Plans for new cycle path sparks heated planning row

Ted Peskett, local democracy reporter

A Welsh council has been accused of proposing to “rip up” the green entrance to a village in a heated planning row over a new cycle path.

Vale of Glamorgan Council’s planning committee approved plans for a new shared pedestrian and cycle route between Cosmeston and Sully at a meeting on Thursday, October 9.

It is hoped the new route will provide a safer connection between Sully and Penarth and promote more sustainable forms of travel.

However, some residents have complained about the potential impact it could have on privacy and lighting.

One resident who lives at the northern end of the proposed route, Lynden Arnold, told the council’s planning committee he didn’t object to the scheme in principle.

But, he added thatg the level of the path would allow users to “peer into my garden… and my neighbour’s” and the lighting would shine “directly into my bedroom”.

He also went on to raise concerns about the future funding of the route and said: “You don’t seem to be able to afford to maintain the footpath from my home up to Penarth or the cliff top, so I don’t know whether you’ll have enough funds for the maintenance of this huge scheme for the next 30 years.”

Concerns

The route would begin on a stretch of footway and cycleway that’s already on South Road and then continue along the existing shared use route adjacent to Lavernock Road towards The Vineyards.

A council planning report states the route would then cross Lavernock Road before joining the disused railway track and continuing for about 2km before reaching its end point at Cosmeston Drive, where it will continue along the existing ‘Railway Walk’ route.

Vale of Glamorgan Council ward councillor for Sully, Cllr Kevin Mahoney, raised concerns about the loss of a grass verge and greenery at Swanbridge Grove, Highbridge Close and Winsford Road that would result from the development.

“Basically, you are proposing to rip up every bit of green from The Vinyards into Sully, rip up the two lovely verges, the approach to the village,” said Cllr Mahoney.

“You’re proposing to do that and then they’ll just rejoin the road several hundred yards after… coming down from the old railway line anyway, plus spend a couple of million pounds doing it.

“It’s absolute madness. How dare you.”

Cllr Mahoney also claimed that many of the cyclists who do go through Sully choose not to use the existing active travel route.

He added: “I can already see it as a huge super highway for those on the 20mph and 40mph souped-up e-bikes.

“We’ve already got a bikeway and mixed pedestrian [route].

“I’m not normally in favour of mixing bikes and pedestrians, but in my 14 years there and all my time living in Sully Im not aware of any incident that’s occurred… between cyclists and pedestrians.

“That’s not to say it hasn’t.

“In fact, I’ve driven along the route from Barry today, a total of 14 miles there and back. I came across three cyclists, all of them using the road.”

Impact

The planning report on the proposal said it acknowledges there would be an impact on green infrastructure and called the loss of the verge “regrettable”.

However, it also went on to state that no trees will be removed and there is “sufficient compensatory planting” proposed as part of the scheme.

One member of the planning committee, Cllr Helen Payne, also contested what Cllr Mahoney said about the number of people using the cycle route between Sully and Barry.

Cllr Payne said she was “really happy” that there would be a new active travel route for people to enjoy and added that the current route is well used, particularly on the weekend.

It is also hoped that the new shared path will provide cycling and walking opportunities for the hundreds of residents that will eventually live in the new housing scheme planned for land at Upper Cosmeston Farm.

The Welsh Government recently announced that it’d agreed a contract with housing developers Barratt Redrow to build 576 homes that are earmarked for the site.

One planning committee member argued that he was in favour of the principle of the development, but also said the proposal was not ideal and had “missing links”.

Independent councillor, Cllr Ian Perry, was critical of the loss of verges and said it presented a safety issue for cyclists, particularly children.

He also criticised the level of lighting proposed for the scheme and called it “too bright” for residents and wildlife.

Cllr Perry said: “Overall, I think the route is much better for residents of Sully to reach Penarth… and I think it’s a great route for the people in Penarth to either go on a leisure walk to Sully or to cycle to Sully and potentially on to Barry.”

He went on to repeat his concerns that the council was “offering a bit of a blank check on this”.

The shared route will be a minimum of 3m wide on primary routes, like council adopted roads, with a 0.5m verge width for routes with speed limits of up to 40mph.

There will also be signage, road markings, and signals to guide cyclists and pedestrians along the route.

A condition was added to the application stating that street lighting along the route will need to be turned off between the hours of 12am and 5am to reduce the impact on wildlife.