Transport campaigners in Somerset have called on major developer Stonewater to incorporate a crucial segment of a walking and cycling route into their planned redevelopment of the Wells Rugby Club site on Charter Way. The request aims to close a vital ‘missing link’ of the Strawberry Line trail, a long-distance, multi-user path cherished by local walkers and cyclists.
Stonewater’s April proposal seeks to transform the existing rugby ground into 106 new homes, as the club prepares to move to a modern facility on the A371 Portway at Wells’ western edge. Somerset Council is expected to decide on both the housing development and the rugby club’s new site by year-end, potentially starting construction in 2026.
The Strawberry Line Society, a prominent local group promoting sustainable transport, urges Stonewater to create a shared-use path along the northern boundary of the Charter Way development. Without this link, new residents would be forced onto busy, narrow roads with inadequate pedestrian and cycle infrastructure, raising safety concerns.
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Both developments align with the Mendip Local Plan Part II, ratified in 2021 to address housing needs in the former Mendip District. The rugby club’s new site promises enhanced sports facilities including three full-sized pitches, a clubhouse, and ample parking—an upgrade welcomed by the community.
Currently, the Strawberry Line runs continuously from Yatton railway station to Cheddar’s Station Road, with active efforts to extend this route towards Shepton Mallet. An off-road, car-free stretch reaches just outside the rugby club grounds near the Wells Sports and Fitness Centre. A public right of way bordering the rugby pitches offers an opportunity to connect this terminus to key cycle lanes through Wells and onward to Dulcote.
Tony Hathaway from the Strawberry Line Society presented the case to Wells City Council and formally submitted it to Somerset Council’s planning portal. He explained the vision: “We want a strip of land along the northern edge of the new housing site to allow future expansion of the Strawberry Line path into Wells’ centre.”
Hathaway emphasized the fragmented nature of the current path network: the western path ends near the leisure centre, while the eastern section begins near Lidl, with ongoing efforts to establish safe road crossings to unify these segments. Creating a safe, continuous route linking the new rugby club site on Portway to Wells’ centre would facilitate off-road travel for all users.
At present, anyone traveling from Charter Way to the city centre must negotiate busy A371 Portway roads with narrow pavements or share space with vehicles—conditions far from ideal for pedestrians, cyclists, or mobility scooter users. The recently opened Lidl store near the A39 offers some improvement with new cycle paths connecting further along the Strawberry Line extension.
The Strawberry Line Society advocates upgrading the existing footpath adjacent to the rugby club boundary into a three-metre-wide shared-use trail. This path could connect to quieter routes through Lethbridge Road or evolve into a greenway corridor behind nearby homes, emerging safely near Portway.
“If this chance to provide a safe route is missed,” Hathaway warned, “future generations will have no option but to use hazardous roads, undermining government goals for sustainable development and promoting active travel.”
Somerset Council plans to decide on these developments before the year ends. Local councillors representing Wells have requested that the planning committee East make the decisions publicly, rather than through delegated officer powers, reflecting the high public interest in ensuring safe and sustainable transport solutions for the growing community.