AN ambitious plan to put Bromyard at the centre of a cycle trail cutting across north Herefordshire has received the backing of the town council.

Mayor and keen mountain biker, Jamie Jacobsen, wants to see dozens of miles of disused railway line transformed into a scenic cycle route stretching from Bransford in the east to Leominster and beyond in the west.

The move would place Bromyard directly in the middle and provide a boost to the local economy, said coun Jacobsen.

“The benefits would be two-fold,” he explained. “It would enable people to travel to both Leominster and Worcester by bike if they wish to, at the moment it’s not a very pleasant journey on the A44, and also bring in large amounts of tourists to the area.The vision is they would stop off for a bite to eat or something to drink.”

Councillors supported coun Jacobsen’s proposals when they met on Monday evening (June 21) and agreed Herefordshire Council would be approached about including the scheme in any future development plans.

The cycle-path has the backing of Richard Westwood, ex-mayor of Leominster, who has worked closely with coun Jacobsen on the project.

The railway line itself stretches past Leominster and into Kington and North Wales and it is envisaged this could extend the route even further.

Coun Jacobsen said quiet country lanes would be substituted for the line where development had taken place. He added the council would also be approaching Sustrans - a sustainable transport charity - about any support it could offer. “It would be a large project bringing in many partner organisations. Sustrans have lots of experience putting together large cycle-ways like this one.”