A cycle path that runs between Brean and Weston could be extended to stretch along the coast to Burnham-On-Sea under new plans being discussed this week.
Town councillors in Burnham-On-Sea are meeting Greenways and Cycleroutes Limited, the charity that successfully opened the ‘Brean Down Way’ over the summer, which is a cycle route connecting Brean to Weston, featured here.
Burnham-On-Sea and Highbridge town councillors Phil Harvey, Andy Brewer and Janet Keen are set to meet with the organsiation today (Wednesday) in Burnham to discuss the plans in more depth.
Cllr Phil Harvey, who has set up the meeting, told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “The proposal is for an off-road cycle route between Burnham and Brean, connecting with the path to Weston – it would be a super route.”
And Cllr Andy Brewer, who is a keen cyclist and a member of Sedgemoor Cycle Group, added: “It is potentially very exciting, but it’s still early days yet.”
In a Greenways and Cycleroutes document outlining the proposals, the firm says the Brean to Weston cycle route “has proved immensely popular with over 28,000 trips recorded crossing the River Axe sluices in its first 7 weeks, enough to make this the most heavily used cycling route in Somerset.”
“Not surprisingly there are now calls to extend the route to serve Berrow, Burnham-On-Sea and Brent Knoll.”
“Whilst ideally one would look for a route alongside the Coast and Berrow Roads all the way through, in practice this is not possible.”
“At the north end, almost all the way from the Brean Leisure Park to the Weston Road is tightly constrained, and similarly in the south through Burnham there is insufficient space for a separate path.”
“We think that the best strategy is to put in place the Brean, Brent and Burnham Triangular Greenway, all as a really good quality traffic free circuit. These would both be self-contained tourist attractions – 8 miles long, but also provide alternatives to a sizable section of the main road.”
“Greenways and Cycleroutes Limited is working with local people to bring forward these links to Burnham.”
