Tunnel cyclepath lights to be switched off at night

By pwiltshire

The lights in two old railway tunnels which will be at the heart of a new cycle path will have to be switched off for four hours each night - to protect bats.

Residents' groups have expressed worries over safety in the tunnels to the south of Bath which will be a key part of the new Two Tunnels Greenway route due to open in 2012.

Environmental charity Sustrans has always insisted that it will be able to restrict anti-social behaviour along the £1.9 million route which would be open 24 hours a day through the one-mile-long Combe Down Tunnel and the 440-yard Devonshire Tunnel.

A report compiled by the Bristol-based organisation for Bath and North East Somerset Council reveals that gates will be erected at each end of both tunnels. These could be shut if crime problems - which could range from vandalism to muggings - develop.

The report says the gates could be shut at night but that any decision to take such action should be made in consultation with the voluntary steering group behind the project and with local residents' associations.

The tunnels will be covered by CCTV cameras around the clock, although a risk assessment carried out by Sustrans rates the chance of a personal attack in the tunnels as low.

A complicating factor is the presence of bats in both tunnels, meaning that the lights will be switched off every night between 11pm and 3am in line with a request from the Government agency Natural England. The CCTV system would feature infra red technology to allow movement to be detected during these hours.

Both the Lyncombe Vale Road Residents' Association and the Widcombe Association have expressed concern to the council about night-time security in the tunnels. The Lyncombe Vale group has also raised the possibility that mobile phones may not work in the tunnels.

The four-mile route - which Sustrans expects to be used for a million journeys by bike and on foot each year - would be patrolled by volunteer rangers, who the report says will provide peace of mind and support to users.

It says it has experience of managing routes on former railway lines with tunnels.

It says: "Sustrans' experience has shown that while some areas may attract anti-social behaviour prior to development, with the increased use of the route, casual and informal surveillance of the route will increase, reducing anti-social behaviour."

The scheme is being funded by £1 million of lottery money through Sustrans, along with £200,000 from the proceeds of the King Bladud's Pigs Project and £400,000 from B&NES.

Most of the land needed for the route - which will run through Oldfield Park, Lyncombe Vale, Monkton Combe and Midford - has been acquired or is already in council ownership.

Among the last sections to be sorted out is a stretch near Midford Castle, which has recently been sold by actor Nicolas Cage.

Sustrans' report is among a number of documents regarding the council's involvement in the scheme which now need approval from two of the authority's cabinet members, Councillor Charles Gerrish and Councillor Malcolm Hanney.

A guided walk of the route will take place on Saturday.

It starts from the northern end of Linear Park, close to the Royal Oak pub at Lower Bristol Road at 10am. It will not be possible to go through either of the tunnels, so the walk will go over the top of Combe Down and Devonshire on the Wellsway. The distance is four miles. Everyone is welcome. Contact Matt Skidmore on 07967 381087 for more details.