Residents share hopes for 'long overdue' Gloucestershire cycle path

The scheme is part of a wider plan for a Gloucestershire "cycle spine" across the county

Residents say highly-anticipated plans for a 26-mile (46km) cycle path linking a town and village are "well overdue".

Work on the first phase of the £48m scheme, which will join up Stroud and Bishop's Cleeve, began in 2023.

Gloucestershire County Council hopes the route will help it meet its goal of net zero carbon by 2045.

Bishop's Cleeve residents said the plans looked "really good" at a drop-in information event at Cheltenham Tigers Rugby Club on Thursday.

The first phase of the scheme will run from the Honeybourne Line in Cheltenham to Cheltenham Racecourse. The initial works are due to finish this winter.

Phase two will get underway alongside the A435 Evesham Road in February. It will run from the racecourse up to Bishop's Cleeve, starting with the relocation of hedgerows.

Michael Anderson said the plans looked "really good"

Bishop's Cleeve resident Michael Anderson said: "I used to cycle from Cheltenham and don't anymore, one for the state of the roads and two because of the too busy road. So the plans look really good."

Emma Morgan said she would have used the cycle route with her family, had it been built 20 years sooner.

"It's long overdue," she said. "It's never been an option before, so I am happy the money is being spent on it."

The council hopes the new route will make it easier for people to cycle and walk to work, or access public transport links.

Emma Morgan said she would have used the cycle route with her children

Councillor David Gray said the path should serve as a "practical switch" to allow people "to consider walking or cycling".

He said: "We can't expect people to take up cycling in the kind of numbers we want, unless we provide sensible, segregated, safe cycle ways."

Residents can comment on the walking and cycling improvements until 7 March through an online survey on the Gloucestershire County Council website.

Follow BBC West on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [e-mail]