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Local AM talks of the opening of a new path linking Cardiff Bay with Penarth.
posted on 21/05/2008

The Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing (Jane Davidson) said:
“About half of all car trips in the UK could be replaced by walking, cycling or taking public transport. Increased levels of walking and cycling—as you have heard, a key aim of the new transport strategy for Wales, which the Deputy First Minister has published today—can make a positive contribution to improving health and fitness, as well as helping to secure the lifestyle changes needed to tackle climate change.

Our countryside access programme has a number of related elements, reflecting the commitments made in 'One Wales’ to encourage people from all backgrounds to enjoy their local countryside, and fostering a stronger sense of public ownership of our natural environment. There are five main strands. The first is improving public access to Wales’s coast via investment in footpath improvements, and new paths and circular routes at the coast. We invested £1.5 million in this programme last year, delivering a range of improvements, including a new path linking Cardiff Bay with Penarth, which will be opened formally shortly.”

Lorraine Barrett said: “Thank you, Minister, for the statement. I am interested in access to the coast and cycling promotion, and you mentioned the imminent opening of the path between Penarth, over the barrage, to Cardiff bay. There are thousands of people who are waiting to use it to walk and cycle to work, as well as for recreational purposes, so that will be welcome. You may know that the former Labour leader of the Vale of Glamorgan Council gave a commitment to provide an initial £200,000 towards Sustrans’ Pont y Werin project, which would complete a circular route: you could go from Penarth, over to the bay, to the sports village and back over to Penarth. That route would cut out an awful lot of the traffic that we are suffering from at the moment, as well as making life a bit healthier for everyone. Is there any possibility of Government funding for that project under some of the schemes that you mentioned in your statement? Cardiff County Council, the sports village and Cardiff Harbour Authority have the main responsibility, and the Vale of Glamorgan Council has part of the responsibility, but I wondered whether there could be a contribution from the Welsh Assembly Government towards that scheme.”

Jane Davidson said: “The Connect2 funding, which is Sustrans’s successful application to the Big Lottery, means that there is some £4 million of lottery funding to support a range of walking and cycling projects across Wales. We will want to work with our national agencies, such as the Countryside Council for Wales, and the local authorities in which the schemes are located, in looking at how additional funding can be brought on board. We estimate that, with match funding and other contributions, the total funding in support of the schemes will amount to around £12 million. The schemes are very exciting. There is the Ely river scheme in Cardiff, the Port Talbot to Cwmafan scheme, the Monmouth local connections scheme, the Trevithick trail to Merthyr town centre, Rhyl bridge at Foryd harbour, the Carmarthen to Johnstown riverside links, and Treforest bridge in my constituency. The schemes are very varied and exciting and we will also want to look at them in the context of local regeneration opportunities. Many of us are going down to the Norwegian church and looking to see when the bridge will open—I know that the opening has been put back, but I am urging for it to be done as quickly as possible. I can assure you that we will send information out urgently to all Assembly Members to say that the opportunity is there to ensure that the daily postprandial can include the barrage when the path opens.”