About 250 people have signed a petition against the closure of the popular short-cut from Holmesdale Road on the large Chanctonbury estate to the town centre.

The path runs about half a mile through the playing fields and grounds of Oakmeeds Community College and also passes the nearby London Meed Primary School.

West Sussex County Council has ordered the closure to improve school security and is using new powers for the first time in the county.

Although councillors have approved an order the row is expected to go to appeal and will be one of the first of its kind in the country and the first in West Sussex.

Campaigners say closing the right of way for the first time since Oakmeeds was opened more than 50 years ago will force children and older people to walk a longer and more hazardous route on pavements and roads or use cars.

A spokesman for the county council said: "We have received objections and it is almost certain that there will be a public inquiry in due course.

"This is the first special order we have made for school security purposes following a fairly recent change in the law to enable such orders to be made."

Read the full story in the Mid Sussex Times

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