MPbackscallforworkonnew footpathtobeginassoonaspossible

North West Cambridgeshire MP Shailesh Vara has renewed his call for work to build a footpath on the road where the two men were killed. Thomas Northam and Thomas Fletcher were killed when they were struck by a BMW as they walked along a stretch of Broadway between Farcet and Yaxley. The part of the road they were on when they were hit does not have a footpath running alongside it, and pedestrians are forced to either walk on the grass verge or on the carriageway itself, as traffic passes closely. It is not clear if the lack of footpath played a part in the incident or not. However, Mr Vara, who expressed his sympa- thies to the families of the two men following the incident, said it was vital something was done to build a pavement for pedestrians. A Cambridgeshire County Council spokesman said work to construct the path is set to begin at the beginning of March. But Mr Vara said he wanted work to begin earlier to prevent any further incidents on the stretch of road, which has a 40mph speed limit. He said: “The campaign for a footpath has been going on for many years, and this has been far too long. “There have been a number of reasons for the delay, but the time has come for Cambridgeshire County Council to cut through any further obstacles and give absolute priority to getting the footpath built. “Since the tragedy occurred last week, I have spoken to the chief executive of Cambridgeshire County Council, Gillian Beasley, asking her to personally ensure that matters proceed as quickly as possible. “She said she would do that.” Mr Vara’s call comes a week after Chris York, chairman of Farcet Parish Council, also called for the path to be built as quickly as possible – and for work to start before March. Mr York said the excuses for the delay in starting the work were ‘totally unacceptable’. He said: “There has been discussion with local members around an earlier date, but officers have advised against this due to concerns about wet ground conditions, given that the site is currently agricultural in nature. “The delayed start date accounts for the reduced spend profile for this year.” Mr York added: “The excuse given citing ground conditions is totally unacceptable. “This is yet another lame excuse, when house building is actually on the increase. “One example is the development on Peterborough Road between Farcet and Stanground, where over 20 houses have been built in less than three months on what was agricultural land.”