Wantage and Grove Active Travel - WAGAT

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Wantage and Grove Active Travel - WAGAT

Working to improve infrastructure and to facilitate travel by walking, cycling and mobility

13/06/2026

The sun is shining and we are set up ready for the Grove and Wantage Extravaganza on Grove rugby ground. Come and see us - we have Colin from Dr Bike waiting to check and adjust your bikes and we have our new amazing power generating bike waiting for you to blow some bubbles. We will also have the latest news on walking and cycling projects in the area.

25/04/2026

Great to see this post from our wonderful local bike shop, Ridgeway Cycles. We would love to see more of these set-ups in use in Wantage and Grove. We’ll do what we can to make sure the infrastructure keeps up with demand.

19/04/2026

A little outside our patch, but here is some good news for walking and cycling in the centre of Abingdon. Seems like a good and helpful approach.

01/04/2026

We have received some good news on two items of infrastructure improvement for active travel which we have been focussed on for quite some time. Both are being funded out of the contributions developers give to the local Councils for such purposes.

The first is the upgrading of the Crabhill Lane path between the end of Charlton Village Road and Rutherford Road in the Kingsgrove estate. The developer has already built a good quality path across their land from Rutherford Road to the crossing over King Alfred's Way and the same approach will now be used for the remaining stretch down to Charlton. This will give everyone a really nice car-free route to and from Kingsgrove. It should be completed over the summer. The existing path will need to be closed while the work is going on.

The second route is the Wilts & Berks Canal towpath between Stockham Farm and East Challow. This involves the construction of a stone path with a self-binding gravel surface to give a useable year-round route. The surfacing works are hopefully going to take place in August/September 2026, to fit around harvest as the arable field will be used for access. Again, the existing path will need to be closed while the work is going on.

See map for the locations.

31/03/2026

This is a great clip from BBC Breakfast highlighting extra funding for active travel generally and Bikeability cycle training in particular. As always, wise comments from Chris Boardman.

25/03/2026

As we mentioned in the New Year, the Local Cycling & Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) for Wantage & Grove was approved by the County Council in December. It is now available on the OCC's Active Travel website. The link directly to the document is below. See the comments for a link to the general Active Travel page which gives access to further resources, including LCWIP's for other cities and towns in the County. We are almost certainly biased, but this document does contain some really useful analysis of the current infrastructure that we have in the area for walking, cycling, mobility scooter use, etc and also (most importantly) identifies the priority projects for improvements as funding allows.

Happy reading!

17/03/2026

Our Chair, John Tranter, was fortunate enough to meet up with our local MP, Olly Glover, last week. Olly was generous with him time and was keen to understand the work we are doing and also to provide encouragement. He is a big supporter (and user) of public transport and active transport in the constituency and it is very helpful to have his support. It is worth noting that he is currently the LibDem Transport Spokesperson and the Vice Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Cycling & Walking.

11/02/2026

Here is an update on the Oxford Botley Road railway bridge work. After all the delays, this is very good and very important news - the new bridge is in, the rails are reconnected and trains are running again. For those travelling in from Wantage on the S9 bus or coming down the Botley Road from the Seacourt Park and Ride, the pedestrian tunnel under the bridge is operating as it did before last week's work (and, if you are cycling, you can push your bike through the tunnel - there is plenty of room). The work goes on now to rebuild the road under the bridge and the Botley Road is scheduled to reopen in August this year.

26/01/2026

It seems a good point to look back at 2025 and recall what we got up to through the year. Here is a fun photo montage to give a few reminders. Highlights included:

- Engagement with Councillors and OCC Officers to improve the provision of pedestrian, mobility scooter and cycling diversions during major drainage work on the A338 alongside Willow Walk.
- Engaging and assisting at every step of the construction work alongside the A338 for the new Lidl site, culminating in site completion with the shared use path right of way secured across the Lidl entrance.
- Stalls at Wantage Carnival and the Grove Business Park community event (with a borrowed static bike smoothie maker).
- Engagement with consultations, meetings, workshops and exhibition on plans to make Wantage Market Place safer and more accessible for all.
- Successful lobbying for the pathway between Charlton Road and the old King Alfred’s East Site development to be changed from steps to a slope, enabling access for mobility scooters, buggies and bicycles. This work was completed recently.
- Co-production of the Wantage & Grove Local Cycling & Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP). This was formally approved by OCC in December.
- Hosting OCC Councillor and Active Travel Champion Emily Kerr to review active travel infrastructure in Wantage & Grove.
- Designed and led the first Wellington Gate community walk, in partnership with Vale DC and residents.
- Successful grant application (through Sustainable Wantage) for a static bike power generator, now available for a range of educational or event settings. First public appearance was at Wantage Dickensian Evening!

Grateful thanks to all who have supported and assisted us through the year. We look forward to another year of active travel fun in 2026!

11/01/2026

Here is a very useful summary of the latest situation on the Botley Road railway bridge works in Oxford. Thanks to Councillor Nathan Ley for this.

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