Hopes for improved cycling routes in Cocking and Midhurst

Residents are being encouraged to support the proposals, which are still at an early stage, to improve the byway on the east side of the A286 that links the top of Cocking Hill to Cocking village.

Angela Henslow from Midhurst Area Cycling said the current path was ‘very steep’ and ‘very muddy’ and that repairs to the surface would be required.

Improving the route would help bring more people, such as cyclists on the South Down Way, into Midhurst, which she said had ‘a lot to offer’.

Mrs Henslow added: “This will take Midhurst Area Cycling a step nearer one of our aims for a cycle route to link Midhurst to Cocking and on to Chichester.”

The South Downs National Park Authority was hopeful that an application for funds for the project could be successful, she said.

Meanwhile, progress is being made on other plans for a safe cycling route in Midhurst.

The project, which was previously known as the Midhurst Cycle Bypath, has now been renamed the Midhurst Greenway, to better reflect its design and purpose.

The route will take cyclists from the Holmbush estate to Midhurst town centre using dedicated cycling paths around the back of town.

This will give residents a way to the centre ‘without having to go on the really congested road’, Mrs Henslow said.

Feasibility studies have been undertaken by West Sussex County Council who will be consulting stakeholders on design options, she said.

A public consultation will then be held, hopefully later this spring.

This would be mostly to do with design and ‘fine-tuning’ the plans, Mrs Henslow said.

“Midhurst Area Cycling would like to thank our county councillor Kate O’Kelly and district and town councillors Gordon McAra and Steve Morley for their help with this project,” she added.

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