News / Chocolate Path
Urgent work needed to stabilise the Chocolate Path
The Chocolate Path has been out of bounds for months, branded unsafe for cyclists and pedestrians, with repairs expected to cost £5m.
A recent report warns that there is now an urgent need to carry out work to stabilise the whole area along the New Cut, or deterioration is such that a sudden, unpredictable weather event could force the closure of Cumberland Road as well.
Bristol City Council’s cabinet is expected to rubber stamp the spending of £4.42m already approved for the project at a meeting on Tuesday, but further funding is also being sought from other sources.
is needed now More than ever
The move could finally see the Chocolate Path – so called because of its distinctive surface pattern – reopen. The council has confirmed that – if approved – work is due to start in 2019, but is remaining vague about when this might be complete.
The whole path has been out of bounds since December
A chunk of the off-road route, which runs from Cumberland Road to Avon Crescent, first closed in December 2016 as a result of settlement and failure of the path surfacing and river retaining wall.
Then, a temporary diversion was put in place, but further damage was found in December 2017, including “significant lateral cracking on the temporary diversion path route”, at which point the council closed the entire path.
The report to cabinet asks members to note “that the structural condition of the whole river wall continues to get worse and that there remains an urgent need for the full amount of funding sought (£4.42m), for repair and stabilisation of the Chocolate Path throughout.”
It continues: “The recent Jacobs Management Report has indicated that although the current rate of decline is reasonably constant and is generally predicable in terms of rates of deterioration and movement, an unpredicted sudden “weather event”, such as a tidal surge, high winds, low pressures, or sustained prolonged heavy rainfall would most likely put the wall in an immediate risk of full or partial failure which would result in the partial or full closure of Cumberland Road.”
The council intends to carry out further investigation to determine the causes of the structural failure, with the aim of stabilising the whole area, making it safe to reopen the path, as well as reducing the risk of any subsequent closure of Cumberland Road – which is on the newly-opened Metrobus route.
A Bristol City Council spokesperson said: “The Chocolate Path is a popular pedestrian and cycle path which is part of main routes through the centre of the city.
“We are working to bring this back into use. Once the path is safe to use it will be reopened to the public.”
Early this year, the council set aside £5m for the repairs and some of this has gone on initial investigation works. The full amount is now sought to carry out the works.
Cabinet members will make the final decision on September 4.
Read more: £5 to fix Bristol’s beloved Chocolate Path
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