COMMUNITY group Usk Trail Access Group (UTAG) has asked Monmouthshire County Council (MCC) to offer formal support for its project to create a cycle route from Usk to Little Mill.

The group is looking to set up a leisure cycle trail along a combination of disused railway lines, paths and quiet roads.

UTAG has requested that MCC backs the project by taking on legal liability for use of the route.

As a cycle way/footpath, the trail would come under the same terms as thousands of other routes covered by the council's liability insurance and should therefore not cost much extra to MCC, if anything at all.

The group has worked with numerous local stakeholders to try and agree on a suitable route and the backing of the MCC would be a boost to bring the project together.

Llanbadoc ward councillor Val Smith presented the request to a Strong Communities Select Committee on Thursday 29th January, backing the request herself as a "good proposal".

UTAG is a voluntary, community-led group which, despite there being some way to go, believes that the success of its scheme would bring benefits to leisure and tourism in the area along with an improvement to the transport infrastructure.

No decision has yet been made as to whether MCC will formally support the scheme yet.