SURREY County Council says it will rebuild more than 200 miles of pavement as part of a £20 million scheme.

The scheme, which was unveiled by Tory leader David Hodge at a full council meeting, will focus on pavements most in need of repair and concentrate on areas such as town centre shopping centres, around railway stations, hospitals and doctors’ surgeries.

The county says the scheme will be phased over six years, starting next year when nearly 75 miles of footpaths will be overhauled, with those in the worst condition being torn up and reconstructed from scratch.

They include Southway near the University of Surrey and the Royal Surrey County Hospital in Guildford. However none in the Haslemere area are scheduled for the first year.

Plans for footpaths in the other years of the programme have yet to be decided and will go to each of the county’s 11 local committees for their input.

John Furey, Surrey County Council’s member for highways, said: “We’re working incredibly hard to provide smoother road surfaces and now we’re turning our attention to improving hundreds of miles of pavements that are used daily.

“In the first year we’ll be targeting those most in need of improvement and those used the most, such as in town centre shopping areas and outside schools or hospitals.”