In October 2025, the new Cath Thom Leisure Centre opened in Clayton Le Moors, meaning the residents of Great Harwood can no longer simply walk to the leisure centre, and for most people it will require driving to it and driving back. The impact of this is more traffic on an already busy route, increased pollution and less active travel by the users (ie walking or cycling). For those without cars it may mean they can not attend and participate in sport.

Key factors relating to Hyndburn (Where Great Harwood is located) are:

Deprivation: Hyndburn was ranked the 18th most deprived area out of 317 districts and unitary authorities in England in the 2019 Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD). Health Deprivation and Disability is one of the domains with the largest proportion of deprived areas within Hyndburn.

Life Expectancy: Life expectancy for both men and women is lower than the England average. In 2022, male life expectancy was 76.5 years (England average 79.3) and female life expectancy was 80 years (England average 83.2).  Healthy Life Expectancy: Healthy Life Expectancy (HLE) at birth for females is significantly worse than the England average. HLE at 65 for males is also significantly worse.

Obesity and Physical Activity: The prevalence of overweight adults is significantly above the national and regional average (2nd highest in Lancashire). Hyndburn has one of the highest rates of child obesity (Year 6) in Lancashire, and adult physical activity levels are below the national average.

Hospital Admissions: Rates of hospital admissions for alcohol-related harm, intentional self-harm, and violence are all worse or significantly above the England average. Emergency admissions for children under five for injuries are significantly worse than the England average across all wards except one.

General Health Perception: In a 2021 Health Index analysis, Hyndburn had a poor score in the "Healthy People" domain (covering difficulties in daily life) compared to the England score.

Disability: A higher percentage of the population in Hyndburn is identified as disabled under the Equality Act compared to the national average (21% versus national average not specified in the same snippet, but noted as 3rd highest in the county). 

Lancashire County Council, Hyndburn Council, and Hyndburn Leisure have a responsibility to the local residents to provide safe and healthy travel options, which can help improve the health and life expectancy of the residents.

Cycling to and from the leisure centre, from Great Harwood takes 10-15 minutes, less dependant on the fitness of the cyclist.

Significant factors that prevent people cycling are poor lighting along the route (visibility), lack of dedicated/segregated 2 way cycle route (infrastructure), volume and type of traffic ie hgv’s (pollution and other road users), and the poor standard of the road surface.  All of these factors contribute to cyclists not feeling safe or confident to use the route.

During Covid (before the leisure centre was open), the council put up temporary cycle lanes which were incredibly popular. Post Covid these were removed and nothing put in its place.

This petition is asking for LCC and Hyndburn Council to extend the existing greenway cycling route that ends on Station Road, onto Heys Lane, along Hyndburn Road, onto Whalley Road and to the Cath Thom Leisure Centre.

We are asking for a dedicated, segregated 2 way cycle route with adequate lighting and suitable, safe road surface. Simply adding painted cycle lanes is not sufficient as this does not encourage the feeling of safety, cars park in them with no enforceable action taken and the routes invariably end up with all the rubbish and debris from the main carriageway.

The route requested is more than wide enough to accommodate such a route, while still providing a pavement for pedestrians, and road lanes for cars/HGV’s.