New cycle and walking route gets green light

A LONG-AWAITED path for cyclists, walkers and horse riders across a common in Gower has been given the go-ahead.

- RICHARD YOULE Senior local democracy reporter

It'll run parallel to the B4436 on Clyne Common and link Mayals, Swansea, with Murton and Bishopston, Gower. People walking, running, cycling and riding horses on the shared-use path will be separated from the busy road by a stockproof fence.

The project already has planning permission and has now received Welsh Government approval under the 2006 Commons Act.

Bishopston resident Patrick Tribe helped set up a campaign group called Gower Access Path and said an online petition in support of the scheme a few years ago had around 2,500 signatures.

He said the route wouldn’t be just for cyclists and that if anything walkers would use it more. “I’m a cyclist, and I think the path justifies itself just for walking,” he said.

Richard Duggan, the Welsh Government-appointed planning inspector who assessed the council's Commons Act application, said there was no safe route for walkers or cyclists between Mayals and Bishopston and that safety concerns had been raised by schools and cycling and running groups.