The Upper Don Trail Trust has recently met representatives of the Stocksbridge Towns Deal board, following their disappointing decision to dramatically reduce investment in cycle and walking trails.
Investment in a £2.75m trails project was a key part of the Towns Deal board’s bid for levelling up money from the Government, which was submitted and approved two years ago.
The trails project included a new section of trail linking Stocksbridge and Deepcar to the beautiful Ewden valley at More Hall.
It would have been built along the old More Hall steelworks tip running alongside the River Don, which Liberty Steel no longer use and are now remediating.
This forms a vital part of our long-term vision for the Upper Don Trail and is currently the only realistic option for a safe active travel alternative to the dangerous Manchester Road.
But the Towns Deal board propose to abandon it, instead investing far less money in just part of the original project: improved access around Yorkshire Water land at Underbank Reservoir. No further detail has been provided.
The Upper Don Trail Trust supports the Underbank scheme, but has been pressing for an explanation of why the much more ambitious original project has been cut back so dramatically.
We and other local stakeholders have now met board members for the first time in twelve months.
At the meeting, the trails project “champions” – board members Julie Grocutt and Yuri Matischen – told us that further public consultations on the trails proposals are planned for September.
We welcome this. In advance of the consultations, we have asked the Towns Deal team to share all relevant costings, plans and cost benefit assessments as outlined in the business case which they have commissioned at public expense over the last two years.
We believe this is essential to facilitate a full, transparent and well-informed discussion aimed at getting the most for Stocksbridge out of their investment.
The Trust and its partners remain committed to exploring all possible funding sources and partnerships to achieve a connected and properly signposted route from Langsett to Sheffield, with Stocksbridge at its centre and including a link to the Ewden valley.
To do this effectively there needs to be an open exchange of information and expertise which we hope will now be forthcoming. If there are cost or other issues to be resolved to complete the route we all need to understand them.