A GROUP has now been officially set up to lead a project working to form a new cycle path between Lochmaben and Lockerbie.
The Lochmaben to Lockerbie Community Access Group (LLCAG) has drawn up a formal constitution and is open to anyone living in either of the towns or surrounding villages.
Chaired by Stuart Bowe of Royal Four Towns Community Council, LLCAG hopes to link up existing national cycle routes 74 and 7, as well as regional cycle route 10, diverting cycling traffic away from the busy A709.
In a letter to Royal Four Towns Community Council last year, Lochmaben Community Council’s chairman, Colin Davidson, said the route would be “an ideal fit with other local and national initiatives regarding the reduction of obesity, the encouragement of a healthy lifestyle and the benefits of increased tourism to local businesses.”
He added: “There are additional benefits as the route will also offer walking links connecting various sections of the Annandale Way which in turn meets the Southern Upland Way further north at Beattock and the core path network throughout the region.”
Updating his members at Monday’s meeting, Colin said: “The group have made some very good contacts with members of the council and Sustrans, who are very keen to see this sort of project take-off and have been very helpful although they said at this stage no funding is likely until at least the new financial year.
“They feel there might be some money about, but with everything going on money could be suddenly taken away for something else, so they’re saying the best thing is to look towards April to start applying for funding.
“That funding would be to form the path but that could be for getting consultants in to do feasibility studies and that sort of thing — but they are very keen to see the project grow legs.”
He added that the project is “still very much in its early days.”
