About the group – For Another Path

Who are we?

For Another Path is a group of individuals, from many different backgrounds and locations, with a shared love and respect for the North Down Coast, the path that runs along it, and the environmental importance of this special area.

We overlap and work closely with many other local community groups, our main aim being to protect the path from inappropriate development and also from any imposed policy that would fundamentally change the way people like to use the path.

We formed as a result of a planning application for a Greenway along the coastline that would have involved substantial clearance of natural habitat. This would have displaced wildlife and had a negative impact on the experience of being on the path for many users.

Some of our group meeting for a photo showing appreciation to Councillors after their decision to withdraw the Greenway plans

What are our aims?

To preserve the environmental and aesthetic integrity of the path
To help ensure the path continues to be safe and fit for purpose for a large variety of users
To lobby for improved cycling provision elsewhere in the area, particularly a more appropriate commuting route to Belfast
To showcase the North Down coastline for tourists and locals as a unique and beautiful route

We appreciate the environmental importance of the North Down Coastal Path, which has triple designations to protect the biodiversity and international importance of our coastline. In so doing, we champion the preservation of habitats for a number of different mammals, birds and amphibians that rely on this strand of semi-managed wild ground for their survival. The Local Biodiversity Action Plan is in place to protect such areas, and we support the Council in striving to keep it up to standard.

The path greatly benefits anyone who enjoys being able to walk, play and exercise in the clean air provided in the peaceful, traffic-free coastal environment. We would encourage the responsible shared use of the path by as many different groups of people as possible, and appreciate this means that, at appropriate locations, some modifications may be needed to enable safe and easy accessibility. We will lobby for ongoing maintenance to ensure that potholes and poor drainage are addressed, particularly where the path is already quite wide and developed, and potholes may catch users unawares and where safety is especially important for bicycles, wheelchairs and families.

We completely understand the pressures and challenges faced by cyclists on the roads in our borough. We will continue to support local cycling groups such as Ards and North Down Cycling Campaign Group in their aim to develop and achieve an excellent cycling infrastructure in our area. The North Down Coastal Path is a beautiful, peaceful and relaxing place for a gentle, slow cycle, where families can bring their kids on bikes, but we maintain that a separate route inland is necessary to enable commuting cyclists to get from the North Down area to Belfast, directly and safely, and that infrastructure within the city needs to be more pedestrian and bicycle-friendly so we can all use cleaner methods to make our day to day short journeys.

*The coastal path provides a wonderful experience for many different users, from fishing, walking, running, cycling, swimming.*

However, we would voice concern about policy and management that would allow the coastal path to be used by motorised vehicles and/or at speed. For this reason, we oppose strategies that do not give clear guidance, which may be useful on certain other Greenways which have been designed with exacting specifications for straightness, width, surface and gradient – often along old canal paths and railway lines which were originally built with these standards in mind. The beauty and character of the coastal path relies on its undulating, overgrown and diverse nature. The application for this Greenway on the North Down Coastal Path, by necessity would have involved taking away corners, cutting back vegetation and creating diversions across protected land to attempt to achieve these standards. We firmly believe that in order to continue to enjoy safe shared use on this path that speed and usage guidance needs to be properly displayed, ensuring that vulnerable users are protected from potential injury by faster and heavier users.

In line with the above, we also oppose any further clearance of vegetation and habitat from the North Down coastline, other than the minimum disruption for essential services or where it is vital to secure public safety. In today’s biodiversity crisis, we believe clearance of natural habitat is the opposite of progress.

As such we aim to promote the North Down Coastal Path as a valued destination for locals, visitors and tourists, by valuing and conserving its unique nature as a relaxing walk in which each twist and turn brings a little surprise, with parts of the path being wider and straighter, and other parts being a little more natural with something for everyone along the route.

We aim to have a good relationship with public bodies, agencies, council officers and councillors to help liaise with members of the community who can use our group to give their feelings a voice.

We are proud of the city, towns and villages that constitute our Borough, and support positive development, change and initiatives that will benefit everyone who lives here and improve the economy. We optimistically aspire to help achieve this while also improving the area for clean air, active travel and biodiversity.