Gloucestershire County Council will be holding a virtual 'meet the contractor' event next week for people to find out more about the first section of the flagship cycle route being built on the B4063 between Gloucester and Cheltenham.

Contractors Knights Brown will be giving a presentation at the event, which is being streamed on YouTube at 10am on Wednesday November 3.

They will be showing drawings of the proposed scheme and will be joined by officers from the county council, who will provide a project overview and answer questions.

The event is expected to last for about 30 minutes and you can watch it through a live stream on the county council's YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/_foIe0juGlg.

Residents are invited to submit questions on the first section of the route by emailing majorprojects@gloucestershire.gov.uk by 12pm on 2 November. For anyone who is unable to attend the virtual meeting, a recording will be available on the scheme webpage.

Knights Brown has been appointed to build the first section of the cycle path, from the M5 overbridge at Staverton to Pheasant Lane. Work started earlier this month and the meeting will focus on this section of the cycle path.

The next section to be constructed will be between Pheasant Lane and Arle Court roundabout, which is planned for spring 2022, and the whole scheme is expected to be completed in 2023.

The six-mile route focusses on segregation for cyclists, pedestrians and road traffic, making travel safer and more enjoyable. Key changes made to the initial design following feedback from residents, industry specialists and Sustrans, which runs the National Cycle Network, include increasing the buffer between cyclists and road traffic and improved cycle priority at junctions.

When finished, the path will stretch between Arle Court roundabout in west Cheltenham to London Road in Gloucester, via Staverton, Churchdown and Longlevens, providing a continuous off-road route for cyclists of all ages and abilities.

It will create a central spine of continuous active travel infrastructure between Cheltenham and Gloucester and will be the backbone of Gloucestershire's walking and cycling network. It will directly link to the West Cheltenham Walking and Cycling Infrastructure Scheme (WCWCI) in the east and ultimately will provide access to the newly surfaced Gloucester canal towpath in the west.

The B4063 cycle path scheme will extend and connect over 14 miles of cycle facilities, providing a link to key employment sites, transport hubs and educational establishments.

Cllr David Gray, cabinet member for environment and planning, said: "I'm pleased that work on this new cycle path has got under way. It will provide a safe route to enable active travel, while reducing carbon emissions, and I look forward to seeing it take shape.

"The event will help to build a relationship with residents and businesses nearby, as well as to find out more and ask any questions about this ambitious scheme."

Andrew Eilbeck, divisional director at Knights Brown, said: "We are delighted to be building upon our successful relationship with Gloucestershire County Council through the construction of the first section of the B4063 Cycle Improvement Scheme.

"We know our presence will have an impact on the local community and we would like to apologise in advance for any disruption or disturbance our works cause."

For more information on the scheme see www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/B4063 and you can sign up to the regular scheme bulletin updates here. 

This follows the news yesterday that the county council has secured £12.8 million of Levelling Up funding for the stretch of the route in Gloucester city.