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This week, the Connect2 scheme to enable walkers and cyclists to travel from Huyton and onto Cronton via a traffic-free greenway along the old mineral railway line through Cronton Colliery and Stadt Moers Park is a step closer as sustainable transport charity Sustrans and its Connect2 partners at Knowsley Council sign the paperwork that will guide the development for the coming years.

The agreement, a Memorandum of Understanding, confirms partners’ continued commitment to the project and pledges £200,000 from Sustrans’ Connect2 lottery award to create this walking and cycling network through the area for everyday journeys to schools, shops and local green spaces.

The Highways Agency has refurbished and extended the railway bridge over the M62, and the Land Restoration Trust starts work later this year, which will enable walkers and cyclists to safely cross the motorway to the old colliery site which will open up as an informal country park in spring 2010.

Improvements to the existing Whiston greenway to link to St Luke’s Primary school are also planned for the summer – enabling pupils to make the daily journey to school in ways which benefit their health and the environment. Works to reclaim overgrown sections of the old railway line are planned for 2010/11. The entire walking and cycling greenway, including a new connection to Cronton, and the links along quiet roads will be completed by 2012.

Sustrans’ area manager, Peter Foster says: “I am delighted Knowsley Council are demonstrating their commitment to this route which will link Cronton and Huyton via Stadt Moers Park. It will connect communities living in urban areas to local countryside a few miles away along traffic-free and quiet roads, enabling more people to get around under their own steam to the benefit of their health and the environment.” 

Cllr Graham Morgan, Knowsley Council’s portfolio holder for Regeneration, Economy and Skills says: “This excellent off-road route will allow cyclists and walkers to bypass the busy motorway junction and avoid the obstacles provided by the motorways. It will have great benefits for the local community as it will link the areas north and south of the M62.

“It will also create access for the nearby residential areas of Huyton, Prescot, Whiston and Cronton to the open spaces of the new country park and the large parkland expanse of Stadt Moers. It will also improve access to schools, leisure, and employment opportunities at Huyton, Whiston and Prescot business parks.”

This scheme has been made possible through the enormous popular support for Sustrans’ Connect2 – as voted for by the public in the UK’s largest lottery competition in December 2007.

Published on 08th Apr 2009