A cyclist has warned that a dangerous "missing link" between cycle paths on a busy 50mph road in Swindon could put lives at risk.

Anne Billingham has raised concerns about the new combined cycle and footpath which comes to an abrupt end at a bus layby near the Catsbrain Farm development near South Marston.

Those pedalling on two wheels or walking to Stanton Country Park must then move onto the main carriageway where two lanes of traffic merge before the speed limit rises to 50mph on Highworth Road. 

Anne wants the path to be extended by 80 metres to Kingsdown Lane.

Swindon Borough Council is considering ways to add more cycle path links to the area but funding for this has not yet been secured.

Swindon Advertiser: Highworth Road facing north, where the cycle path abruptly ends Highworth Road facing north, where the cycle path abruptly ends (Image: Anne Billingham)

She said: "I was shocked and disappointed to find that cyclists are being told to 'return to the carriage' from the safety of a new path.

"The road is fast and dangerous especially for intrepid cyclists including families trying to reach Stanton Park - something I have regularly witnessed.

"The road is too narrow to allow cyclists to share space comfortably with constant two-way traffic, a lot of which is made up of lorries going to and from the industrial estate or distribution centres and causing a backdraught as they pass.

"Cycling and walking to and away from Stanton Country Park is currently suppressed by this dangerous stretch of road and even as a seasoned cyclist, I am not prepared to put my life at risk in using it.

"Facilitating cyclists to ride safely as far as the bus layby and within sight of the Park, and then expecting them to move onto this particular road, is simply wrong and is an accident waiting to happen."

Ms Billingham recalls receiving a letter from Swindon Borough Council's Cabinet member for Transport in 2020 reassuring her that this issue had been brought to officers' attention and that extending the cycle path could be part of the Catsbrain Farm development plan or the council's cycling and walking strategy.

But since then, nothing has changed. As the former director of Sustrans who oversaw path construction, she has a few suggestions.

Anne advises lobbying the council's planning and highways departments to join the dots and "using an inexpensive but robust construction to potentially save lives and increase the number of visitors to the park able to choose travelling by bicycle".

A spokesman for Swindon Borough Council's highways department said: "There are proposals to enhance connectivity for cyclists and pedestrians in this locality, as part of the outline planning permission for the Catsbrain Farm development, including plans for links from the existing cycle-footway provision on the west side of Highworth Road and a route option from Kingsdown Road, through the proposed development site itself on to Kingsdown Lane.

"This proposed infrastructure would provide an alternative means to access Stanton Country Park via the Kingsdown Lane corridor, avoiding Highworh Road, north of the Vickers junction. 

"A Swindon – Highworth route, which could see cycle provision continue up to the entrance of Stanton Country Park, off Highworth Road, features in the adopted Swindon Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP). 

"This plan identifies strategic cycle infrastructure projects requiring feasibility, design and ultimately build. 

"Two options to Highworth are identified, a cycle route between Highworth and South Marston Industrial Estate and a leisure route/s linking Highworth and north-eastern periphery of the Swindon urban area. 

"While these are broadly identified, there is no specific route and unfortunately funding to either develop or deliver these schemes is not secured. 

"The LCWIP allows us to request funding from developers and bid for monies as funding opportunities arise."