Ramblers’ joy at decision not to wipe Fonnereau Way footpath in Westerfield off the map

Council inspectors have dismissed an appeal to have a public footpath deleted from the map to the delighted of Suffolk’s walking community.

Fonnereau Way runs for 3.5 miles from the edge of north Ipswich into Westerfield.

However part of it crosses the front garden of a property owned by Debbie Wiseman, who objected to walkers using her land and said she had never been consulted about it being added to the definitive map of rights of way.

She appealed a decision including the footpath on the map but when this was dismissed another appeal was lodged.

Now though a Suffolk County Council spokesman said the second appeal had been dismissed on April 2 and that “an order should not be made to delete the footpath”.

Geoff Knight, a member of Ipswich Ramblers, said: “The Fonnereau Way starts at the edge of Ipswich and runs all the way to the village of Westerfield.

“Passing through some beautiful countryside the route gives families or people who enjoy a short walk the option to follow the 3.5 mile route to Westerfield and then catch the train back to Ipswich.

“Without this path the Fonnereau Way would not be able to be walked in its entirety. As one of the few routes that allows people to walk from the town all the way to open countryside, avoiding almost all roads, this would be a huge loss.”

The Ipswich Star attempted to contact Mrs Wiseman but was told there was no comment to make when visiting her property.