BUCKS County Council's failure to restore the ancient and historic public rights of way sends an important message to the electorate about councillors' competence.

Since March 22, the council has ignored official advice that states: 'The [footpath closure] action is disproportionate to the risk and not justified on veterinary grounds.' Most paths could have reopened weeks ago. The public is capable of heeding official advice, of course, but the council and deputy leader Bill Chapple in particular, are above trusting the public.

Footpath officers aim to have just 50 per cent of the network opened by June. We must not blame them, but councillors have belligerently insisted on making the process a ludicrous, bureaucratic joke.

And there is one other villain of this piece: the National Farmers Union. We can look forward to its bleating representatives bemoaning the lack of compensation the taxpayer will fork out for the impacts of foot and mouth on the subsidised, intensive farming industry that hastened the spread of the disease in the first place. Meanwhile, the NFU is not encouraging farmers to open paths. Instead, with the council's complicity, we must go crawling to them to seek approval. Paths across arable fields, subsidised by us all, remain mysteriously closed.

On June 7, councillors seek our votes. This shambolic affront to the public's rights is a measure of their competence. Locally, councillors Brand, Lawrence, Crawford and Cochrane have responded helpfully and constructively to my complaints. Others have been flippant or negligent. If readers have had the same treatment, I urge them to remember that on June 7.

Trevor Lawson

Red Fox Media

Amersham