Warwickshire councillors hope green light for new Kenilworth to Leamington cycle route will encourage more people to switch to pedal power

Cllr Sarah Boad (Lib Dem, Leamington North) remembered calls for such a route as K2L as far back as the 1980s.

Speaking at Warwickshire County Council’s cabinet meeting [JAN 28] she said: “I remember people calling for this cycleway in 1986 - it has been long planned for and fought for.

“It will make an amazing difference to be able to cycle safely between these two towns. This is not a good place to ride a bike, it is not a very wide road. At the moment I think you’d either have to be very confident or a bit mad to cycle on this route.

“I think we all appreciate what a complicated scheme this is. It sounds easy - just draw a line between Kenilworth and Leamington - but the different land ownerships and that there isn’t a decent bridge to take a cycleway across the river make it an incredibly complicated scheme to deliver. I think this is an incredibly exciting day.”

Some of the £4.7m allocated for the project will be spent on building a new pedestrian and cycle bridge over the River Avon at Chesford.

The route will then travel alongside the A452 and B4115 and early engagement with some affected landowners has already taken place.

Cllr Peter Butlin (Con, Admirals and Cawston) added his support for the route, construction of which is expected to start at the end of 2022.

He said: “This is probably the flagship cycle route for the county at the moment. Cycling from Kenilworth to Leamington is a dangerous affair and we needed something to bridge that gap and make it safe.

“There are risks involved because of the technical difficulties in putting it in place. All good things take time especially when it is technically difficult.”

The meeting also heard from Kenilworth mayor Cllr Richard Dickson who acknowledged the work to champion K2L over the years including Cllr Bill Gifford (Lib Dem, Leamington Milverton), former councillors and community groups such as Cycleways and the Kenilworth Cycling Forum.

He added: “From today, the time for yet more delay, procrastination and uncertainty is over.

This proposal to complete K2L by the end of 2023 is very welcome.”