Countryside waking and cycling route improvements plan for Stocksbridge
Money will be used to improve green areas of Upper Don Valley
Walking and cycling routes around Stocksbridge in Sheffield should soon see improvements after a £100,000 investment is agreed.
The Stocksbridge Towns Fund Active Travel Trails scheme aims to improve walking and cycling connections between Stocksbridge, Oughtibridge and the surrounding countryside.
The scheme forms part of £24.1 million government regeneration programme for Stocksbridge agreed five years ago.
The project also includes the 519 community hub in the shopping centre opening next year, better public transport connections and updated sports facilities.
An area called More Hall Tips will benefit from £50,000 investment, to be managed by a grant to the Upper Don Trails Trust.
A plan is being drawn up to look at the restoration of the site, replacing a missing trail connection and opportunities for biodiversity and leisure improvements.
Another £30,000 will be spent on new fingerposts and information boards to make the Upper Don Valley Trail and connecting routes easier to find and follow.
The remaining £20,000 will be used to explore a safer crossing at Underbank Lane and Manchester Road.
More Hall Tips is a 42-hectare site comprising former slag heaps and quarries adjoining the old Steins steel refractory brickworks. Bloor Homes has built 400 houses on the Wharncliffe Park site at Deepcar.
The budget has to be approved next Monday (November 19) by Sheffield City Council’s finance and performance policy committee.
Penistone and Stocksbridge MP Marie Tidball is co-chair of the Stocksbridge Towns Fund Board.
She said: “Stocksbridge and the wider Upper Don Valley are the gateway to the Peak District and we have some beautiful countryside right on our doorstep.
“I want it to become easier for local people and visitors to enjoy it.
“This funding would allow us to take the next steps on three important pieces of work: looking at the future potential of More Hall Tips, making the Upper Don Trail easier to find and follow, and examining how the crossing at Underbank Lane and Manchester Road could be made safer for people on foot.
“Together, these projects can help our communities build better connections between Stocksbridge, Oughtibridge and the surrounding countryside.
“I’m grateful to the Upper Don Trails Trust and everyone locally who has helped shape this work.”