News that Pembrokeshire County Council has been awarded £465,000 by the Welsh Assembly to create and improve footways and paths in the Goodwick area, has been warmly welcomed.
The new paths will be very important as they will enable more children to walk to school without the need to walk on Goodwick Hill and they will improve access to the Phoenix Centre.
They will also encourage residents to walk or cycle instead to using the car.
“The bid involved the whole community especially the staff and pupils of Ysgol Wdig who were invaluable in motivating everyone else,” said the school’s Chairman of governors, Patricia Morris.
“This was fantastic news for everyone who worked so hard and the governing body are delighted that Ysgol Wdig were involved in the scheme which will be such a benefit to the Community.
“The pupils spent a very wet morning walking all the paths in the area to show what was needed and managed to have a good time even though it rained throughout.”
Along with £250,000 for Monkton in Pembroke, the bid was the highest allocation in Wales with the Goodwick portion alone greater than that given to 14 other Welsh local authorities.
The County Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Highways and Planning said: “Forty per cent of Goodwick residents live within two miles of their job so there is lots of scope to improve everyone’s health while reducing the carbon emissions for the community.”
The Safe Routes in Communities initiative is focused on encouraging local residents to walk or cycle within the community by making it more practical and attractive while improving road safety at the same time.
There are significant health benefits for everyone if more journeys of less than a mile are done on foot and walking is still the best way to control your weight.
