£50K boost for ‘missing cycle link’
Council awards funding for new Pucklechurch path
The campaign to link Pucklechurch to the Bristol and Bath cycle network has received a £50,000 boost.
South Gloucestershire Council has agreed to fund £50,000 to build the first phase of a new footpath/cycle way along the B4465 Shortwood Road that will finally link the village of Pucklechurch with the wider Bristol and Bath cycle network.
Detailed investigation work is already being carried out by council engineers after councillors on the authority’s Kings Forest Area Committee agreed to prioritise the new path after being told how difficult it is to cycle in and out of Pucklechurch.
Now that funding has been confirmed, building work on the first phase can start sooner.
Local Conservative councillors for Boyd Valley Steve Reade and Ben Stokes have been campaigning to complete the missing cycle link and for the council to help fund it. They said:
“At the moment, there is a short stretch of existing path which comes to an abrupt end on a very sharp bend as you are leaving Pucklechurch and then there’s a gap all the way until you reach Shortwood.
The local community tell us that they simply do not feel safe on this part of Shortwood Road that lacks a path and so we are working closely with the council to get this missing link installed as soon as possible so that residents can finally feel confident about walking and cycling in and out of the village.
This confirmation of £50,000 of funding, which is an increase on the £30,000 that was originally proposed, is a real boost for the campaign and is big step towards linking Pucklechurch to the wider cycling network.”