Monmouthshire active travel scheme pared back

Monmouthshire County Council has revised its original Abergavenny strategic scheme to focus on the new Llanfoist to Castle Meadows Active Travel Bridge.

The original Abergavenny strategic scheme had an estimated budget of £20m, but with only £10.4m from the Welsh Government’s Active Travel Fund, the updated scheme has been adjusted to focus on delivering the active travel crossing.

The council has appointed Balfour Beatty as the main contractor for the bridge scheme, stating that the bridge is ‘a clear priority for the community’ and that the revised plan ‘aligned with the current funding available’.

Originally, the scheme had four focal points:

• Abergavenny Active Travel bridge
• Castle Meadows active travel route
• Ysbytty Fields active travel routes
• Llanfoist Links: Improvements to the active travel provision on the Llanfoist side of the Usk.

As the funding provided by the government only covers roughly half of the expected budget for the original scheme, the bridge is the only project moving forward.

Cllr Sara Burch, Monmouthshire County Council cabinet member for rural affairs, housing & tourism, said: ‘The bridge will not only provide a better connection for people to access the town centre of Abergavenny, but also the beautiful green space that Castle Meadows provides our residents.

‘This is a complex project which has been many years in the making and will take several years to complete because of the constraints of working in a way that respects the biodiversity of the River Usk and the meadows. We will continue to seek further funding to complete the extended network of paths linking to the new bridge.’