A417 Bike park will be ‘forced to close’ by roadworks, bosses fear
THE owners of a beloved bike park popular with cyclists and families fear they will be forced to close due to the A417 Missing Link Project.
The Flyup 417 Bike Park, based on Crickley Hill Farm in Witcombe, is one of the largest bike parks in England and offers a mixture of trails for novice and experienced riders.
Due to being close to the multi-million-pound A417 upgrade, the business has been forced to make changes as the road upgrade progresses.
But husband and wife team Simon and Angela Ruskin say they are facing the prospect of closure once land take notices are enforced until completion of the project in spring 2027.
The pair say this is due to National Highways implementing works, ahead of the agreed schedule, that would leave the site uninsurable and unable to run as it does now. National Highways says it is working closely with Flyup 417 to address concerns and have agreed to delay the start of works on their land.
Flyup 417 Bike Park says there was a “perfectly workable solution” in place before November 2023 with an agreed development consent order (DCO). In October 2023, an additional approval by way of a Requirement 11 for a temporary building and car park was also granted.
These legal agreements, approved by the Secretary of State, were put in place to protect the Flyup 417 Bike Park business – ensuring that it could continue trading as normal throughout the construction work for the A417 Missing Link. But Mr and Mrs Ruskin feel a change in personnel at National Highways meant that the assurances given during the DCO process were retracted by the current project director without explanation.
Mrs Ruskin, director at Flyup 417 Bike Park, said: “With the DCO in place and all the assurances given to us as part of that process we felt that our business would be protected and were alarmed that National Highways were able to overturn legal agreements and commitments made to the Planning Inspector and Secretary of State.
“If National Highways continues to carry on its works, regardless of the consequences, we will be forced to close our business as the latest plan will leave us with insurance implications. This is alongside the fact that National Highways’ revised plan makes it unworkable for us to run the site as safely as we do now.
“As local residents and business owners, who completely support the road scheme and its need to be built, we have spent the last few months working tirelessly to communicate, meet and discuss the situation with National Highways – to explain our unique situation and highlight the impact of any deviation to the previously agreed solution. But their alternative solutions have been progressed without consultation and appreciation of our business and its complexities.”
Mr and Mrs Ruskin have since published a video on Youtube outlining the issues, which has attracted more than 14,000 views. Many commentators have urged support for an “honest, successful and important local business” and called upon National Highways to find a satisfactory solution.
One Youtube commentator shared: “That sounds so wrong! Good on you for bringing it out to the public, hoping you can get the help and support to be heard. 417 is an awesome facility and should be kept.”
Steve Foxley, project director for the A417 Missing Link scheme, said: “We appreciate that any work, particularly on such a major project, may cause disruption for nearby businesses and aim to do all we can to minimise that disturbance as much as possible. Reimbursement has already been paid, and any land temporarily acquired would be returned following completion of the scheme.
“We’re working closely with Flyup to address concerns and have agreed to delay the start of works on their land to allow for further discussions. We have suggested a list of changes that we believe will protect their facilities and allow them to keep trading, including site safety and reducing the land required for us to undertake our works.
“We are continuing to engage and we have further meetings planned to discuss these matters. We are working within our approved planning constraints, and we will continue to engage with Flyup to minimise any impacts from this important and much-needed project.”
When completed in spring 2027, the new bypass will provide full dual-carriageway links between the M5 at Brockworth and the M4 at Swindon. It will replace the single-carriageway “missing link” stretch near Birdlip, which is blamed for delays and collisions.
If National Highways continues to carry on its works, regardless of the consequences, we will be forced to close our business Angela Ruskin