Somerset villagers seek £50,000 funding for new cycle route

Tony Greenaway said they have been "walking through treacle" to get something started

A village on the Somerset Levels is seeking £50,000 funding for a safe walking and cycling route to local schools and other vital facilities.

Residents in Curry Rivel want to create a new path to Langport, taking pedestrians and cyclists away from fast-moving traffic on the A378.

Work could begin shortly, with volunteers and a local engineering firm already busy preparing the groundwork.

But further financial support is needed to deliver the entire route.

Tony Greenaway, from the Curry Rivel Active Travel Group, said: "I've always thought this village needs a proper connection to Langport.

"The A378 is a horrible road - it's busy, it's noisy and the pavements are rubbish.

"Over the last two years, we've just been walking our way through treacle trying to get something started."

The new route would run from the eastern end of Dyers Road in Curry Rivel, along a section of the A378 and on towards Frog Lane into Langport

Volunteers from Curry Rivel and Drayton have cleared the overgrown land along the A378 between North Street and Park Lane, where the first 200 metres of the new route could soon be delivered, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said.

The new route would be a permissive multi-user path, where each landowner allows access to users without the parish council or Somerset Council having to acquire the land on which the new path will be constructed.

In order to secure matched funding the group will need to raise a minimum of £50,000 from the community and other sources.

The Curry Rivel Active Travel Group needs £50,000 in funding to take walkers and cyclists away from the busy A378

Curry Rivel Primary School is supporting the project, with headteacher Alison Pook arguing that improvements around the school would ease traffic congestion and encourage healthier lifestyles.

She said: "It will decrease use of cars used to drop-off and pick-up, which causes congestion around the green and the parish car-park. This will increase safety for all."

Somerset Council previously committed £10,000 from its active travel budget towards the initial section, which is mainly being used to meet administrative costs, along with £65,000 for improvements elsewhere in the village, including near the Westfield recreation ground.

A spokesman from the council said: "We believe the route would be an excellent addition to the active travel network in Somerset and our team is working with the parish council on how this can be delivered."