THE LONGEST traffic-free greenway in the county has opened to walkers, cyclists and horse riders as part of a project to transform a disused railway.
The Lias Line Greenway, a new stretch of National Cycle Network Route 41, connects to Warwickshire County Council’s (WCC) Offchurch Greenway and links Rugby, Long Itchington and Leamington, with a segment of the route taking visitors along the Grand Union Canal.
Staff from Sustrans welcome walkers, cyclists and horse riders to the new Lias Line Greenway. Picture by Mark Radford Photography.Costing around £5.1m, the project has diverted around 2.5 miles of the network off road to create a safer and more direct link between Offchurch Greenway and Long Itchington.
It follows the ‘branch line’ of the old Lias Line railway route, named after the stone buried beneath it, which closed in 1985 after 134 years of transporting minerals and passengers.
The work, which began last October, has been led by walking, wheeling and cycling charity Sustrans as part of a national programme to enhance the National Cycle Network and make active travel safer and more accessible.
Sustrans worked with Warwickshire County Council’s Ecology and Landscape team to install bat boxes and build wetland areas to encourage rare great crested newts, and is also working with Warwickshire Butterfly Conservation group to improve the habitat for the common blue butterfly.
Sustrans worked with Warwickshire County Council’s Ecology and Landscape team to build wetland areas to encourage rare great crested newts. Picture by Mark Radford Photography.Delegates gathered to mark the opening of the new route, including Kenilworth and Southam MP Jeremy Wright.
He said: “This project goes will complete a long-held community aspiration to develop the entirety of the Lias Line so that it becomes a ‘path for all’, enabling local people and visitors alike to get outdoors and experience some beautiful parts of Warwickshire.”
Clare Maltby, Sustrans’ England Director Midlands and East, said: “From the very beginning, we’ve worked closely with the local community and that’s reflected in the outcome. What we have is a path for everyone – it’s for the walkers, the cyclists, the horse riders and for nature too.
“This scheme has improved connectivity and made it easier to walk and cycle in Warwickshire – but it’s also created a haven for wildlife.”
Sustrans is planning more events to encourage the community to participate in activities such as planting and wildlife counting.
The next phase of the programme will close a 120-metre gap at the western end of the scheme between the Fosseway overbridge, which is being constructed by HS2, and the start of the Lias Line Greenway. Construction is expected to start in mid-2023.
The improvements were largely funded through a government grant, supplemented by further money raised from the British Horse Society, Warwickshire County Council, Warwick District Council and Rugby Borough Council.
In the long-term, subject to funding, Sustrans plans to make use of the old railway ‘main line’ to create a new off-road track to improve connectivity with Birdingbury, Rugby and other nearby villages. The third and final phase will follow the branch line route south to the Stockton reservoir.
Visit https://tinyurl.com/2p9a5b6x for more information about the Lias Line and Sustrans.
