A killjoy council has voted to remove decades-old stepping stones over concerns someone might slip off them.
Epsom and Ewell Borough Council has decided to remove the stones across the Hogsmill River at Ewell.
The stones date back to 1983 And have become an iconic landmark and crossing point in that time.
While the crossing was submerged in water for several months, the Environment Agency wants them gone on health and safety grounds.
Last Tuesday, the Council’s Environment Committee met to discuss whether the authority should assume responsibility for the stepping stones last Tuesday.
Instead, they decided to rip them up and build an new £100,000 footbridge in their place, despite being warned that repairs or improvements like adding a handrail would cost under £1,000.
Chairwoman Liz Frost said: ‘The Environment Agency has advised that, for safety reasons, it wishes to remove the stepping stones from the Hogsmill River unless another organisation agrees to assume responsibility for their ongoing safety and maintenance.’
Councillor Frost, from the Residents Associations of Epsom and Ewell party which runs the council, said the authority had been asked to choose between four options in Countryside Manager Stuart Cocker’s report.
Amongst the options offered to the council were keeping and maintaining the stones, building a new bridge alongside them, and removing the stones without replacement.
However, the council instead decided to remove the stepping stones and build a footbridge in their place.
Mr Cocker informed the board one of the concrete steps has been damaged, but was quick to insist the repair costs would be under £1,000.
He added this the first time in over four decades the crossing has needed any major maintenance.
At a council meeting last week to discuss the future of the crossing, councillors shared some tender memories of the stones and what they mean to the local community.
Deputy Mayor of Epsom and Ewell Julie Morris told councillors: “I haven’t really heard anybody speak in favour of getting rid of the stepping stones entirely.
“I did a bit of research to try and find out where else there are similar stones and actually they’re quite rare. It is quite a rare thing and I think part of our history.
“I think there are good solutions suggested that deal with better access, but also deal with the fun of being able to cross that part of the river.”
Meanwhile, Labour councillor for the Court Ward Rob Geleit added : “I’m one of those people who used to play there as a child, and I think there’s always an element of risk in places where children play, especially when there’s water, but I would hate to see the stepping stones gone.
“So I’d like to say: please don’t take the toys away.”
However, Councillor Rachel King warned sentiment could not outweigh the legal risks to the council.
While Councillor King insisted she wasn’t “pro-remove-the-stones”, she added : “You could put a sign up that says ‘cross at your own risk’ or ‘these are dangerous and slippery when we'”, but the reality is you’re still responsible if somebody hurts themselves.
“You cannot sign your way out of liability. The suggestion from the report is that we would be accepting liability at this stage and they are not safe currently and knowing that they’re not safe, we would be opening ourselves up to claims.
“We are responsible for keeping people safe and letting people do things that we know are not safe is irresponsible.”
After the discussion, the committee voted to remove the stepping stones and replace them with the footbridge, with five out of eight councillors backing the decision.
Speaking after the vote, Councillor Frost said: “When we went to look at them, actually getting down those steps and across the stepping stones is not for a lot of people.
“You’ve got to be reasonably able-bodied. You can’t do that with prams, pushchairs, bikes and all sorts of things.
“In fact, adding a bridge would enable a lot more people to get to that area.”
