Weston and Netley Life Trail

The Friends of Weston Shore have recently been asked to be involved with a very exciting development for the area.

An organisation known as Veolia have put together an application for what is called the Weston and Netley Life Trail. This will be an exciting chain of points of interest that connect Weston Shore with the Royal Victoria Country Park.

We have written a letter of support for the scheme :

Dear Sirs

Friends of Weston Shore
Support for Veolia Cre8

We are writing to express our support for the new Veolia Cre8 scheme entitled “The Weston and Netley Life Trail”. The Friends of Weston Shore are a group of local volunteers who try to promote and enhance Weston Shore and we were very pleased to be asked to comment on this initiative.

Friends of Weston Shore believe that the Life Trail is a really exciting idea that will be of benefit to both local people and visitors to the area. We are particularly impressed by the educational content of the plan which will highlight the importance of the area. The plans to have animal shaped statues to climb on will be very popular with children and the Miz-Maze looks like it will be lots of fun.

We really like the idea of linking the two communities of Weston and Netley together in this way. These two parts of Southampton are very close and to have such a notable and colourful way to connect them is very exciting. There is, we would suggest, a tendency not to see the Royal Victoria Country Park and Weston Shore as two nearby parts of Southampton due to the way the different areas are perceived. The Life Trail would be an excellent way to challenge these differing perceptions.

One point we would make about the proposal is that we would like consideration given to the provision of more seating on Weston Shore and along the proposed Life Trail generally. The plan rightly discusses the health benefits of keeping active but people will also like to stop, relax and enjoy the natural beauty of the area.

We fully support the application and if it is approved look forward to working with the Friends of Royal Victoria Country Park in helping make the Life Trail a success.

With thanks.

Yours faithfully

Friends of Weston Shore

When there’s further news about this we’ll let you know!