A NEW �80,000 cycle path between Hopton and Gorleston could be open by the start of the school summer holidays.Norfolk County Council has been given permission to adopt a section of Warren Road and work is due to start in May to lay down a surface sympathetic to the environment, which could be made from gravel.

A NEW �80,000 cycle path between Hopton and Gorleston could be open by the start of the school summer holidays.

Norfolk County Council has been given permission to adopt a section of Warren Road and work is due to start in May to lay down a surface sympathetic to the environment, which could be made from gravel.

However, the scheme to provide a safer route for schoolchildren travelling from Hopton to Cliff Park schools stoked fears among Warren Road residents that the county council may carry out works to the residential section of the private road, which is maintained by residents' funds.

They also questioned whether the current cycle route alongside the A12 between Gorleston and Hopton was unsafe, saying figures showed there had not been an accident on the A12 path for 15 years.

The section targeted for improvements is the unmade rural section between Gorleston Squash Club and Hopton holiday village, and the path is intended to benefit commuters, tourists and schoolchildren alike.

The news was welcomed by Hopton Parish Council chairman Mike Butcher, who said on his website: “I was informed today by Norfolk County Council that approval has been obtained to proceed with the works to upgrade the Warren Road

path between Hopton and Gorleston. This has been a fairly lengthy process with one or two battles on the way but it is very gratifying to know that we have finally succeeded.”