Helping the Sheppey Greenway
Published
Tuesday 21 January, 2025
Updated
Tuesday 21 January, 2025
A community group’s plans to create a safe and quiet route to explore the Isle of Sheppey is being kept on track thanks to a grant from Swale Borough Council.
The Sheppey Light Railway Greenway is an ambitious project to open a walking, wheeling and cycling greenway, that follows the path of the former Sheppey Light Railway line.
The volunteer-led project is aiming to reopen as much of the old route as possible as a safe way to cross the Island on foot or by bike on your own steam.
Before closing in 1950, the steam trains used to carry passengers from Leysdown to Queenborough, stopping at Harty Ferry Road, Eastchurch, Brambledown, Minster-on-Sea and Sheerness, along more than 8.5 miles of track.
The council awarded the project £3,337.50 from the Community Infrastructure Grant. The funding is being used to help clear and resurface parts of the route, as well as installing fencing to improve safety for people using the greenway.
The first stage of the project was completed in 2023 when volunteers cleared and widened the path from Scrapsgate to the Sheerness Golf Club.
They then cleared a thick forest of brambles which had made the next portion of the railway’s path inaccessible and have now installed a fence along this section to improve the safety of the route.
The most recent stage has seen the creation of an all-weather surface on the portion of council-owned track bed between Drove Road and the pedestrian link to Buddle Drive.
Cllr Monique Bonney, chair of Property and Regeneration Committee, said:
“This is an amazing project which helps highlight an important part of the Islands history, alongside it’s beautiful natural environment, whilst encouraging the kind of healthy activity we could all benefit from.
“The greenway is a great example of the kinds of project we want to support with this funding. The hard-working volunteers are helping to create a community asset that can be enjoyed by people for years to come.
“We know this is only a small section of the project’s larger goal - so thank you to all those involved who have got the greenway this far, and I look forward to walking down more of this historic path.”
Tim Foreman, Chair of the Sheppey Light Railway Greenway project, said:
"This grant has really helped us to get the project started.
"Using some of the abandoned track of the old Sheppey Light Railway is a perfect way to create a safe pathway for walkers, cyclists and those using mobility scooters and buggies to get from one end of the Island to the other.
"The original line linked Queenborough in the west to Leysdown in the east, some of the land has since been built over but we are busy devising alternative routes with the agreement of current landowners.
"Those who have already used part of the track we have already completed have been really enthusiastic.
“We are also very grateful for the generosity of local companies and our volunteers who have allowed us to do as much as we have.
“We know this is a long-term project, but it will create a wonderful facility for the whole of the Island which can be used by both residents and visitors alike."
