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European awards for Sustrans schemes in Burnley and Worcester

Two very different projects recognised in European Greenway Awards

Sustainable transport charity Sustrans is celebrating after two of its projects won European Greenway Awards at a ceremony in Epinal, France, last night. The winning schemes are in Worcester and Burnley.

The scheme in Worcester, which includes the Diglis Bridge over the River Severn, won a prize in the Excellence category, and was highly commended for both its design and technical features. The bridge provides the only river crossing to the south of the centre of the cathedral city.

Meanwhile, the other award-winning scheme, in Padiham, Burnley, nominated under the Exemplary Initiative category, has helped unite separate communities in the Lancashire town, with locals coming together to participate on a community art project for the route, which opened in 2010.

New Sustrans route Padiham Greenway (picture credit: Peter Foster/Sustrans)

Malcolm Shepherd, Sustrans’ Chief Executive, commented, “It’s a tremendous honour to win two European Greenway Awards in 2011.

“Our new routes in Worcester and Padiham are fantastic examples of how whole communities can benefit when we remove barriers to walking and cycling for everyday journeys.

“Building high quality routes that provide a safe and attractive environment is vital to encouraging more people to leave their cars at home and get about on foot or by bike.”

Both the award-winning projects benefited from National Lottery funding under Sustrans’ Connect2 initiative, which saw the charity win £50 million from the Big Lottery Fund in 2007 following a public vote.

Mercedes Muñoz, Director of the European Greenways Association, added, “It’s credit to Sustrans that once again they have been able to produce award-winning Greenways, which are making a real difference to the way people travel.

“The Greenways in Worcester and Padiham provide not only striking examples of design and construction, but also show that by removing barriers to everyday walking and cycling journeys we can help bring communities together.”

 

 

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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limitingfactor | 12 years ago
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I'd like to put in my two-pennorth in support of the Worcester sustrans bridge, which I use several times a week by bike. It is a huge improvement over alternative routes, being both shorter and avoiding heavy traffic. There is also an improved pedestrian/cycle route from the Western side of the bridge up into town. Provision for cyclists round here isn't perfect by any means but the bridge is a vast step forward.

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andrew miners | 12 years ago
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Sustrans does a lot to promote the use of bikes etc but too many of their routes share space with other road users not ideal in encouraging families to take up cycling  7

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