Councillors have backed a Nantwich resident’s plan to create a circular exercise “pathway” around the perimeter of Barony Park.
Paul McIntyre presented his plans at Nantwich Town Council last night (February 8).
Paul runs the monthly “Dabbers Dash” event on a Saturday morning, but participants have to run/walk/cycle partly on the road because the park does not have a complete path all the way around.
He believes creating a full path around the perimeter of the Barony will benefit the community in many ways.
“There is a path around most of the park, but when you get to Sandford Road there is no path,” he told councillors.
“If we can complete a path inside the park boundary, this will have lots of benefits.
“It will support less abled users, and also give kids a safe, traffic free route to learn to ride their bikes.
“It would also support a circular run, such as a Parkrun, which would attract people to the town, and also enable people to walk their dogs in poorer weather.”
Paul has been running the “Dabbers Dash” 5k events for almost two years, and has helped a number of charities.
The event has also been awarded a regional England Athletics award for community project of the year.
However, a bid to secure funding for the pathway project via Everybody Leisure last summer was unsuccessful and Paul is appealing for help.
“We’d like support and some collaboration with the town council, help to access to funding sources and grants,” he added.
Cllr Loic Charbonneau said: “This is a fantastic project and exactly the sort of thing the town council should be supporting.
“David Lloyd Leisure is coming to Nantwich and they could support the Parkrun and we should promote that idea to them.
“We need to prioritise what we do as a council and this sort of scheme which benefits the community is the future.”
Cllr Caroline Kirkham suggested Mr McIntyre should set up a constitutional body to make it easier to apply for funding and grants.
Cllr Arthur Moran said he would set up a meeting with Ruth Morgan, of ANSA, to discuss Mr McIntyre’s idea in relation to the wider Barony Park masterplan.
What a good idea, I will look forward to walking my dog around it
May as well use the cycle path as part of it because all the cyclists still use the road. Particularly Park View where they expect all the cars to give way for them
well done that is going to be an enormous benefit to the town and the health of residents too