Over 100 Marlovians have joined a campaign to save a popular footpath in the heart of the town centre so it remains in place for future generations to enjoy.

In January Marlow Town Council launched the campaign to save the footpath that cuts through Cromwell Gardens to the High Street after Red Kite put the site up for sale in November.

While Wycombe District Council still controls part of the gardens off Liston Road, it confirmed the footpath does not currently fall in its retained land.

Now over 100 residents have responded to the councils plea to fill out user evidence forms which have now been sent off to Bucks County Council in a bid to put the footpath on the map.

And scores of people have taken to social media to show their support for the long standing footpaths which are believed to date back 50 years.

Deputy mayor, Jocelyn Towns, said the feedback came as a huge relief, with Bucks County Council saying it is the biggest community response it has ever had.

She said: “It was a huge relief to us to have had such a great response from residents to the ‘save the footpath’ campaign.

“This footpath has been there for a very long time, and is a huge benefit to those that use it and very important to maintain this for the Town.

"All the responses are now with Bucks County Council who were also very impressed with the number of responses we had received.

“We now await their response on the next stage of the process, and we will keep our residents informed at every step of the way on this very important initiative.”

The instatement of the footpaths can take as long as four years to approve, however town clerk Annie Jones assured residents that the process can be pushed forward if legally necessary.

The New Court site was owned by the Liston family until Nesta Sybil Liston’s death in 1970, when she bequeathed the house and grounds to the then Urban District Council of Marlow.

Wycombe District Council then transferred the whole site to Red Kite in 2011 with the rest of its housing stock - minus part of the gardens and the car park - which are still maintained as public space by WDC.