A pothole ridden track looks set to become the latest spoke in Preston’s Guild Wheel.
AdvertisementFormed in 2012 the 21-mile route around the city is a legacy from the Guild year enjoyed by tens of thousands of cyclists and walkers each year.
Now Preston City Council is proposing to link up Watery Lane in Fishwick to the route.
The narrow lane runs from Fishwick View to Fishwick Bottoms, and is very steep.
A proposal to the city council’s cabinet outlines drainage work to prevent flooding on the route.
Read more: One of the Guild Wheel’s founding fathers has died
Costing £65,000 concrete channels would be installed either side of the lane and resurface it for its full length.
The spring water from the nearby fields would be intercepted by the channels and directed to a nearby stream.
Watery Lane is prone to fly-tipping and a new gate will be put in at the Fishwick View end of the lane.
Read more: Ben Ashworth section of the Guild Wheel to be unveiled
Fishwick councillor Martyn Rawlinson said: “The Guild Wheel is a fantastic facility for Preston and skirts East Preston along the River Ribble from Brockholes towards Avenham.
“The access to the Guild Wheel however from the east is along some steep inclines and busy roads.
“The proposal to improve the ancient highway of Watery Lane for cyclists is a great use of City Deal funds by Preston Council. This will create smooth, traffic free access for thousands of residents along this new ‘spoke’ to both the Guild Wheel and Fishwick Local Nature Reserve.”
£50,000 of funding for the new Guild Wheel spoke is to come from the Preston, South Ribble and Lancashire City Deal with the rest from the city council itself.
The city council’s cabinet will discuss the proposal on Wednesday 20 June.
Do you use the Guild Wheel? What do you think about this addition to the route? Let us know in the comments below