Will Spencer
Connectivity Strategy Officer
Staffordshire County Council

Paddleboarding along the Trent and Mersey Canal at Swarkestone
© 2020 Steven Cheshire(Transforming the Trent Valley)
Canoeing along the River Trent at Burton Upon Trent
© 2019 Steven Cheshire(Transforming the Trent Valley)
Canoeing along the River Trent at Rugeley
© 2019 Victoria Bunter(Transforming the Trent Valley)
Interpretation Boards at Tucklesholme Quarry Nature Reserve
© 2019 Steven Cheshire(Transforming the Trent Valley)
We are completing the cycle link between National Cycle Network route 54 from Lichfield to the west, and the National Memorial Arboretum, Croxall and wider landscape to the east of the Transforming the Trent Valley landscape. The route is crossing the A38 via the A513 road bridge, connecting to the existing cycleway before taking an off-road route and emerging opposite the National Memorial Arboretum. This will enable local communities to visit this popular memorial sustainably and provide improved access to the greater countryside.
We are encouraging leisure cycling and the promotion of healthy lifestyles associated with cycling. By providing this important east-west sustainable transport link and connecting with the improvements along the Trent and Mersey Canal, we are providing a more comprehensive network for walking and cycling.
When the route has been completed the highway based element will be maintained by Staffordshire County Council as part of the routine inspection programme whilst the element within Tarmac’s land will be maintained by Tarmac. Tarmac will routinely inspect the section within their land and undertake reparation works as necessary.
The project will provide a designated sustainable connection between Lichfield, Alrewas, the National Memorial Arboretum and the Trent Valley. The route that runs across land owned by Tarmac will be maintained as a route to the National Memorial Arboretum when the site is fully reinstated after extraction works in the area have been completed over the next 10 years.
Adult and child cycle training and led rides will continue beyond the physical delivery of this project.