A positive update!
Update: A really positive step forward 🎉
After the frustration of our last update, I'm delighted to share some good news.
On Tuesday last week we had a great meeting with Cookham Parish Council — and this one delivered. Dug Tremellen, RBWM's Transport Policy and Projects lead, dialled in specially to address one of the biggest concerns head-on: this path would give the farmer whose land it may cross no special rights or help whatsoever with any future planning application. That reassurance needed to come from RBWM directly, and now it has, on the record, to the councillors.
We also had a proper, practical discussion about what the path should actually be like:
Surface and users: something that works for scooters, prams, wheelchairs and rollerskates, not motor vehicles, and deliberately uninteresting to road bikes — this is about local journeys, not a through-route for serious cyclists.
Safety first: Cllr Jacqui Edwards asked really good questions about the gradient of the first stretch we're aiming for — the longer path by the Cricket Club connecting to Cookham Dean — and about width, so people can pass each other safely. And the flatter strips at the beginning and end are good for cycling practice.
E-bikes: these can travel fast and were flagged as a real safety consideration — a speed limit on the path could help.
The council was proactive and engaged throughout, and it felt like the first meeting where everyone was rowing in the same direction. Cllr Mark Howard put it perfectly: he explained how I was shocked there wasn't already an easier way for children to walk or cycle to school in Cookham. And it's not just the school run — it's the everyday trips too: to the pharmacy, the shops, Pindar Hall. Nobody should have to get in a car for those.
We're now a small team of three pushing this forward, and we'd love more hands on deck. If you want to get involved, please reach out to me directly, we need all the support we can get.
Thank you all for your patience and continued support — this is real progress.
Eline