{"id":310767,"date":"2025-12-11T21:38:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-11T21:38:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/310767\/"},"modified":"2025-12-11T21:38:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T21:38:12","slug":"the-path-to-nowhere-ministry-of-defence-accused-of-pettiness-for-blocking-completion-of-new-cycling-and-walking-route-to-school-and-threatening-to-fence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/310767\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cThe path to nowhere\u201d: Ministry of Defence accused of \u201cpettiness\u201d for blocking completion of new cycling and walking route to school \u2013 and threatening to fence off 15-metre section if children use it in \u201cnonsensical\u201d row"},"content":{"rendered":"

SNP councillors in Fife have declared war on the Ministry of Defence, accusing defence chiefs of \u201cpettiness\u201d over a \u201cridiculous\u201d row concerning the final 15-metre section of a new cycling and walking path in Rosyth, work on which is currently being blocked by the government department.<\/p>\n

The Ministry of Defence, which owns the strip of land separating the rest of the active travel route to the road, claims the path\u2019s construction could limit access to adjacent MOD land and have a \u201cdetrimental\u201d impact on residents.<\/p>\n

The department has also threatened to fence off the land if it\u2019s used informally by students, while the council itself has come under scrutiny after forging ahead with the shared infrastructure\u2019s construction, despite being refused the required permission to complete what is being dubbed the \u201cpath to nowhere\u201d.<\/p>\n

However, following vocal criticism of its stance by politicians and residents this week, the MOD has today said that it would be willing to reopen discussions with the local authority in a bid to reach a \u201cmutually agreeable solution\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"MinistryMinistry of Defence blocks completion of new cycling and walking path near Caledonia High School, Rosyth 2 (credit: David Barratt)<\/p>\n

The shared-use path is being built to coincide with the construction of the new Caledonia High School in Rosyth, which is set to open for pupils in August 2026, replacing Inverkeithing High School. Fife Council says the path will connect the new school, along with its sports grounds and community-use facilities, to Dundonald Road and the town\u2019s wider dock yard area.<\/p>\n

The majority of the path has been completed, apart from a short final stretch of 15 metres, situated on a patch of land owned by the Ministry of Defence (MOD), which links the infrastructure to the road.<\/p>\n

According to documents seen by the Courier,<\/a> the MOD has refused multiple requests from Fife Council to build the path on the land, which is mostly made up of grass, gravel, and dirt, after consideration from military staff and senior civil servants.<\/p>\n

The government department has told the council that the completed path could limit access to adjacent MOD land, harming future development opportunities, while claiming that the expected increase in cyclists and pedestrians using the infrastructure could harm the local area.<\/p>\n

\"MinistryMinistry of Defence blocks completion of new cycling and walking path near Caledonia High School, Rosyth (credit: David Barratt)<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are concerns related to the detrimental impact at the MoD families estate which adjoins the school sports pitches, from cars being parked up, the dropping off and collecting of students, and public accessing and egressing the school and sports facilities,\u201d the department told a Fife Council planning officer.<\/p>\n

The MOD also informed the local authority that, if the incomplete portion of the path is used informally by schoolchildren, they could fence it off entirely, cutting off its connection to Dundonald Road.<\/p>\n

The department\u2019s refusal to grant the local authority permission has attracted criticism this week from Rosyth\u2019s SNP contingent, who described the impasse as \u201cridiculous\u201d and \u201cnonsensical\u201d, and accused both the council of \u201cincompetence\u201d and the MOD of \u201cpettiness\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is one branch of government obstructing another and it is entirely nonsensical,\u201d SNP councillor David Barratt said in a statement earlier this week.<\/p>\n

\u201cI took the opportunity to visit today alongside Rosyth Councillors Brian Goodall and Andy Jackson. We knocked on every door on Dundonald Road and of the residents we spoke to, 100 per cent consider the situation ridiculous and want to the see the path complete.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is undoubtedly a failure on the council\u2019s part as well. Fife Council were clear in the site selection process that the school could be built in this location without reliance on MOD land and have spent significant sums on this path without having necessary agreements in place to actually allow it to go anywhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat arguable incompetence, however, pales into insignificance compared to the pettiness of the MOD. It is a level of pettiness the council could not have reasonably anticipated.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"CouncillorCouncillor David Barratt poses beside new, partially completed cycling and walking path near Caledonia High School, Rosyth (credit: David Barratt)<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are now left with a 5m gap between a brand-new path and the crumbling, poorly maintained existing MOD path,\u201d local councillor Brian Goodall added.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis work wouldn\u2019t cost the MOD a penny. Fife Council would be paying for the upgrade and would maintain it going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, local resident Lou Blair, who lives on nearby Laurel Road, urged the MOD to back down and let the council finish the path.<\/p>\n

\u201cGiven that Fife Council have already laid footpath the full length of the school playing fields it makes sense and would be beneficial to complete the remainder of the path and continue to provide pedestrian access to Rosyth, the new school and new facilities,\u201d Blair said.<\/p>\n

In response to this criticism, a Ministry of Defence spokesperson, while insisting that the finished path would create difficulties for both the department and residents, admitted that a compromise could be reached.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter careful consideration and discussions with Fife Council, in January 2024 the decision was made to refuse permission to build a path on MoD land and Fife Council was advised of this in writing,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reasoning was that construction of a footpath across this strip of MoD property could potentially make future access to adjacent MOD land difficult and could result in significant intensification of use, with subsequent impact on the local area.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, we would be willing to reopen discussions with Fife Council to try to find a mutually agreeable solution.\u201d<\/p>\n

>\u00a0“This seems so dangerous”: Bumbling council contractors install barrier in middle of cycle path<\/a><\/p>\n

That apparent move towards a solution was welcomed this morning by Barratt, who described the MOD\u2019s statement as a \u201creturn to commonsense\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m pleased to report that following my post on Tuesday about the ridiculous situation of the path to nowhere, there has been a bit of progress and I believe my post is having the intended consequence,\u201d the councillor wrote on Facebook on Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a welcome return to commonsense, and I am convinced that the MOD\u2019s concerns could be resolved through legal agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SNPSNP councillors pose beside new, partially completed cycling and walking path near Caledonia High School, Rosyth (credit: David Barratt)<\/p>\n

However, Barratt was also highly critical of Fife Council\u2019s decision to forge ahead with the construction of the path, when there was no guarantee it could even be completed.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy post was deliberately directed more heavily at the MOD, not because the council wasn\u2019t also at fault, but because it is the MOD that holds the cards and the ability to resolve this situation,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have also sought answers about how the council could get into a position of not just planning a path without landowner consent, but building it up to a dead end at significant cost, only to realise the landowner is not agreeable.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is appalling incompetence, but it should not be beyond the abilities of two branches of government to find a solution that delivers for the community.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SNP councillors in Fife have declared war on the Ministry of Defence, accusing defence chiefs of \u201cpettiness\u201d over…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":310768,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-310767","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-cycling","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310767","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=310767"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310767\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/310768"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=310767"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=310767"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=310767"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}