On the evening of Monday 26th March the Plym Valley Advisory Group met with the National Trust to discuss the options for the proposed cafe and cycle trails at Plymbridge, on the outskirts of Plymouth in Devon.
Blue (moderate) grade trail at Ashton Court on the outskirts of Bristol. The cycle trail development in Plym Woods should look similar to this.
This meeting was another great opportunity for the Trust to hear the views of individuals who represent the various user groups at Plymbridge Woods, such as, local residents, cyclists and walkers. The Trust is really pleased with the local engagement that has been achieved through the Plym Valley Advisory Group and is confident that a proposal can be reached that is sensitive to the nature of the site and its users.
Following an initial meeting with the Advisory Group in February, the focus of Monday’s meeting was the wider vision for the Plym Valley, the café location and the cycle trail design and location.
The proposed project at Plymbridge fits well within the wider City vision for a network of natural spaces that provide significant benefits for people and wildlife and provide new opportunities for communities to explore the area’s fantastic green spaces. The plans for this network of green spaces can be found within the Plymouth Green Infrastructure Delivery Plan. The wider plans include a proposed link from Plymouth to Dartmoor that passes through the fantastic natural environment of the Plym Valley. The National Trust proposals contribute to the first phase of this vision, offering City residents and tourists to the region a means of accessing some of this exceptional green space that sits on Plymouth’s doorstep.
There has been a lot of support for the proposal to introduce a café to the Plymbridge area which can be used by all woodland users. The Trust has given a lot of thought to potential locations for the café and through discussion and evaluation the number of realistic options is being narrowed down.
Many discussions have been around the location and design of the proposed cycle trails. Through discussions with the Forestry Commission there is the possibility that some of the cycle trails could be built within Cann Woods. This proposal was met with general support. However, whilst relieving some of the pressure on Plym Woods the environmental and user impacts in Cann Woods need to be properly considered. It was also generally agreed that cycle trails within Plym Woods would be supported but only on the basis that they are designed and implemented in a way that is sensitive to the nature of the woodlands and those people that already use the area and do not dominate the woodland experience.
Adrian Colston, National Trust General Manager for Dartmoor, said “There is still the impression that the Trust is proposing ‘extreme’ mountain bike trails throughout the woodlands but this is not our objective – our aim is to introduce novice and intermediate riders to the outdoors through an alternative activity to walking. Keen mountain bikers will use any trails we put in but they are not our key target audience. We believe that the introduction of off-road cycle trails in the Plym Valley will go a long way to helping the Trust to meet one of its objectives of encouraging people to ‘get outdoors and closer to nature’.”
To keep up to date with progress on the cycle hub proposal and to view documents from the Plym Valley Advisory Group meetings, visit the or the National Trust Peregrine website. To be added to the distribution list for the Plym Valley newsletter contact or .
