A NEW greenway linking Lichfield and Chasewater will be opened up for walkers and runners for the first time next week.
The former South Staffordshire Railway Line has been revamped to allow people to use the route from Monday (20th October).
The greenway runs from Chesterfield Road in Lichfield to Chasewater, with tree-lined sections and canal paths along with a crossing over the M6 Toll on the way.
It has been developed by Lichfield District Council in partnership with volunteer group Back the Track, which has spent the last 18 months helping to clear vegetation and prepare the former railway line for public use.
Cllr Janice Silvester-Hall, cabinet member for the visitor economy, ecology and climate change, said:
“It’s wonderful to see this historic railway brought back to life as a safe, welcoming space for everyone to enjoy.
“The greenway connects people with nature, supports our 2050 Strategy to help residents be more active, and provides a sustainable way to explore our district.
“It’s a fantastic example of what can be achieved when volunteers, local organisations and the council work together for the benefit of the community.”
The South Staffordshire Line, which first opened in 1849 for passenger and freight transport, had been unused since the early 1990s.
Denis Jones, chair of Back The Track, said:
“Turning this disused line into a beautiful community route has been a long-held ambition.
“Working alongside Lichfield District Council, we’re proud to see it become a reality and hope residents and visitors will enjoy the greenway for years to come.”
As one of the volunteers who set all this in motion I am saddened to note that all our hard work from Brownhills to Pelsall will be ignored if walkers leave the railway track and use the canal towpath to get to Chasewater. From 2018 tilllast year all our efforts have been in vain.
Can cycles also use the track?
Whilst this is great news for a small number of walking enthusiasts who will doubtless get some enjoyment out of this on a few days in the summer, this is very bad news for sustainable transport. It would have been far better to reopen the whole railway line as a passenger line between Lichfield and Walsall, putting Brownhills back on the railway map. As it is, this development makes that impossible. The people who run this country are so shortsighted.
Fantastic
A terrific job done!
How do you exit the greenway onto the canal network to head up towards Chasewater?
And are there any entry/exit points in Hammerwich that are easily accessible?
This is fantastic news and well done to all involved. It will be great for connecting the area and really expands the local walking routes and getting to the great pubs around the area especially over winter. Does anyone know if it will ever become usable for bikes too?
Bet it’s no disabled friendly after all it is Lichfield?
Have the District Council signed and agreed the National Rail lease agreement? and have we as residents taken on the cost of maintaing the infrastructure, bridges, embankment and access points Etc.
I think they should have been open and transparent, with what the residents of Lichfield are being saddled with before the opening is announced.
Dont get me wrong I think if its not going to be used as it should have been as a rail link towards Walsall and on to Wolverhanpton, then good it will be used for recreation, but we have not been told the full facts of what we are undertaking
You exit the Greenway / McClean way to take the canal to Chasewater about 200 meters south west of the tunnel that goes under the junction of the A5 junction with A5195 and Chase Road – the major set of lights on the A5. The Greenway and the canal towpath cross but the canal is above so take a set of steps up to the canal tow path, then turn right. Chasewater is about 2 km