Council looks to use housing developer contributions to complete cycling and walking path

More than £300,000 raised from housing developers could be used to cover a shortfall in funding for a cycling and walking path. 

The already completed part of the path follows a former Ministry of Defence munitions railway line from Portskewett to Caldicot and Monmouthshire County Council intends extending it to run through, and link with, paths in the Caldicot Castle Country Park. 

It already has £340,000, from Welsh Government active travel funding and the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund, towards the total £650,000 cost but is facing a £310,000 shortfall. 

Council countryside manager Colette Bosley has recommended, in a report to be considered by the council’s Labour and Green Party cabinet at its meeting on Wednesday, January 21, pugging the gap using money available from housing developments in Caldicot and Portskewett. 

Developers paid money into a fund for local recreation projects, under what are known as Section 106 legal agreements, linked to planning permission granted in 2019 for housing. 

Ms Bosley’s report proposes using the remaining £144,000 from the payments from the Church Road, Caldicot development and £167,000 from the Crick Road development towards the path known as the Caldicot Greenway/Multi-User Route. 

A public consultation in August and September showed more than 65 per cent of 460 respondents supported the path and only 12 per cent opposed though when the proposal was discussed at the council’s Severnside Forum, in December 2025, some councillors suggested regeneration works in Caldicot town centre should be prioritised. 

The report said accessibility was a key theme in the consultation: “Respondents highlighted the need for a flat, even surface and seating options to support users with reduced mobility and welcomed the route’s potential to remove barriers such as gates that currently limit access for wheelchair and mobility scooter users.  

“The Caldicot Greenway/MUR is also valued for its natural setting, with requests for planting, seating, and clear signage to enhance both the visual appeal and inclusivity of the route. Stakeholders emphasised the importance of a bound surface suitable for all users, and the route’s ability to provide safe, traffic-free access to local destinations such as Severn View residential park.” 

The route also supports the council’s plan of creating “20 minute neighbourhoods” with destinations and services within easy walking distance of where people live. 

The Caldicot Greenway scheme and improvements to the country parkn were named as beneficiaries of both agreements. 

The Crick Road fund will have a remaining balance of £233,000, which is 58 per cent, if the allocation is approved and talks will continue with local councillors on how that could be spent.  

Previously £25, 880 from the Church Road scheme was used to pay for upgrading the play area at Castroggi also known as the Hall Park Open Space in Caldicot.