Gwynedd Council will consider a legal enforcement order to create a footpath crossing farm lands in Gwynedd.

The council is proposing a new 2.63km route in Llanystumdwy bringing a section of the popular walking route closer to the shore.

The existing path is currently diverted away from the coast and follows the pavement for 5.3km alongside the busy A4987.

The new path would run on the landward side of the railway line in the coastal area around Afonwen Farm and Glanllynnau Farm, before following a track underneath the railway line to Tŷ’n Morfa near Chwilog.

If council establishes a need for the scheme, and the order is approved, it would “secure legal rights” for the public to access on foot the area between Afonwen and a footpath network around Tŷ’n Morfa.

The council says it has failed to win agreement with landowners, so must now consider whether to formulate a Path Creation Order under section 26 of the Highways Act 1980.

The proposal links existing public footpath 54 in Llanystumdwy and an unclassified road, described as ‘the road from the A497 Afonwen roundabout to the south towards the railway’.

The report states “…effort was made to secure a voluntary agreement, but unfortunately it must be reported that those efforts were unsuccessful.

“If the plan is to be realised, a S26 Order procedure, i.e. creation through enforcement, must be considered.

It notes “…the new footpath would offer a major improvement to the Coast Path in the area”.

The coastal path in Gwynedd is 180 miles long and forms part of the All Wales Coastal Path project.

Support for the scheme comes from the community council, Natural Resources Wales, and local member, Cllr Rhys Tudor, who said it was a “step forward”.

The planning report says: “Creating an unbroken footpath that follows the coast would significantly add to the standard of the Coast Path in Gwynedd and a great

improvement on the current line that runs parallel to the busy A4987 road, which is a short but substantial diversion from the coastline.

The council will discuss the matter at its planning meeting on Monday, 14 July.

Members will be asked to consider a recommendation that the “council approves the proposal to create the Section 26 Creation Order, and that it is submitted to the Planning and Environment Decision Wales (PEDW)for a decision, should the council receive an objection to the order that

cannot be resolved”.

The report added: “This is the only section that does not follow the coast and uses a busy road, in a proposed unbroken section of footpath between Llanbedr near Harlech and Porth Neigwl near Abersoch, which is approximately 50km or 32 miles.”

“The footpath will be a resource for communities within local area, including Pwllheli, Abererch, Chwilog, Llanystumdwy, Criccieth, as well as the wider area of Llŷn, Eifionydd, and across Gwynedd”.