Abergavenny Strategic Scheme

We are developing active travel routes across Abergavenny to better connect residents to local destinations and public transport services. We aim to improve equity of access to education, employment, local shops and services, to support sustainable, resilient and connected communities across Abergavenny and Llanfoist. 

Monmouthshire County Council has been successful in its Active Travel Fund bid for 25/26 through Welsh Government. The funding is to develop the Abergavenny to Llanfoist Active Travel Scheme. We are focusing on active travel links between Llanfoist and Abergavenny, with our route designed around a new active travel bridge crossing the River Usk between Merthyr Road and Castle Meadows, and associated links for safer, more attractive and direct sustainable routes into Llanfoist and Abergavenny. 

Merthyr Road bridge has long been identified as a severance point for active travel, and MCC has prioritised the development of this route. The new bridge will become the main river crossing for active travel between Llanfoist and Abergavenny. This will offer a safe and attractive alternative to using the narrow footway over the existing Merthyr Road Bridge and encourage modal shift as a result. The road bridge is a listed structure that carries a heavy volume of road traffic. There is currently little scope to make it more welcoming or safe for active travel. The aim is to bridge this missing link and ensure effective connections from the bridges (new and existing) into the town centre, allowing healthy travel between homes and key destinations such as schools, Nevill Hall and the town centre.

This scheme a central priority for the development of Monmouthshire County Council’s Active Travel network, addressing the active travel severance point of the Merthyr Road bridge. This funding is bid for in a competitive national bidding process and once allocated is ring-fenced for this active project and cannot be spent on other projects, schemes or council services.  

Scheme elements:

1 – Abergavenny Active Travel bridge over the River Usk, just upstream of Merthyr Road bridge, with associated links. A time-frame for delivery will be announced once detailed costs and programme of works are confirmed.  

2/3 – Castle Meadows and Ysbytty Fields Active Travel routes focus on providing and upgrading paths through Castle Meadows to link the AT bridge to Merthyr Road and routes to the town centre. The extent of the network to be developed within this project will depend on funding available. The route via the Gavenny Bridge is currently on hold pending land negotiations and won’t be considered as part of current works.  

4 – Llanfoist Links: Improvements to the active travel provision on the Llanfoist side of the Usk. To achieve this, the plan is to upgrade pavements and crossing facilities within Llanfoist, connecting Llanfoist to Abergavenny with safer and more accessible routes. The extent of the network to be developed within this project will depend on funding available. Read more about Llanfoist Links here.

Full details of each element, and estimated timescales will be provided via this page.  

A video of the full proposed scheme can be seen here – Abergavenny – Active Travel flythrough 

What is the change we expect to see?

• Increase in active travel journeys in Abergavenny
• Improved connectivity and accessibility for active travel trips in and between Llanfoist and Abergavenny
• Improve actual and perceived levels of personal safety and security when walking and cycling
• Create and improve new off-road dedicated walking /cycling routes, connecting with existing active travel opportunities.
• Protect and manage valued ecosystems as part of the delivery of schemes and offering biodiversity net gain.
• Promote sustainable travel as attractive and safe in Abergavenny and Llanfoist.

Question and Answer 

What is the timetable for delivery?  

The Llanfoist bridge project has been subject to regulatory delays and technical issues. Numerous challenges have been associated with delivering a new bridge across a river next to a listed monument. We are working hard to deliver this scheme alongside the constraints to ensure the local environment is protected. Ensuring the project meets drainage, landscape and biodiversity requirements to connect a route through a SSSI and historic landscape. Construction (WelTAG stage 4) will be progressed when necessary investigations, plans and permissions have been completed. More information on the WelTAG process can be found here – Welsh transport appraisal guidance (WelTAG) | GOV.WALES.  

The latest details of technical design and estimated cost, along with a scheme of work, are being prepared. This will enable MCC and its consultants to scope the achievable extent of work to be completed over the next two years from the full scheme originally proposed. A full programme of works will be updated on this page as soon as it is available.  

Has the active travel bridge and paths got planning permission? 

Planning was approved for the Abergavenny Active Travel Bridge in October 2018. Planning was approved for paths in Castle Meadows in February 2024.  The preparation of this scheme has included extensive work to ensure that the design meets drainage, landscape and biodiversity requirements to connect a route through a SSSI and historic landscape. 

Why has this route been prioritised? 

Long term project to provide a safe crossing point for pedestrians and cycles to use, based on community feedback and work captured through two stages of the Active Travel Network Map consultations.  Alterations to the existing Abergavenny bridge are not possible due to it be being a listed structure. 

Is flooding going to be an issue? 

The bridge and paths have been designed to be flood resilient and yes, with flooding, there will be some points in the year when the bridge and paths won’t be accessible but that is no different to the current situation when flooding occurs.  

Will the scheme include cattle grids? 

Access restriction is necessary for part of the year as cattle graze the meadows as part of the meadows management plan, something we have remained committed to since the inception of this project. Extensive investigation of the access restriction options available has concluded that slow closing gates are preferable and improve access when compared to the current kissing gates. The trialled slow closing gate has proven to be favourable to current users of the meadows. Access control for the bridge is still in development, but cattle grids are not part of the design. 

What will the Castle Meadows paths be made from?  

Paths on the meadows will be made from buff coloured smooth bound resin material which is porous for drainage. This material has been selected based on feedback received throughout the consultation period and to ensure compliance with standards set out in the Active Travel Design Guidance https://www.gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2022-01/active-travel-act-guidance.pdf . This material was agreed in Planning decision DM/2022/01831 

Will dogs still be allowed on Castle Meadows? 

Dogs will still be allowed on the Meadows as they are currently. The intention is to improve access for more users, including those walking, scooting, cycling and those using mobility scooters, including the leisure users who currently enjoy the meadows. It is all users personally responsibility to ensure that their own behaviour does not negatively impact other users of the meadows.  

Has the public been consulted? 

Extensive public consultation has been completed for this scheme. This found strong local appetite for safe provision at Merthyr Road bridge/crossing the Usk and led to adaptation of the design in response to comments received.  

What is a ‘Shared Use Path’?   

A shared use path is a path for use by any mode of active travel, be it walking, wheeling or cycling, without any physical separating features or markings. The proposed shared use path is designed as three metres wide, in accordance with Active Travel Act guidance. Illegal use of active travel paths by motorbike and e-scooter riders is a police matter and should be duly reported by calling 111. 

Shared use paths allow for people walking, wheeling and cycling to use the same path, with enough width for it to be comfortable to walk with a buggy, use a mobility scooter, or accompany a child on a bike. An observation from other active travel schemes is that shared paths are conducive to considerate and slower-paced use: – where cyclists want to travel fast, they opt to use the road instead.  

Abergavenny Active Travel Locality Map

Click on the map below to download a copy

This post is also available in: Welsh