Horse danger on Annbank public path

Jul 18 2008 by Stuart Wilson

WALKERS could be killed by bolting horses on a public path, a furious community is warning.

A fierce row has erupted after South Ayrshire Council decided to re-open Burnside Path near Annbank for equestrian use.

Now hundreds of residents are fighting the move because they say safety is at risk on the ramblers’ paradise.

The path, which featured on the BBC’s Landward TV show in 2005, will now be shared by pedestrians and the horses under new plans.

But more than 200 residents from Annbank and Mossblown held a public meeting to protest against the move.

And they reckon the council are playing with human safety by allowing horses back on the path.

One worried resident said: “People will be frightened to step foot near a path where horses are likely to meet them.

“Everyone from schoolkids to ramblers use the path but a large number will be prevented by this move.

“You can’t have families walking alone with buggies meeting huge horses. It’s too much of a danger.”

Almost 100 raging locals staged a demonstration on the path last Friday to make their feelings clear.

Labour councillor Andy Campbell has now joined the debate and is siding with the residents.

He said: “I cannot understand how a situation like this was allowed to develop in the first place, how a council decision was legally taken to close the path to horses for safety reasons and yet here we are again – back at the beginning.

“What happened in the period between the decision to close the path and the present requires a lot of explanation.”

Council leader Hugh Hunter said: “The council is keen to see Burnside Path used by residents and visitors who wish to walk, cycle or ride along the pathway so that everyone, whatever way they travel, can enjoy the path.

“The actions that the council has taken in opening up the pathway to everyone is a direct result of implementing the findings of the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman report that was published in March 2008, following their investigation into the way in which the council has handled the dispute over the path.

“The council has a statutory obligation under the Countryside (Scotland) Act 1967 and the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 to ensure that the path is open and available to all members of the public and that is what it is doing.”