A DAD has won the backing of a Cornwall councillor and Penzance town councillors for a new crossing to the town’s seafront promenade.

Ben Sidgwick, who is dad to a three-year-old and three-month-old, set up a petition in order to get support for a new crossing near his home in Penzance.

While there are two crossings on the road already they are at opposite ends of the street with no safe place to cross in between.

Ben hopes that getting a new crossing near Queen Street will not only help him and his family to cross the road safely but also forge a new link between the promenade and the town centre.

His petition has gathered more than 300 signatures and he has got the backing of Penzance Cornwall councillor Cornelius Olivier and local businesses. He also presented his idea to Penzance Town Council with some councillors indicating they would support it.

With the Tour of Britain cycle race also set to launch from the promenade in 2020 and Cornwall Council looking to implement some improvements on the promenade in preparation, Ben is hoping to get their support as well.

He said: “I mentioned to family and friends that this would be a good place for a crossing and it all kind of snowballed from there.

“One of my neighbours said that he had asked the question before and was told that there was a need for a crossing and that it could be included in a bigger scheme.

“But I am hoping that with the support we have got we will not have to wait for a bigger scheme but get it put in sooner.”

Ben contacted Cllr Olivier who suggested a petition so he printed off flyers and delivered them to neighbours before putting petitions in local businesses.

He said he was “overwhelmed” by the amount of support that he has got for getting a new crossing.

“If you look at the petition it is not just people living here who have signed, but people who have visited or come here on holiday – there is a real need for this crossing,” he said.

“I have been really quite bowled over by the response and it has given me a bit of a feeling of responsibility to make sure it happens now. We are going to have a meeting with highways and Cllr Olivier and see what could be done.

“Not only would the crossing provide a safer place to cross but it could also boost the businesses at this end of town and the road here also links directly into the town centre.”

Ben said there was some concern that parking spaces along the promenade would have to be lost to make room for a crossing but he said it would be worth it.

Cllr Olivier said that Ben had put in “an impressive amount of effort” to get support for the idea and said it was a good example of “community self-help”.

Ben said he hoped that by the end of June he might be able to get some indication as to whether the idea could be taken forward.