Highway and transport consultants, 2020 Consultancy, have been commissioned by Dumfries and Galloway Council to look at the feasibility of creating walking and cycling links from Annan to Powfoot, Annan to Eastriggs, and onto Gretna.
There will also be a linked project focusing solely on Annan town centre.
Hopes are that an initial community consultation will take place at the end of May. This stage will provide the opportunity for stakeholders to express their views and aspirations on what they would like to see included in the scheme. And the second stage, in late summer time, will focus on an outline design for the proposed path links.
Director of 2020 Consultants Adam Bunce said: “Currently there is very limited infrastructure in place to allow pedestrians and cyclists the opportunity to travel between these locations by sustainable transport.
“As part of the study, we shall investigate all the potential options to understand the most effective, and most deliverable option that we can seek funding for to develop further, with the ultimate aim of implementing the full route.”
A spokesperson from Dumfries and Galloway Council added: “During 2018 and 2019 a number of public consultations were held to find out what the Annan area and the community felt about their town and the surrounding area. One of the themes to emerge was getting about and active travel, something our council is keen to promote given its positive impacts on health and well-being and climate change.
“Our council is now planning to engage with the community in Annan and the surrounding areas, starting in May, and produce a feasibility study to identify what local communities want and how they potentially might deliver the requests.
“There are two linked projects – one specifically for Annan town centre and one for the village links which will look at ways to improve Active Travel in the surrounding villages.
“We will provide more details nearer the time, but we encourage the local community to engage and have their views and ideas heard.”
The Scottish Government’s active travel framework has a vision which aims for Scotland’s communities to be shaped around people, with walking or cycling the most popular choice for shorter everyday journeys by 2030.
