Footpath 6 is a footpath from Coley Park farm to Fobney lock. It is a direct link across the meadows but is in extremely poor condition. The meadows are low lying, and marshy. For most months of the year the low lying ground is difficult to negotiate, so very few people use it. Birdwatchers and dog walkers, occasionally joggers and ramblers are the main users.
There are several really nice lengths of grass, even in winter they are usually pleasant to walk along. Even in extreme flooding events they are passable by walkers with wellies.
However these are interspersed with a series of lower lying path sections, which render the path unusable some of the time, and inaccessible to casual walkers much of the time, by water lying in puddles. In several places it is deep and muddy and treacherous.
A significant rainfall event to the west can see the meadows become flooded a day or so later. The nature of the flooding makes using this route unpredictable. After a serious storm the level rises to a point where some of these sections become hazardous.
Given that Coley is a major residential area its reasonable to assume a lot more people would walk here if the condition was improved. To the west lies a similarly oriented path that runs south from Southcote to Southcote lock. Footpath 5.
It is a broad track raised above the floodplain. As a result the number of walkers is far higher than seen on footpath 6. Even in extreme flood events it is passable by people in wellies. There are no hazardous areas.
If footpath 6 was a similar level, albeit much narrower, but with a grassy surface, (footpath 5 is broad due to accommodating vehicles) it would facilitate more casual visits, more enjoyment of the meadows, and provide a pedestrian link to Island road, Green Park, the football stadium.
This is why investment in the path surface itself and the height of the path in order to make easy access possible much of the year and safe access for people with wellies should be a priority.
However the path should not be over-engineered. It needs to blend into the meadows, which are an important cultural asset.
The Coley park farm track as it heads south. This is during a period of moderate flood. It is very difficult to use in some short sections. Work here should maintain the character whilst removing the flooded sections.
The path crosses a ditch but the water flows over the path for a few yards, making this very difficult to use after heavy rain
After the bridge over the ditch, heading towards the Coley branch line the path has several low lying areas, and as it is now confined to a narrow corridor (the fencing is recent) this section becomes muddy and stays difficult to use for months, only really drying out in long dry spells in summer. Last year (2024) it didn’t dry out at all.
Where the path passes beneath the track it is again low lying and when flooded full of trip hazards. Many bricks have been left here to make stepping stones. Often they are submerged.
The path now crosses low lying but unfenced pasture.
Until it crosses an ancient bank and ditches facilitated by a boardwalk and footbridge.
This area has been very difficult to use all year round. The boardwalk was built by the local community to make this section passable all the time. However in wet weather it is difficult to actually get to.
The path emerges from the wooded bank and out into Fobney Meadow.
It passes over a long section through meadow vegetation which has recently been cut. Water regularly flows over this in the wet seasons.
This section was improved in 2022 by the local community who raised funds to pay for it.
This is the section of path that was permanently flooded. The local community raised this path up to make it accessible especially in good weather, which it wasn’t for years. Even in summer it was ankle deep.
However it only goes so far and the last section before the canal towpath is ok only in the dry season
The community that built the board walk and raised the path would like to see the path much improved. They have among their number highly skilled path builders and could build the path effectively and cheaply.
Given the Council’s rights of way improvement plan suggests involving the community we are eager to make progress. We would like this path to be improved this summer but we need to get everything in place before the ground dries out.
So if you’ve got this far, and are still interested, here’s what you could do.
Compose an email to Councillors and Officers and Members of Parliament.
Use some information from this post to inform your email but just a fragment of it.
Please keep me bcc’d in the email if you could. It would give me some ammunition, I’ve been fighting this case for a while and I’m low on ammo!
paul.gittings@reading.gov.uk. He is a ward councillor for Reading borough council. He has shown most interest so far but hasn’t actually come up with anything yet. A bit more of a nudge would help.
Ellie.Emberson@reading.gov.uk She is also a ward councillor and has been very supportive, although she hasn’t responded lately.
liz.terry@reading.gov.uk is another ward councillor and she is the person who requested council approval to release £50k for footpaths in the Coley Meadows. I quote:
“The CIL committee approved £50k spend under the heading Coley Water Meadows as nominated by Cllr Terry. Following further discussions with Cllr Terry the proposed project is to look at the PROWs that are linked through the Water Meadows and to install some information signage at some locations. PROW 6 is part of this project”
So there’s your case. We’ll get this path fixed in no time.
Rural Reading 