Sheppey Light Railway Greenway cycle project on the right track
The Sheppey Light Railway Greenway project has begun work on the second phase of its ambitious plans to link the Island with a safe cycling track.
A group of eight volunteers cut back underground at Blatcher Close, Minster, at the weekend to clear a 90-metre path following the track of the former railway line.
The area had not been used for nearly 76 years since the railway, which had linked Queenborough, in the west, to Leysdown, in the east, closed in December 1950.
The volunteers have already opened a one-mile stretch of abandoned track from Power Station Road at Sheerness East, near the Sheerness Golf Club, to Scrapsgate, Minster.
The long-term scheme is to reconnect the Island with a path which can be used by cyclists, pedestrians, runners, those using mobility scooters or pushing buggies and even riding horses.
During the latest session a working party of bramble-busters filled 10 one-tonne sacks of rubbish with wood, plastic, metal and glass.
There are a further two large piles of rubbish awaiting collection. Swale Borough Council has agreed to take all the rubbish away.
Paul Houghton, who runs Astral Building Contractors in Blue Town and is also the Greenway’s project manager, said: “The next few phases will require a larger machine, more clearing of the undergrowth and carting away surplus soil.
“We will have to install boundary fencing as well as laying an all-weather surface as we have done in Power Station Road.”
His colleague Lee Jarmain, who is behind The Pyramid Project, which supports young people not in education, training or work, said: “The Sheppey Light Railway Greenway continues to make progress across the Island.”
He explained: “What was once a light railway route serving communities across Sheppey could once again become an important connection for the Island, this time as a 10-mile walking, wheeling and cycling Greenway.”
The Sheppey Light Railway Greenway project, created by Linda Brinklow and now chaired by Tim Foreman, has recently secured charity status.
It is working in partnership with residents, landowners, businesses, councils and community organisations to push the scheme forward.
Leaders have also been in talks with the Pride in Place project for the eastern end of the Island which has been awarded £20 million from the government to spend in improving the area over the next 10 years.
The plan is to connect Eastchurch to Leysdown, creating a safe route for cyclists. The original line ended at Leysdown promenade. The platform, which was once part of the Seahorse pub, has since been demolished. The site is now a car park behind Mr G’s amusement arcade.
Mr Jarmain said: “Our ambition is to create a high-quality, accessible route running across the length of Sheppey, connecting communities while encouraging active travel, improving access to the countryside and celebrating the Island’s unique railway heritage.
“Importantly, this is a community-led vision, built through collaboration and partnership.
“Each conversation with a landowner, business or community partner brings us another step closer to turning the vision into reality.”
He warned: “There is still much work to do but the momentum is growing.
“By bringing together people and organisations who share a commitment to Sheppey’s future, we can create something that delivers lasting benefits for residents, visitors, local businesses and future generations.
“We are breathing new life into an abandoned railway route which connected Sheppey’s communities in the past. We want to turn it into a Greenway which can connect and benefit those same communities for generations to come.”
The project has the backing of Swale Borough Council and Kent County Council and has been supported by all the Island’s town and parish councils.
The original track ran between Sunnyside Avenue and Noreen Avenue and crossed Minster Road at what is now a Costcutter shop. It then ran behind the Harps Inn, parallel with Harps Avenue, until it crossed Scocles Road.
Volunteers are unable to use part of that section because homes have been built across it.
But they hope to skirt around a children’s playing field in Lapwing Close and then through a new housing estate via, possibly Lavender Avenue, to emerge opposite Elm Lane where it will cross fields to Brambledown.
The Sheppey Light Railway was an 8.75-mile, standard-gauge light railway designed and engineered by Col Holman Fred Stephens and opened on August 1, 1901. Its steam trains had a top speed of 25mph.
Its route ran from Queenborough (connecting to the South Eastern and Chatham Railway’s Sheerness line) to Leysdown via Sheerness East, East Minster, Minster-on-Sea, Eastchurch, Leysdown, Brambledown Halt, Harty Road Halt and a spur to RAF Eastchurch.
It closed on December 5, 1950, shortly after the RAF moved out of Eastchurch through lack of use following the increase in ownership of motor cars.
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