Fence which blocked disabled woman's walk to church is knocked down

The fence lies between Winterbourne Road and Graylingwell Park and caused anger among some residents who felt the wooden barrier created an 'us and them' divide.

Linden Homes, which manages the site, stated that the fence had been in place for 'a number of years'.

Read the original story here: Disabled Chichester residents' walk to church blocked by fenceIt has had to be repaired by the company regularly due to the fence being knocked down a number of times.

A spokesperson for Linden Homes said: “Following a recent meeting with interested parties the decision was made to remove the fencing to provide access through Graylingwell Park enabling an easy route for local residents.”

Tracey Hoff, from Winterbourne Road, has suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease for six years and fibromyalgia for four.

Before the fence was erected she used the route to walk to the Graylingwell chapel as exercise.

Now it has been knocked down, she said: "It was wrong for it to be shut in the first place, Summersdale is a community not 'them and us'. This will benefit children and families, workers at the hospital who like to walk to work, my friend being one of those, I am so pleased that's its open."