Nottinghamshire County Council has commenced legal action against the suspected perpetrators of serious damage to a popular cycle path, causing it to be closed to disgruntled locals for over two years.
However, despite the council receiving government funds to repair the greenway, part of the National Cycle Network and described by a local MP as a “vital, traffic-free route” for the area, the authority noted that it is yet to find a solution to safely re-open the path, admitting that the issue will not be “quickly resolved”.
The county council also urged residents this week to adhere to the barriers blocking the route, claiming that a “lot of additional time and taxpayers’ money” has been spent repairing and reinforcing the fences after some locals ignored them.
The Radcliffe-on-Trent to Cotgrave greenway, located just to the east of Nottingham, opened in 2019, linking directly to the Grantham Canal, National Cycle Network Route 15, and Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust’s Skylarks Nature Reserve, while also providing safe access to local bridleways and rural paths.
According to local Conservative county councillor Roger Upton, the path quickly “enormously popular” with cyclists, pedestrians, and horse riders, and was “used every single day by people of all ages”.
However, a section of the greenway, between Holme Lane and Stragglethorpe Road near Radcliffe, was closed in January 2024 after the embankment and the path itself became unstable due to damage caused by unauthorised digging works at a nearby caravan park.
A digger operator working on the site, just off the A52, appeared to have disturbed and flattened a section of the embankment earth. Two caravans were later parked on the flattened bank, but were since removed.
Nottinghamshire County Council immediately closed the route as it assessed the damage, before installing new security fences later that summer after deciding it was still unsafe to use.
The route’s closure, and the ongoing delays in securing its reopening, have been met with frustration by residents and local politicians, who say the protracted issue has prevented them from availing of a safe, traffic-free route for cycling and walking.
“The feeling in the village is very angry,” parish council chair Anne McLeod said shortly after the path’s closure.
“We were hoping and promised that path for years and we were all really pleased because it was a lovely walk to Cotgrave.
“It was a real disappointment for the village, it was enough to get a good amount of exercise safely.”
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And in November, Upton told the county council that “the continuing uncertainty about the future of this section is totally unacceptable”.
“Residents deserve clear answers. Walkers, cyclists and horse riders deserve a safe, continuous route. We were told a decision was coming months ago – yet here we are, with silence. Enough is enough,” he said.
Meanwhile, a petition was launched by Rushcliffe’s Labour MP James Naish, urging the government to work with Nottinghamshire County Council to “provide much-needed public clarity about the status of the Radcliffe-on-Trent to Cotgrave greenway”.
The petition, which attracted over 1,500 signatures, called for a “clear timeline for a decision to be taken about the greenway’s future; to seek to hold the perpetrators who caused the damage to account; and to prioritise the reinstatement of this much-loved active travel asset as part of its budget setting process for financial year 2026/27.”
“This is a super route for walking, running, cycling or horse riding,” one of the petition’s signatories said. “It’s now been closed for two years and the ridiculousness of why should be addressed.”
In January, two years on from the route’s closure, one of those issues – funding – was finally addressed, when the government confirmed that Nottinghamshire County Council will receive £6.7 million for active travel over the next four years, with part of this funding to be used to repair the greenway.
“The problem is acknowledged. The money is identified. Now we need a clear plan and timescale to reopen this vital, traffic-free route,” Naish said in a statement.
“Good news, but such a shame that so much of this money will go on repairing wanton vandalism,” one local, Brenda Ainsley, said in response to the funding announcement.
And last week, another element of the petitioner’s pleas, holding those responsible for the damage to account, moved one step closer to being realised, after the council announced that it had started legal proceedings against the suspected perpetrators.
“After detailed and tireless work by our officers, we have now been able to commence court action against those we believe are responsible for the damage,” a spokesperson for the Reform-led local authority told the BBC.
However, the spokesperson also confirmed that, despite the council looking into temporary solutions to reopen the route, the greenway will remain closed for the foreseeable future.
“We appreciate that the permissive multi-user route between Radcliffe-on-Trent and Cotgrave has been a well-used and valued amenity for local people,” they said.
“[We] fully understand the frustration of residents in not having the option to use it.”
The council also pleaded with locals to avoid using the damaged portion of the route, the spokesperson saying: “We are having to spend a lot of additional time and taxpayers’ money in repairing and reinforcing the barriers at either end of the closed section.
“In order to avoid these continued costs, as well as to ensure safety, we would ask that all members of the public respect the measures that have been put in place and stop gaining access to this section.
“All additional work has been necessary to keep people safe and has come at a cost which, unfortunately, has not been budgeted for.”
