Staveley Riverside Project
Improving access in Staveley
This project is part of the Miles Without Stiles Scheme to improve access for people with limited mobility by upgrading rights of way. This includes people in wheelchairs, parents with pushchairs, and visually impaired people.
In a consultation we received over 150 suggestions. Staveley and Ings Parish Council suggested the Staveley Riverside route. The route runs from the Duke William pub along the path to the footbridge and then turns left along the riverside to the road.
The routes were prioritised according to criteria such as need, feasibility, facilities, proximity to public transport and cost. The project was rated second highest in the priority list. We and Staveley Parish Council wish to proceed with this project. Some preliminary work has been done to assess the feasibility and the rough cost of the project.
Updated information will be available on this website, in the parish newsletter and at parish meetings.
Updated: 11 July 2011
A £100,000 project to rebuild a village bridge and create a new “miles without stiles” circular riverside walk has been officially opened and has instantly become a popular route as VIP guests, local residents and schoolchildren joined together to be the first walkers to use the newly refurbished route.
The bridge - over the River Kent in Staveley - and new all-weather riverside pathway were officially opened by Lake District National Park Chief Executive Richard Leafe and writer and broadcaster Eric Robson.
Then as the two men led the way over the bridge – designed to represent a wood shaving from Staveley’s historic mill’s industrial past – they were joined by national park members, local councillors, community leaders and pupils from Staveley Primary School. Before the walk began the pupils unveiled their own “inter-active” information board beside the bridge and walkway.
Updated: 5 July 2011
You can now see the New! 40. Staveley Riverside Miles Without Stiles route with details and a map.
Updated: 3 June 2011
The new bridge is now open! Check out the photos of the day the crane came:
Staveley bridge installation - 1 June 2011: photos (opens in new window)
News - 19 May 2011
Things are starting to take shape on the on the project…
Over the last 2 weekends the Friends of the Lake District annual walling competition and the Dry Stone Walling Associations annual Wallathon have been building a new field boundary wall alongside the path. Over 140 metres have been built over 3 days with our own Field team members taking part.
The field teams prepared the site for the weekends and are currently working on upgrading the surface of the path. On 1 June the old bridge will be lifted out and the new one installed. This requires a 68 tonne crane to lift the new 7 tonne bridge into position. We are hoping for dry weather for what should be a spectacular lift!
Staveley Wallathon Fuelled By Beer And Butties - Outdoors Magic (opens in new window)
News - 6 December 2010
We now have sufficient potential funding to carry out the whole project in one go. We have received extra funding from Staveley Parish Precept, Hadfield Trust and Nurture Lakeland. David Brockbank very kindly agreed to surface the path from the woodyard to the bridge as part of his resurfacing works in the yard. This has made a significant improvement and reduced our expenditure.
The proposed new wall next to the riverside is to be built in May over two weekends. On the 7 May Friends of the Lake District are holding a walling competition. The following weekend - 14 and 15 May - there will be a Drystone Walling Association Wallathon. Burlington Stone are supplying the stone with a 70 per cent discount.
Staveley residents will have received tickets for a prize draw through their letterboxes. There are some great prizes donated by local businesses. After printing costs are covered all proceeds will go to the project. This is a great way for local residents to contribute to a worthwhile project and will ensure that the whole project can go ahead as planned.
News - 27 July 2010
Good news! The bid for £50,000 from Groundwork UK and Big Lottery Fund’s Community Spaces programme has been successful! Thanks to Staveley Village Enterprises for putting in the application. We have also received funding from Landfill Trust, Neighbourhood Forum, Ramblers Association, Strategic Partnership, Harold and Alice Bridges Charity, Lake District National Park Authority and Nurture Lakeland.
The work will probably be done in two stages:
Stage 1 will be the construction of the bridge, resurfacing of riverside path and new exit gate and wall. This is likely to be done in May 2011. At the end of this stage the path will be fully accessible.
Stage 2, which should be completed within 2 years of Stage 1 if funding allows, will involve resurfacing the path from the Duke William pub to the bridge, widening the riverside footpath and replacing the fence with a drystone wall. We still have a shortfall of £4,000 to find for stage 1 and £25,000 for stage 2. Any suggestions for funding would be gratefully received.
Donate online
Every penny counts! Just £10 will buy a Cumbrian stone for the Staveley Riverside drystone wall. Donate online at Nurture Lakeland's Staveley Riverside donation page (opens new window).
Frequently asked questions
- The bridge is wide enough for a single wheelchair, but there is room for two wheelchairs to pass at the junction.
- There will be access from the mill yard before and after the new office block. These gates will be locked after 5pm.
- The new bridge will bypass the squeeze stile
- The footpath will need to be closed for two weeks when work takes place
Find out more
Background to the bridge's design
Staveley Mill Yard's history as a wood turning manufacturer is well known, but there are records of a mill on the site since the seventeenth century, when it was used as a fulling mill, which washed sheep's wool. The fact that there has been a mill at this location for so long is undoubtedly due to its ideal location alongside the bank of the River Kent.
With this in mind the design for the footbridge spanning the River Kent directly behind the mill yard refers to this unique history. Using woodturning as a start point, the design incorporates a flowing shape that echoes the form of a wood shaving.
Comments and suggestions
Please contact:
Dave Bulman, Lead Field Ranger
Lake District National Park Authority
Murley Moss
Oxenholme Road
Kendal LA9 7RL
Tel: 01539 792628