New £5 million walking and cycling Greenway in Warwickshire opens to the public

A group shot of the delegates inspecting the completed works. From left; Wendy Bannerman (British Horse Society), Cllr Christopher Kettle (Stratford District Council and Warwickshire County Council, Cllr Heather Timms (Rugby Borough Council), Cllr Andrew Day (Warwick District Council), Clare Maltby (Sustrans), Carmen Szeto (Sustrans), Cllr Louis Adam (Stratford District Council), Barbara Atkins (Long Itchington Parish Council).

Delegates have gathered to mark the transformation of a disused railway in Warwickshire into the county’s longest greenway for walkers, cyclists and horse riders.

Costing around £5.1 million, the project has diverted 4km of the National Cycle Network off road and onto 4.2km of completely sealed very good off-road track.

The work has been led by walking, wheeling and cycling charity Sustrans as part of an England-wide programme, supported by the Department for Transport, to enhance the National Cycle Network and achieve the charity’s Paths for Everyone vision of making active travel safer and more accessible for all.

Jeremy Wright MP and Clare Maltby Sustrans’ England Director Midlands and East inspect the completed works on the Lias Line. Picture courtesy of Mark Radford Photography.

Work commenced on the new track in October 2021 and was completed recently.

It follows the ‘branch line’ of the old Lias Line railway route creating a safer, and more direct, link between Offchurch Greenway and Long Itchington.

Named after the stone buried beneath it, the Lias Line closed in 1985 after 134 years of transporting minerals and passengers.

Along withresidents, Sustrans dreamed of repurposing the space for many years.

Now the Lias Line has a bright future to look forward to once again.

Its role as a greenway means that it’s also a haven for wildlife.

As part of the project, Sustrans worked with Warwickshire County Council’s Ecology & Landscape team to build wetland areas to encourage great crested newts.

It also installed bat boxes and they’re also working closely with Warwickshire Butterfly Conservation group to improve the habitat for the common blue butterfly.

Although the project has been completed, Sustrans is already 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 District Council.1

In the long-term subject to funding, Sustrans are planning 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.

The scheme has the backing of Kenilworth and Southam MP Jeremy Wright .

He said: “This project goes alongside the government’s goal of encouraging more cycling and walking to tackle some of the biggest health and environmental challenges that we face. In addition, it 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.”

Sustrans is the custodian of the National Cycle Network, which passes within one mile of around half of the UK population.

Visit: https://bit.ly/3PDa1R2 for more information about the Lias Line and the work Sustrans does.