Witham's River Walk, the linear park running the length of the River Brain through the town, is in line for a major clean-up.

Stung by complaints by district councillor Helen Pitchforth, that the River Walk was in a worse state than ever, Town Council leader Tom Hewitt said her comments were "inaccurate."

He had a "radical" proposal ready for a meeting with the district council on Oct 23. It would, he hoped, define expectations, provide for accountability, the day to day management and offer ways of overcoming problems as they happened.

It would also ensure that specialist knowledge and expertise was available quickly when needed. He also felt the two councils should encourage the public to have their say and to offer suggestions to improve the park.

It would, he said, be the first time that a mechanism was established to enable the citizens of the town to have a direct and immediate voice.

"Much hard work has been done to drawing up proposals that will have a realistic chance of success. In fact, it's better now than it has been for a long time."

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