An urgent meeting has been called to clarify the exact location of a Milford Haven footpath at the centre of a 15 year dispute.

The meeting has been called by Milford Haven Town Council following this month’s publication of a public path diversion order by Pembrokeshire County Council (PCC) concerning the footpath through Dudley Marine in Castle Pill.

The order is said to be needed to facilitate the development of a 24-dwelling apartment block.

It states: “It is satisfied that it is necessary to divert the footpath in order to enable development to be carried out.”

The news of the diversion order has come to the dismay of the Castle Pill boat club which has been campaigning for more than 15 years to have the footpath restored to its original route through Castle Pill.

Castle Pill boat club chairman George Knight said: “The club cannot believe that Pembrokeshire County Council is going ahead with a diversion order of the footpath through Dudley Marine’s Yard.

“We wish to bring this protracted dispute to its final conclusion, that the path be reinstated on its original route as recommended by the planning inspectorate report dated October 17th, 2008 and the proposed diversion be rejected.”

Cllr John Roberts said: “Everyone was so delighted with the findings of the planning inspectorate report and now they want to move the path.

“We are being treated as if it doesn’t matter. I want my great grandchildren to be able to walk along that footpath.”

At a meeting last week, Milford Haven town councillors said they were disappointed with the diversion order and agreed the council should write to the planning inspectorate to clarify whether it is in order for the PCC to deviate from the recommendation of the report, dated October 17th, 2008.

The council has also called for an emergency meeting and site visit to determine the precise location of the footpath with PCC’s public rights of way assistant James Nevitt and definitive maps officer Matt Cloud.