Funding cuts

At last, we have a £700,000 plan to restore the Billy Trail to it’s full destiny, but that’s only the first stretch. We will need much more to finish the job.

But this disastrous government has suddenly slashed active travel funding by two-thirds with no warning, against all their strategies for active travel and health. How can councils plan like that? Continue reading “Funding cuts”


Saltmarsh Lane cycle path update

The Saltmarsh Lane cycle path will link the West Lane and Saltmarsh Lane to the Billy Trail, by converting the existing footpath.

It’s the west-most leg of Havant Borough Council’s proposed East-West Cycle Route, as first published in 2017 in their Cycling Improvements Feasibility Report, and supported by Cycle Hayling. But the developer contributions from the Halyards (Goldring Close) estate were not enough to fund it.

So Cycle Hayling bid for a CIL grant to cover the council’s estimate of £16,000 for the council to complete it. And we won it!

But we had to overcome some early problems, which have taken us the last year:

  1. The council wasn’t able to take it on, as the price had only been a ballpark estimate, and turned out to be much too low.
    So we decided Cycle Hayling would hire contractors and manage it instead.
  2. We got estimates for different Hampshire County Council approved surfaces, but realised none of them would provide the smooth surfaces we need.
  3. With help from our County Councillor, and a great deal of flexibility from Hampshire Countryside Services, we’ve now found a way forward, using the same surface used on the Langstone section of the Billy Trail, known as Tar and Chip.

This will be the first Tar and Chip cycle path on Hayling, so people can see how it looks, and decide whether they want it on other cycle paths, such as the beach, the old cinder track, and perhaps even one day, a part-width of the Billy Trail itself.

But it’s not just for cyclists. It’s for pushchairs, buggies, wheelchairs, and anyone who’s not steady on their feet.

Unfortunately, the rest of the East-West cycle path will still be the old-style gravel that doesn’t please cyclists or parents or the disabled. For the moment!

We just have two more problems to overcome before we can start:

  1. Legal right of way for cycling. The existing right of way is a footpath only, and requires a legal agreement to upgrade it for cycling. Although the main landowner has always been happy to sign, we have to track down some other landholders, get them to sign legal agreements too. That will take some time.
  2. Money! The extra costs for legal fees and the improved surface mean we need more money, probably another £6,000 to £8,000. Our County Councillor has once again stepped up, and found us another £1,700, and we’re asking others to help, including Southern Water, who use part for a pumping station, and the Hayling Ride. If you have any more ideas, please shout!

We can then go back to our contractors for re-quotes, based on our upgraded specification. But anyway, we can’t do anything during the bird-nesting season, which extends to July/August.

 

Hayling Islander column February 2019

This is our Hayling Islander column for February (excluding any editing by the Islander, images may differ). 

Cycle Hayling launches our new website and ‘Smooth the Path’ campaign.

Smooth the Path

Does Hayling deserve smooth, all-weather paths that can be used safely by everyone? Not just by cyclists, but by parents walking with buggies, kids with scooters and balance bikes, wheelchairs, disabled buggies, and even people who struggle with balance? Like the ones on the mainland in Havant?

Because Hampshire County Council says we don’t.

And that’s why Cycle Hayling is launching our new 2019 website with our ‘Smooth the Path’ campaign.

Continue reading “Hayling Islander column February 2019”


Havant’s new Cycling and Walking Plan!

Havant Borough Council has announced that it will be starting work on a formal Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan shortly.

[UPDATE JUNE 2021: We’re still waiting!!!]

This is REALLY important because :

  • A formal plan unlocks much more future government funding
  • Implementing it becomes a formal policy of the whole council, not just the cycling team
  • It forces developers to show how their housing plans fit into OUR bigger plan
  • It forces all of us to plan for the best long term solution, rather than just for quick wins

Continue reading “Havant’s new Cycling and Walking Plan!”


Repairs on the Billy Trail

We understand that work on repairing the section of the trail that eroded away last year is due to start in early November.

This will seek to restore the trail to the state it was in before the storms. It’s not a permanent fix, however. We can expect erosion to continue until a longer-term solution can be implemented.

The work will involve some lorries on the trail and, therefore, some closures. We’ll let you know if we hear more.

Another Billy Trail closure – more improvement

See below for an update from the Havant Transport and Implementation Team. We don’t yet have dates for the closure but will post them here when we do.

It’s good to see more improvement. It’s early days, but the new section seems much better than the southern section, so we’re hoping it will set the standard for future improvements.

Continue reading “Another Billy Trail closure – more improvement”


Billy Trail re-opens following upgrade

The section at the north of the island is now open again, although all users are being asked to treat the new surface with respect while it is bedding in.

There’s also some more work to do that will not require the path to be closed, so please watch out for people working.

Peter Drury’s blog has some photos of the new section and some taken while it was under construction.

We are all hoping that this will prove to be an excellent development that will show the way for future Billy Trail improvements. We’ll be keeping an eye on it as time goes on.

Thanks – once again – are due to Peter Drury who has done so much to bring this about through his Hayling Billy 50 work. I’m sure he’d be the first to point out that it’s been a team effort involving Havant, Hampshire, National Lottery and a bunch of others.