaired, then this new path is not going to be needed, and will be a waste of money.”

A Northumberland County Council spokesman insisted the work was being carried out on behalf of Highways England and that the local authority was not making any financial contribution.