A BELEAGUERED proposal for a ‘Wander Wye’ path for walkers and cyclists from Chepstow to Tintern received a funding boost this week from Chepstow Town Council and the town’s Green Man Backpackers hostel.
The scheme plans to connect the Severn Bridge on Chepstow to Tintern, making use of a stretch of disused railway line.
Spokesperson for the project, Jenifer Gosling, said: “We were overjoyed last Friday to hear that the grant of £9,000, applied for by A-B Connecting Communities from Chepstow Town Council, has been awarded.
“Mike Lewis of the Green Man Backpackers in Chepstow Town Centre has this week also pledged £1,000. This takes the total to £20,500 required to submit the revised planning applications to Monmouthshire County Council Forest of Dean District Council for the Wander Wye Route from the Severn Bridge to Tintern along the disused railway line.
“I would like to acknowledge the support of Sue Kingdom, Chepstow Chamber of Commerce with this successful application. We also received news from our contact in Sustrans, Rupert Crosbee about the release of the lease from Sustrans, to Darren Bryce at the National Diving and Activities Centre in the summer.”
The scheme was previously set to benefit from lottery funding via Sustrans Connect Two programme. The money was allocated elsewhere when Monmouthshire County Council failed to approve the scheme after parking concerns were raised by a small number of residents.
To find out more about the proposed scheme, search Facebook for Chepstow to Tintern shared-use path. To sign the petition in support of the path, visit 38degrees.org .uk and search for Tintern or to donate visit www.wyecycle.co.uk/donate