Plans for a key part of a major footpath and bicycle track linking Kenilworth to its surrounding countryside could get the go-ahead next week.
Warwickshire County Council's regulatory committee will decide on Tuesday whether to grant permission to build a bridge over Coventry Road, which will be the centrepiece of the Connect2 Kenilworth project.
Townspeople have already chosen the desig
n, which will replace an old railway bridge disused since the line between the town and Berkswell was closed in the 1960s.
The bridge will cost about £400,000 - more than half the total amount being spent to connect Kenilworth to Berkswell via the greenway and to Warwick University and provide more than 10km of walking and cycling paths.
It will be the only major piece of engineering on the path. County councillor John Whitehouse (Lib Dem, Kenilworth Abbey), chairman of the project's steering group, hopes the bridge will be in place by the end of next year.
Concerns have been raised by neighbours over a loss of privacy, the possibility of drainage and flooding issues, construction traffic and noise nuisance from the bridge's slip-resistance surface.
Kenilworth Society has also raised an objection saying it believes the design should be "stronger" and "more original" in keeping with the bridge's position at a "prime entrance" to Kenilworth.
Paul Galland, the county council's streategic director for environment and economy, has said the path will be of benefit to people along the route in giving them increased and safer access to the countryside.
He also believes the bridge will not be detrimental to the appearance of the surrounding area.
