The Upper Don Trail Trust (UDTT) has become aware that Stocksbridge Town Deal is holding a drop-in consultation event next week to seek people’s views on its much-reduced trails project.
The consultation about “proposed investment at Underbank reservoir” follows the Town Deal board’s decision to abandon the much more ambitious trails project that was originally agreed as part of its £24m investment programme.
The drop-in event will be held at Smithy Moor community centre on Cross Lane between 3pm and 7pm next Thursday, October 19th.
UDTT remain in the dark about the board’s reasons for abandoning the original project, which would also have provided walking, riding and cycling access between Stocksbridge and the Ewden valley via a new section of the Upper Don Trail.
This is despite our repeated requests for information and meaningful consultation about their decision, and how we might find a consensual way forward.
Our concerns are shared by local businesses and residents, by Stocksbridge Town Council, and by Sheffield City Council’s North Local Area Committee.
The Upper Don Trail Trust have been active “stakeholders” in the trails project since its inception. As such, we are extremely disappointed that we and other stakeholders have not received any direct notification of the drop-in event, or been invited to participate in it.
We learned of it at very short notice through a brief advertisement in this week’s edition of the Look Local newspaper.
The event is at short notice, and at a time of day that will make it difficult for some people to attend. But UDTT encourages supporters to go along if possible. We think the following questions about the revised project deserve answers:
- In what sense is this consultation – i.e. is the STD Board willing to consider any significant changes in light of the response?
- What efforts have been made to seek additional funding sources such as the South Yorkshire Mayoral Authority to deliver the full trails project as has been the case for other projects?
- Why have offers of help to raise funds by a number of partners been ignored and all information on the Trails withheld from them for the last 12 months?
- Why have relatively low cost but essential elements of the original trails project such as badly needed signage of existing trails in Stocksbridge been omitted?
- What exactly are the Underbank proposals – do they connect with the existing and recently improved Little Don Trail to Langsett including the new crossing of the A616 Stocksbridge bypass adjacent to Underbank, currently under construction by Highways England?
- What commitment has Yorkshire Water actually made to part fund the Underbank project and is this funding guaranteed?
- STD Board papers suggest the project will create “20 km” of trails – presumably on Yorkshire Water land. If this is true where are they, and will they become public rights of way open to cycling and horse riding as the original trails project proposed?
Please click here to read more about our concerns over the cuts to the original trails project.