Connect2

Connect2 is a project run by Sustrans to develop new walking and cycle routes in 79 communities around the UK.

Project

Connect2 is a five-year project run by Sustrans. It involves the creation of new cycle and walking routes, bridges and other facilities in 79 locations around the UK. It aims to create new networks of local paths, improve cycling and walking access and to connect local areas.^[1]

Sustrans launched the 'Connect2' project in August 2006 in a successful bid to win £50 million from the Big Lottery's 'Living Landmarks; The People's Millions' competition. It was one of four shortlisted projects competing in a public vote for the grant and Connect2 was announced as the winning project on 12 December 2007.^[2][3]

It is estimated that Connect2 will pass within half a mile of: 3,280,000 people; 1,426,000 households; 1,355 schools; 500,000 pupils; and 57 of the most deprived boroughs in the UK. With the aim to give the benefits of: 61.5 million trips a year are expected to be made on the routes; 79,500 tonnes of CO2 could potentially be saved per annum if each of the journeys had replaced a car trip; £135 million of funding in total will be generated by Connect2; and 116 local authorities are working to deliver Connect2.^[4]

Schemes

There are 79 Connect2 projects around the UK and distributed throughout the regions. The tables below were compiled from a complete list of Connect2 projects available on the OpenStreetMap wiki under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license.^[5]

East of England

Scheme	County	Note
Norwich - connections to Whitlingham Country Park	Norfolk
Royston railway crossing	Hertfordshire
St. Neots - a River Great Ouse bridge	Huntingdonshire
Cambridge to Wicken Fen (Wicken Fen Vision Spine Route) (The Lodes Way)	Cambridgeshire	Under construction. Substantially complete 2010. Further bridge work to 2013.[6]
Watton and Griston link	Norfolk
Cheshunt, crossing the A10 to reach the Lee	Hertfordshire

East Midlands

Scheme	County	Note
Carlton-le-Moorland and Bassingham Link
Holdingham and Sleaford over the A17 road	Lincolnshire	Completed 2010
Links through Watermead Park	Leicestershire
Northampton - Briar Hill and Upton Park, River Wellingborough, Rushden, Higham Ferrers.

London

Scheme	County	Note
Islington Walking and Cycling Routes
Croydon Park links
Paddington - Westbourne railway bridge and links
South Bermondsey - disused rail bridge links
Bethnal Green and new bridge over Regents
Havering - Ingrebourne Valley links

North East England

Scheme	County	Note
Bedlington and Cramlington Connection
Ingleby Barwick, Yarm, Eaglescliffe and Blyth Ferry
Durham- Belmont to Newton Hall over Belmont

Northern Ireland

Scheme	County	Note
Derry - greenway and cycle path		Peace Bridge
Strabane - River Mourne Bridge and links
Dungannon Park Connections
Ballymoney Railway Bridge and links
Omagh - riverside path and new bridges
Three Mile Water greenway

North West England

Scheme	County	Note
Nantwich to Crewe along the A530 corridor
Marple and Stockport, Goyt Valley connection
Huyton - The Statt Moers Park Links & Rochdale Canal Towpath Connections
Carlisle - Kingmoor and Currock
Padiham, East Lancashire Loop
Sale- Bridgewater Canal connections
Chester connections over the Dee
Northwich - Riversdale Swingbridge
Everton Park and the Mersey
Bury - the Woolfold Gap
Maryport Station Links

Scotland

Scheme	County	Note
Glasgow - completing the Bridge to Nowhere
Dumfries - connecting two railway paths
Perth to Scone - River Tay Bridge
Hamilton, Chatelherault, Larkhall links

South East England

Scheme	County	Note
Links to the north Kent coast
Dartford Riverside
Hastings and Bexhill coastal connections
Southampton - Itchen Riverside Path
Shoreham - harbour crossing
New Forest - Common Connections
Banbury, Oxford Canal links

South West England

Scheme	County	Note
Bath, Two Tunnels	Somerset
Bristol - Ashton Park, Long Ashton	Somerset
Newton Abbot and Kingsteignton	Devon
Ottery St Mary over the river to school	Devon
Weymouth to Portland - Olympic connections	Dorset
Bournemouth and Hurn	Dorset
Connecting Salisbury, Alderbury and Wilton	Wiltshire

Wales

Scheme	County	Note
Tintern - connection over the River Wye	Monmouthshire	Dropped in 2011 after problems obtaining planning permission.[7]
Monmouth - local connections	Monmouthshire
Merthyr Tydfil- Trevithick Trail to town centre link	Glamorgan
Treforest - University links and connections	Glamorgan
Port Talbot to Cwmafan and the Forest Park	Glamorgan
Rhyl bridge at Foryd Harbour, River Clwyd	Flintshire
Cardiff: Pont y Werin	Glamorgan
Newport to Caerleon	Monmouthshire
Carmarthen to Johnston riverside links	Carmarthenshire
Clydach, Afon Tawe Bridge	Glamorgan

West Midlands

Scheme	County	Note
Worcester - a Severn Bridge at Diglis Lock	Worcs.
Shrewsbury - The Severnside Gap
Birmingham - Sutton Coldfield, and the Plants Brook Route
Kenilworth to Berkswell Greenway and Rugby
Leicester Road Viaduct
Hereford - The Rotherwas Sewage Bridge	Herefordshire

Yorkshire

Scheme	County	Note
Bradford Living Streets – Manchester Road Bridge	Yorkshire
Bridlington to Flamborough Head Coastal	Yorkshire
Scunthorpe Ridgeway connections	Yorkshire
Killamarsh – Halfway Tram Terminus, Rother	Yorkshire
Harrogate, Ripley and the Dales	Yorkshire
Brompton-on-Swale – a bridge across the river	Yorkshire

References

1. "Connect2 - FAQ". Connect 2. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
2. "The People's 50 Million - Summary of the programme". Big Lottery Fund. 2007.12. Retrieved 2009-07-15. Check date values in: |date= (help)
3. "Routes scheme tops lottery vote". BBC News. 2007-12-12. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
4. "connected - Spring 2009 - Issue 1" (PDF). Connect2. 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
5. "WikiProject Sustrans Connect2". OpenStreetMap. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
6. "The Wicken Vision - Lodes Way". National Trust. Retrieved 2011-12-30.
7. "Home Page". Wye Valley Communities for Safe Cycling. Retrieved 08/11/2012. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)