Reminder

The Council would like to reduce single occupancy car use, and dependence on the car as the sole means of transport.

As part of this brave new world it is, er, proposing to shut down a public footpath.

The deadline for objections is next Monday, so if you live in the Borough and haven’t yet registered an objection to The Waltham Forest (Public Path) (Stopping Up) (No. 1) Order 2008, please do it soon. Send your objection, quoting reference PCL/TMO/AC/LB30/WC, to the Council's agents: The Project Centre, 14b St Cross Street, London EC1N 8XA. Their email address is here. Say that public footpaths should be preserved, not closed, and that this path provides a direct and attractive route for local residents who prefer not to use a car.

What will happen after that is
(i) you’ll get a letter begging you to withdraw your objection. Such letters often contain material which is quite irrelevant to a rights of way issue. Don’t be intimidated. (I was once informed that in objecting to the closure of a public right of way I was making life easier for drug addicts.)
(ii) Unwithdrawn objections are forwarded to the Planning Inspectorate.
The choices after that are either (a) a public inquiry, or (b) a visit to the site by a planning inspector who decides whether or not the objections have merit and arrives at a legally binding decision. In this instance (b) is a quick, simple and perfectably acceptable option.

No direct involvement by an objector is required. Just (i) object (ii) decline to withdraw your objection if asked

(iii) Finally, when offered options (a) or (b) say that you are happy for a planning inspector to make a site visit and reach a decision on the matter.