Admirable ambition
Sir, — I suspect that Douglas Kedge’s active cycling days are behind him, otherwise he might not have given such a curmudgeonly response to the plan for a cycle path between Sonning Common and Emmer Green (Standard, August 4).
Anyone who has cycled along the B481 into Reading or back — as I have on as number of occasions going to and from Reading station to undertake cycling trips around the country — will know that it is an absolutely horror at all times and alarmingly hazardous at dusk or night.
The proposed cycle route would be of huge benefit both to Emmer Green and Sonning Common and might play a significant part in promoting cycle use by those working in Reading.
Mr Kedge ungenerously asks why Sonning Common Parish Council should be financing a facility that would be used by Emmer Green residents. My answer is another question: does that matter in the least? A cyclist is a cyclist wherever they come from.
The suggested cost is indeed formidable but perhaps grants will be available to make it happen.
Anyway, it is good for a parish council to have high ambitions. — Yours faithfully,
Tom Fort. Sonning Common
Cycleway is much needed
Sir, — Your correspondent Douglas Kedge raises some important points regarding the proposed cycleway, which I am sure the working party has already taken or will take into account.
However, it is surprising that he makes no mention of the fact that it will also provide a much-needed pedestrian access to Reading.
As a commoner who likes walking and cycling but hesitates to use the B481 between Emmer Green and Sonning Common, I would welcome any reasonably direct off-road route which allows both pedestrians and cyclists to have safer access to Reading.
It is important that, as we slowly move away from a total reliance on motorised transport in order to reduce pressure on the environment, a safe alternative route to the major commercial and transport centre of Reading should be provided. — Yours faithfully,
Alastair Morris Sonning Common
Delivering real benefits
The cycleway working party would like to thank Douglas Kedge for raising his questions relating to the proposed Sonning Common-Emmer Green cycleway and giving us an opportunity to share further information more widely.
Taking his questions in order:
1 and 2 — Regular use by Emmer Green or Sonning Common communities. Fifty seven per cent of the 648 Emmer Green respondents (372) and 57 per cent of the 565 Sonning Common respondents (324) indicated they would use a cycleway “regularly”.
Respondents noted various use-cases, including commuting to work, travelling to school, travelling to play sport or to commute from Sonning Common to Reading and beyond.
The working party is confident that establishing a safe route between Sonning Common and Reading will be to the benefit of all communities and users of the B481.
3 — Viability. Civic funds for projects such as ours are indeed limited and demand outstrips supply.
Nevertheless, Oxfordshire County Council has identified the Reading-Sonning Common-Wallingford link in its strategic active travel network and the working party has achieved positive support from the council’s active travel team.
The project is viable and we intend to continue the discovery and learning activities required to initiate it fully.
4 — Funding. From the outset of the project, the working party has run with a working assumption that necessary funds would be raised from a variety of sources as it was unlikely that a single body would be able to provide the level of funding required.
The advice we have received from civic bodies and experts has validated that assumption and we continue to research all available grant and charitable donation schemes which could be approached for funding.
Our indicative costs include all costs and fees, again validated with experts in the field.
5 — Route ownership and its associated obligations. We do not expect that legal ownership of, or any ongoing maintenance obligation to, the cycleway will lie with the parish council.
Rather, a separate legal entity will be established, potentially partnering with an organisation experienced in greenway construction and maintenance. This is the model for most successful projects of this kind.
Yearly maintenance is generally modest and can be covered via charitable means, sponsorship and volunteering.
6 — Administrative burden during construction and long-term maintenance.
All project work will be managed by the members of the project team. Ongoing maintenance will be managed by the legal entity established by the project team. No support is expected from the parish office.
In summary, we firmly believe that the project objectives are achievable and that considerable civic benefits will be delivered for generations of residents to come. The working party welcomes new joiners and would particularly value support from volunteers with experience in fundraising, civil engineering, planning and legal matters relating to land ownership and leasing. — Yours faithfully,
Neville Varnham Sonning Common cycleway working party |
