Overview for Monmouth Strategic Scheme

The Active Travel team of Monmouthshire County Council have many schemes in the works to help improve walking, wheeling and cycling across the whole of Monmouthshire and Monmouth is no different. The vision is to create an “Active Travel spinal route” through Monmouth to give people the chance to access schools, shops, doctors, and leisure centres as quickly, efficiently and as safely as possible. Once completed the route would allow someone to effectively travel from Wyesham through the centre of town and to the bottom of Kingswood Gate on an active travel path. The spinal route has been broken down into several sections, some already built, some in the process of being built and some are for future construction.

Scheme description

1. Kingswood Gate Meadow £35,000 in funding secured for 2024/5

Kingswood Gate Meadow scheme is a 3m shared use path that crosses a meadow from the Kingswood Gate housing estate to the Wonastow Industrial estate and links up to the Williams Field Lane path creating one long continuous path leading to the centre of Monmouth. Progress with this section of the route has proved difficult with some tricky land negotiations and SUDS (Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems) designs. The SUDS has now been completed and the land negotiations are close to being resolved. We will look to construct this scheme in summer 2025 once detailed design and land negotiations are finalised, subject to securing the required funding. The funding this year will be used towards getting finalised detailed drawings and completed land legalities.

The scheme looks to:

• Provide a shared 3m path (with localised narrowing where vegetation width doesn’t allow full compliance).
• New signage for path
• SUDs drainage features
• Connection into previously constructed phases and crossing.
• Low level lighting suitable for local habitats

Route length 345m

2. Williamsfield Lane Narrow Section – Scheme to be developed

This narrow section linking the Wonastow Industrial Estate with the Williams Field lane is vital for the continuous path. The narrow section is in between two large industrial units and so finding the ideal solution may take some time. The scheme is in its early stages of development and the priority is to find a solution that suits all parties. A new toucan crossing has been built in January 2024 that allows safe crossing of the industrial estate road for pedestrians and cyclists.

3. Williamsfield Lane – Constructed 2021/2022

This section was constructed in 2021/2022 with Active Travel Funding and provided a 3m shared use path leading from the Wonastow Industrial estate to the junction at Drybridge house. This route allows easy and safe access to Overmonnow Primary School as well as a route for public to use away from the busy Wonastow Road. The path is well lit with low level lighting and a play park in Kings Fee was also constructed as part of this phase. Continuous monitoring of this route shows very high usage levels at peak times of the day showing that the route is well used.

4. Williamsfield Lane Town Centre Links – Construction 2023/2024

Construction of this phase started in February 2024 and was due to be completed by the end of April 2024, however, due to a major setback of a burst water main which then resulted in some necessary re-design of plans meant the scheme was set back several weeks and is now due to finish construction in early June 2024. The scheme has been funded by the Welsh Government Active Travel Fund and will add a major section to the overall spinal route through Monmouth. It has improved pavement widths to allow shared use by pedestrians and wheeled users to feel much safer when commuting. The works have also made links from the Wiliams Field Lane to the centre of Monmouth a much less restricted journey.

The scheme looks to:

• Replace a mini roundabout with T junction to aid active travel crossing and dissuade HGV users from using Wonastow Road and use the provided link route
• Deletion of on street parking to gain required widths
• Provide an additional link up to recreational facilities, such as the skate park and nature space.
• Priority crossing over side entrances.
• New signage for shared use path
• Install a toucan crossing on Wonastow Rd Industrial Estate

Route length 403m

5. Monnow Street – Currently with the Regeneration team

The Regeneration and Placemaking team are currently looking into the development of Monnow Street.

6. Town Centre Links – Scheme to be developed

This section is currently in the very early stages of scheme development and would provide an alternative route through Chippenham Fields rather than navigating up through the high street of Monmouth. This route was well used during the COVID-19 pandemic and is still used by many people to either travel to town, school, dog walking or leisure. Whilst there are paths that lead across the playing fields they do not meet active travel standards so would require some extensive works to meet them.

7. Old Dixton Road

This scheme gained construction funding in 2021/22, but wasn’t built due to high tender returns and so has been put on hold until both funding and a successful tender have been found. The scheme aims to provide an off road shared used path from the Library, past the Comprehensive school, to the Leisure Centre in Monmouth as well as a “quiet lane” through the underpass leading to the river side. The designs have been altered slightly after some feedback from our Sustrans Active Travel advisor and construction is planned for summer 2025 once funding is secured from Welsh Government Active Travel Fund.

The scheme looks to:

• Provide a widened footway to active travel standards.
• Cyclists to be directed on road with 20mph implementation
• Crossing point at Leisure Centre.
• Priority crossing over carpark entrances.
• New signage for paths
• Adaptations to previous designs to include:
• Removal of “bulge” in kerb line at pinch point
• Road to underpass to become a “Quiet Lane” and link with the future Wye Active Travel Crossing
• Promotion of 20mph zone.
• Relocated traffic calming features

Route length 290m

8. Wye Active Travel Crossing – £120,000 in funding secured for 2024/5

Proposals for a new Active Travel crossing of the river Wye at Monmouth have taken a major step forward with the proposed design of a bridge for pedestrians and cyclists has now been approved planning permission. The project, which is supported by the Welsh Government’s Active Travel Fund, aims to create a new safe route linking Monmouth and Wyesham that avoids the vehicular traffic on the busy Wye Bridge. Extensive surveys have been carried out as part of the initial planning including, traffic, flood modelling and ecology allowing for a much more detailed design and approach to construction. Some nature enhancement works such as planting and setting up nest boxes have already taken place at a selected site in Wyesham as part of the ecology requirements. The funding received for this year will be going towards obtaining detailed designs of the bridge using an ECI (Early Contractor Involvement) framework ready for the scheme to go out to tender. Construction for the crossing is scheduled to begin in 2025/2026 and continue through to 2026/2027 due to the size of the scheme as there are limited construction windows due to the nature that surrounds the site.

The scheme looks to:

• Provide a 3.8m wide walking and cycling bridge parallel and upstream to the current Wye bridge.
• Provide a coherent, direct, safe, comfortable, and attractive walking and cycling network from Wyesham to surrounding communities, services, and facilities across Monmouth; 
• Increase levels of sustainable access to employment, health, education, and services; 
• Positively impact actual and perceived pedestrian, cyclist, and wheelchair user’s safety along and across the study area; 
• Achieve a modal shift in Monmouth towards sustainable transport for all journeys; and reduce the negative impacts of transport on the natural and built environment. 
• Provide connections to the Wyesham Links and Old Dixton Rd routes on either side of the bridge
• This phase of work will move the scheme forwards to a tender ready project. Through ECI and Cat III checks on the structure. The construction of the bridge is planned to be 2 years for 25/26 and 26/27.

Route Length 1.3km

9. Wyesham Links – 2024/2025 Scheme development

The final section of the spinal route is the Wyesham Links which connects Wyesham to the centre of Monmouth via the Wye Active Travel Crossing. The scheme development is currently looking into the best ways to improve the routes from the Kymin View primary school, along Wyesham Road and linking to Staunton Road and the A466. With limited space on the Wyesham Road hill it is not easy to change without massive construction involved so for the meantime this phased is being paused. Instead the links from the top of the hill along Wyesham Road to the Kymin View Primary school are being explored further. Design options for this section are in the process of being put together ready for consultation later in 2024.

Monmouth Active Travel Locality Map

This post is also available in: Welsh