It's full steam ahead for the projectThe first part of ambitious plans to transform a former Coventry freight railway loop line into a woodland walk and cycle path have been given the green light.
Historic Coventry Trust purchased the old Loop Line, which closed fully in 1981, in August 2018 to convert it into a two-mile circular walk and cycle route outside the city centre.
The line has been out of use since the 60s but natural re-wilding has created urban woodland protected by Tree Preservation Orders, with the subsequently designated as an ‘Asset of Community Value’.
Now the Trust has had Phase Two of plans approved by Coventry City Council, which will run from Humber Avenue towards the Sherbourne viaduct.
Phase One from Gosford Green to Humber Avenue is expected to get the nod in November.
Costing around £700,000 to transform, the final scheme will run from Gosford Green towards the Sherbourne viaduct, before looping back along the River Sherbourne, past the historic Charterhouse, and ending at Far Gosford Street.
The Coventry Loop Line opened in 1914 to enable trains to avoid Coventry station and use the station at Bell Green and Gosford Green.