News / Development
Well-used cycle and walking path to close for eight months
Part of Festival Way will close for up to eight months due to a new housing development being built nearby.
As well as being a well-used walking and cycling route to Ashton Court, the path is also a convenient way for UWE students and staff to get to the Bower Ashton campus from the city centre.
A diversion will be put in place when the section of the path next to the White City allotments closes from Tuesday morning, with the path briefly reopening during the Balloon Fiesta in August.
is needed now More than ever
A diversion will be put in place from Tuesday taking people along the metrobus route and then advising cyclists to dismount in order to use pavements – image: ETM
Vistry Group are the developers behind the housing scheme off Clanage Road which will see more than 200 homes being built on former railway sidings between Festival Way and the metrobus route from Long Ashton to Spike Island.
A section of the Vistry website says that “work is well under way, however a section of cycle route 33 – adjacent to the allotments near Bedminster Cricket Club – will need to be closed from Tuesday 28th May to facilitate infrastructure works and a new cycle route will be delivered as part of the project.
“Consultations with Bristol City Council, Sustrans and Hotwells & District Allotment Association have taken place to minimise the disruption and a diversion is being put in place to ensure cyclists and pedestrians can continue their journey safely.”
The section of the path is due to close from 7.30am on Tuesday and is due to reopen on January 28 2025, with Vistry saying that their team “will be working hard to reopen the cycle way sooner, if possible”.
The Vistry website adds that the route needs to close “to facilitate essential infrastructure works” at the City Gateway development.
Developers promise that “a new cycle route will be delivered as part of the project, including benches and enhanced landscaping”.
Access to the allotments will remain open throughout the closure of the path but skaters are concerned that it could signal the end of the popular DIY spot known as Daveside.
“Let’s hope the construction company and architect took into consideration the current user groups when redesigning and landscaping the new path,” Bristol Skatepark Collective wrote on Instagram.
Developers have previously said that in order to incorporate a new bat corridor, their plans “relocate an existing path by approximately five metres, allowing for the planting of new trees in an area where a skateboard ramp currently exists”.
Festival Way follows Route 33 of the National Cycle Network and forms part of the much-loved Daveside skating spot – photo: Martin Booth
A Bristol Skatepark Collective spokesperson told Bristol24/7 that Daveside “represents everything that is great about skateboarding”.
They said: “Most people wouldn’t look twice at an secluded cycle path tucked between an old allotment and the Brunel Way overpass but from a skaters’ perspective this is the perfect location for a DIY spot.
“The old train loading bays provided natural flat tops for some concerte trasitions, and the relatively smooth and consistent nature of the path is ideal for flatland.
“It’s also quiet enough so we don’t bother anyone but central enough to be easily accessible especially if you want to combine it with the more recently added Curbside or Brunel Way pump track and mini ramps.
“The spot has been going for over ten years and many a good time has been had by skaters of all ages. It will be a real miss to the community.”
Main photo & video: Martin Booth
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