Latest news with #NationalCycleNetwork
Business News Wales
4 days ago
- Business
- Business News Wales
£11m Funding Boost for Powys Recreational Tourism Projects
Powys County Council have received a contribution of almost £11 million from the UK Government Levelling Up Fund to invest in capital projects aimed at promoting recreational tourism through transport investment. The Levelling Up funding aims to address regional disparities across the UK by investing in vital local infrastructure projects to increase pride in place and bring people closer to opportunity. This latest payment will be spent within 2025/26 financial year, delivering projects within the county which aim to boost recreational tourism and contribute to local economic growth. These include: Resurfacing – will improve access to tourist hotspots and support the National Cycle Network, facilitating better journey quality for residents and visitors. Active travel – will provide improved access between key towns and the surrounding tourist destinations, making it easier for visitors to explore Powys using active modes and improve accessibility to key locations for residents. In particular, the schemes will include those planned for Llandrindod Lake, Brecon promenade, the next phase of the Llandrindod Wells to Howey route and a section of the Crickhowell to Llangattock route. Rights of Way refurbishment – will enable and improve visitors' accessibility to Powys' Rights of Way network. The initial project will include the replacement of Pont y Milgy footbridge, Ystradgynlais. 'This latest contribution of Levelling Up Funding from UK Government will allow us to begin making the improvements needed to the county's transport infrastructure,' said Cllr Jake Berriman, Leader of Powys County Council. 'Through this timely investment, we aim to improve accessibility to key services, encourage active travel and support recreational activities, providing better journeys for everyone and improve connectivity to tourist hotspots. 'We are hopeful to receive confirmation of additional Levelling Up Funding to enable us to complete further projects in the future.'
Wales Online
18-05-2025
- General
- Wales Online
It was an ugly old park and ride site, then someone had a brilliant transformative idea
It was an ugly old park and ride site, then someone had a brilliant transformative idea It was a mixture of hardstanding and scrubland, now it's a hidden oasis of tranquility you wouldn't even know was there Part of the green oasis you might not know is there in Swansea (Image: John Myers ) Just over a decade ago a chunk of riverside land in Swansea wasn't the most inviting of places, and that's the understatement of the year. The former stadium park and ride site on the northern edge of Swansea Enterprise Park, by the River Tawe, had a large area of hardstanding, fencing, and scrubland. A Google Maps image from 2011 shows a collection of gas cannisters by the park and ride entrance and some traveller caravans. There were and still are trees running along the banks of the adjacent River Tawe but the whole character of the area changed when Environment Agency Wales, as it was then, began exploring a major flood defence project. The £7 million Lower Swansea Valley flood defence scheme would include moving the existing flood embankment and path further back from the Tawe to create a new wetland area with ponds. This wetland would act as a giant sponge to absorb surging water, protecting homes and businesses downstream and creating new habitat. Never miss a Swansea story by signing up to our newsletter here A view of the area as it is now (Image: John Myers ) The project, in collaboration with Swansea Council, also resulted in a new footbridge downstream which is at a higher level than its predecessor, plus other raised embankments using 52 Olympic swimming pools' worth of soil excavated from the former park and ride site. Article continues below Flooding had severely affected the area in 1979, and there was further flooding in 1998. Experts said that without enhanced protection, 284 businesses and 16 homes were under threat in a one-in-a-hundred year flood event and that more than £43 million of damage could be caused over a century. Before the work started on the site (Image: Copyright Unknown ) But, rather than just building walls, Environment Agency Wales, which was subsumed into Natural Resources Wales (NRW) in April, 2013, used land to soak up peak river flows. The work took place in 2013 and 2014 and now the wetland area is full of trees and greenery, and the shared-use path on the raised embankment alongside is well used by walkers and cyclists. The cycle path links Swansea to Coelbren - a 31-mile National Cycle Network route full of character which passes Clydach, Pontardawe and Ystradgynlais and generally follows the Tawe and Swansea Canal. As the work was taking place (Image: Copyright Unknown ) Gareth Richards worked for Environment Agency Wales as an asset inspector and described the former stadium park and ride area as pretty bare biodiversity-wise and a tricky site in terms of access. "It was quite a big scheme for us," recalled Mr Richards, who works for NRW. "We are trying to use these nature-based solutions as much as we can." These can include upstream options such as tree-planting to help soak up pulses of floodwater. It sits alongside a busy road (Image: John Myers ) The Lower Swansea Valley flood defence scheme has proven its worth to date. Mr Richards said the level of the Tawe, as measured by a gauge upstream of the wetland area, peaked during Storm Dennis in February, 2020, but was still 5cm below the severe flood event of 1979. The defences would be over-topped, he said, during flooding greater than a one-in-a-hundred year event. It can be hard to picture flooding during long periods of dry and sunny weather such as the current spring. Rainfall can fluctuate significantly from year to year but there has been a general upward trend in rainfall volume in the UK since 1980, according to Met Office data. There are holiday homes nearby (Image: John Myers ) The atmosphere is warming, and a hotter atmosphere can hold more water vapour. Climate change, said NRW, was making it harder to hold weather-related shocks at arm's length. Reducing the risk of flooding remains a cornerstone of its work, but it said big and potentially unpalatable decisions would need to be made at some point about where people lived and worked. lots of people now use the area for recreation (Image: John Myers ) Mr Richards, who is part of a team which inspects the Lower Swansea Valley flood defence scheme once a year, said: "We get more intense rainfall events, and we have got to be as prepared as we can and be as resilient to the best of our ability. "The challenge we will have in the future is finding solutions which fit budgets, resources and space available." The area at the former stadium park and ride, which straddles the wards of Llansamlet and Morriston, feels like an oasis of green if you've cycled up through Swansea Enterprise Park. It's an oasis of calm (Image: John Myers ) Article continues below Landowner Swansea Council said it completed a landscaping and planting programme which enabled the site to naturally re-vegetate and enhance biodiversity. Llansamlet councillor Ryland Doyle is part of a walking group which does a looping route from the enterprise park up towards Ynystawe and back. He said the curving, raised embankment was a decent stretch. "It's very, very pleasant - there's no two ways about it," he said.
The Courier
28-04-2025
- General
- The Courier
Plans for new Alloa Road cycle path linking Stirling and Clacks revealed
Designs for a new off-road bike and pedestrian path adjacent to Alloa Road have been revealed by Stirling Council. Linking Manor Powis roundabout and Causewayhead Roundabout, the proposed track would take the current National Cycle Network Route 76 off the busy Alloa Road. The plans show the new shared use path running parallel to the A91 road and then the railway line for a stretch. Cyclists and pedestrians would rejoin traffic on Grange Road, then come to another shared active travel path on Ladysneuk Road. This would be created by upgrading the current pavement, rather than reducing the size of the road. From there, the shared path would continue onto Alloa Road. At Causewayhead, the route would connect to Stirling's existing active travel network, which was officially opened last week. The plans suggest a further active travel route to the Springkerse area could be added in the future, following the A91. Stirling Council is working with Sustrans' National Cycle Network team on the project, known as the NCN76 Manor Powis re-alignment. The council is asking Stirling residents to review the detailed plans and share their views with the local authority via an online survey. The public consultation is open until June 6. Stirling Council said: 'This corridor addresses a key missing link for Sustrans, Stirling Council and Clackmannanshire Council, enhancing connections to Stirling City centre, Alloa, the University of Stirling and Causewayhead.' A separate ongoing council consultation about plans for a cycling and walking route linking Dunblane and Bridge of Allan has prompted concern from locals. Some residents feel the B8033 road is too busy to become a single carriageway, as proposed, and argue the change would be dangerous. Others say there are better nearby routes to develop into a path for bikes and walkers.
BBC News
09-04-2025
- Business
- BBC News
New '£2m footbridge' in Taunton to replace too narrow crossing
Work on a new £2m footbridge to replace a crossing too narrow for cyclists, is to begin in current bridge, which links Taunton's Morrisons supermarket with Coal Orchard, is not wide enough for both cyclists and pedestrians to Council's planning committee approved plans for a 4m (13ft) wide, more cycle-friendly bridge, last project will be paid for with a £14m grant from the government's Future High Streets fund and additional council funding. The pedestrian bridge links up with the National Cycle Network route three, which runs along the River Tone and onto the Bridgwater and Taunton currently it does not meet the Department for Transport's guidelines for a cycling compliant bridge and cyclists have to dismount if they want to use documents, published in January, suggest the replacement bridge will cost up to £2m, according to the Local Democracy Service. A report published in February, indicated that work on the new bridge would be completed by a spokesman for the council, said there were still a "number of stages to go through"."Some of the foundations of the existing bridge will be adapted and used, and the rest will be removed in stages," they explained."We can't confirm the installation cost until the detailed design process is complete."Councillor Mike Rigby, said the scheme was in the final stage of design and work on site was "likely to begin in July".
