Have your say on an exciting blueprint for green spaces, walking and cycling routes in your area.



West Lancashire Borough Council has produced a draft Green Infrastructure and Cycling Strategy for the borough and wants to know your views on it. The Strategy looks to establish a high quality, accessible network for Green Infrastructure and cycling that links the Borough's major settlements with one another and with visitor attractions.

Green Infrastructure refers to the connected network of open spaces, green corridors and inland waterways around us and can deliver a wide range of benefits. These include providing wildlife habitats, contributing to an attractive environment and creating potential benefits for health and well-being. It also aims to provide opportunities for sustainable forms of travel and leisure, particularly walking and cycling.

The Green Infrastructure and Cycling Strategy has a set of objectives and contains a wide range of potential future projects and initiatives to deliver its vision.

Projects the Council and partners will develop further over the coming years include improvements to the Tawd Valley Park in Skelmersdale, a new Beacon Country Park Visitor Centre and delivering four linear parks. The "West Lancashire Wheel" would be created to form a circular route between Skelmersdale, Ormskirk, Burscough and Parbold by delivering two of the four linear parks (Skelmersdale-Ormskirk and Ormskirk-Burscough) and by adding to and improving existing cycle routes.

Cllr John Hodson, Portfolio Holder for Planning, said "The Green Infrastructure and Cycling Strategy is an exciting vision that will help the Council deliver impressive projects over the coming years to improve the environment, enhance opportunities for recreation and provide further opportunities for travel other than by car. The Council is really keen to hear what the public thinks about the draft Strategy so I urge people to take part in the consultation."

Public consultation on the draft Green Infrastructure and Cycling Strategy will take place between Thursday 26 January and Friday 10 March 2017.

You must send your views to the Council between these dates on the official comments form which can be downloaded from the Council's website
www.westlancs.gov.uk/gicstrategy from 26 January where you can also find out more information about the draft strategy. You can obtain a paper copy of the strategy and comments form from your local library, the Council offices in Ormskirk or the Council's Customer Service Point in the Concourse Shopping Centre, Skelmersdale. Completed comments forms can be emailed to localplan@westlancs.gov.uk<mailto:lo...stlancs.gov.uk> or posted to Strategic Planning and Implementation Team, West Lancashire Borough Council, 52 Derby Street, Ormskirk, L39 2DF.

For further information email the Council's Strategic Planning and Implementation Team at localplan@westlancs.gov.uk<mailto:lo...stlancs.gov.uk> or call 01695 585284 or 01695 585393.

All reasonable comments received will be considered in producing a final Green Infrastructure and Cycling Strategy.