A COUNCILLOR is hoping the county council will spare Borth taxpayers the full cost to repair and fence off a damaged foothpath.

Borth Community Council and Ceredigion County Council are locked in a legal dispute over the works which could cost tens of thousands of pounds. Borth county councillor Hugh Hughes said if anyone gets hurt on the pavement and sues the community council, which he also chairs, the legal costs would be ‘crippling’. It voted at an emergency meeting on Monday 17 October to fence off the pavement after it caused several people minor injuries over the last few months. The cost of the fencing alone could amount to about £10,000, the meeting heard.

Its lawyers say the land opposite Premier Stores on the sea front is likely owned by Ceredigion County Council, according to the Land Registry, so the authority would be liable for any damages should anyone sue. But it disputes that it owns the land, citing a planning application from 1982 which it says proves that the community council is the owner.

The community council’s own solicitors deny this but suggest it would also be liable for any damages due to having prior knowledge of the need for repairs on the pavement. Cllr Hughes said he will call on the county council to pay for the damages despite the ‘tapestry of ownership’ of the particular stretch of land. “I hope the county council will do what’s right here as our legal advice indicates it is the owner of the land and is therefore responsible for the repairs,” he said.

“However, notwithstanding the advice we’ve received, to push the costs on to the community council with our extremely limited budgets – money drawn entirely from the village’s taxpayers – would seem entirely unjust.

“We’ve been made aware of a couple of people who have tripped on the footpath due to its current state of disrepair.

“The community council has already agreed to pay to fence off the problem area and we hope that can be seen as a gesture of good will towards to county council bosses with whom we hope to work productively on this matter.”

The meeting of the community council resolved to write to its solicitors to engage with their recommendations including paying for the fencing.

Cllr Hughes says he still hopes the county council will support it with those costs of the fencing after village councillors agreed the situation required an urgent response.

Concerned resident James Davies said: “By forcing us to pay, local residents feel the county council is trying to double tax us.

“We already pay rates to support tourism and the promenade area is mainly for the benefit of tourists.”

The county council is said to have previously made repairs and installed benches on the land – as well as submitted planning applications.

But no legal certification of ownership exists, the meeting heard.

A county council spokesperson said: “We are aware of claims made that land developed by Borth Community Council under a formal planning application in the 1980s is owned by the county council.

“We have not been able to find any title deeds, nor has the community council been able to provide any such evidence, to support those claims.”