Council wants views on proposed Abergwili to Ffairfach cycle and walking route

Carmarthenshire County Council has published proposals for a shared use path for pedestrians and cyclists between Abergwili and Ffairfach, Llandeilo.

The proposed path, part of the council’s Tywi Valley Path scheme, would connect communities via a mainly off-road route, which the council say could be used for leisure purposes, commuting to and from work and accessing local services.

The Council has published a Planning Pre Application Consultation (PAC) to gather people’s opinions on the proposed development of the Eastern Phase of the Tywi Valley Path, which will look to develop a new combined Pedestrian and Cycle Path between Ffairfach and Nantgaredig, along with associated engineering and landscaping works.

The consultation will run for 28 days from October 3 to October 31 and is available online with hard copies available at Llandeilo Library and Abergwili Museum.

Passing several historic sites and points of interest, such as Paxton Tower, Dryslwyn Castle and Dinefwr Castle; the proposed route has the potential to become a visitor attraction. The Tywi Valley Path would travel along sections of the former Carmarthen to Llandeilo railway line and be mostly flat, with only a few gradients.

Within the proposal are plans to construct two major bridge crossings along the path, over the Towy and Cothi rivers with another smaller bridge crossing over the Gwynon river.

Cllr Edward Thomas, Cabinet Member for Transport, Waste and Infrastructure Services said: “We have already secured planning permission for the Western Section for the Tywi Valley Path, from Abergwili to Nantgaredig, and we now want to engage with people and seek their opinions about the Eastern Section of this project, which covers Nantgaredig to Ffairfach.

“My message to the local community is, please do get involved. We really want to include your opinions in our proposals as it will help us to improve our planning application before we submit them whilst avoiding unnecessary costs and delays by ensuring that all relevant issues are addressed at the earliest stage.

“The Tywi Valley Path scheme has been in development for a number of years and this is the latest stage in delivering a cycle and pedestrian path from Carmarthenshire to Llandeilo which will be a huge boost to local towns and villages, and tourism throughout our county.”

(Lead image: Carmarthenshire Council)