CAMPAIGNERS are celebrating the opening of a new cycleway built after a Hampshire community came together to help fund the £350,000 project.

A private estate donated the land, a nearby business donated £120,000 to the cost of construction and materials, and an anonymous benefactor contributed £10,000.

The two-kilometre facility links Totton and Marchwood, providing a safe off-road route for walkers and cyclists.

They no longer have to brave the traffic thundering along Bury Road, used by a large number of HGVs going to and from industrial estates in the area.

The campaign for a cycleway was fuelled by two fatal accidents in the area.

Cyclist Gary Lewis, 22, of Park Close, Marchwood, was killed by a lorry at Jacobs Gutter Lane in 2009. The collision occurred just yards from where moped rider Stephen Tippetts, 30, of Maritime Avenue, Marchwood, had died three months earlier.

Villagers say the growing industrialisation of Marchwood means the number of lorry movements will only increase.

As reported in the Daily Echo, proposals include an asphalt plant at Marchwood Wharf and an anaerobic digester at Cork’s Farm. Campaigners fear the government’s decision to lease Marchwood Military Port to a commercial operator will also result in extra HGVs.

Students from Applemore College, Hythe, marked the completion of the new cycleway by staging a mass pedal.

The long-awaited facility has been funded partly by New Forest District Council and the National Park Authority (NPA), which contributed a total of £220,000.

Barker-Mill Estates donated the land, Marchwood Aggregates Ltd contributed £120,000 to the cost of construction and materials and an anonymous benefactor – believed to be another local business – gave £10,000.

Hampshire County Council managed the project as well as connecting the cycleway to the road network.

Cllr David Harrison, who represents Marchwood and Totton South, said: “This scheme is a fantastic example of organisations, businesses and the community working together.

“People are already using the route, leaving their cars at home, getting fit and enjoying the wonderful New Forest environment.”

Cllr Harrison said a unique set of circumstances had enabled the necessary resources for the cycleway to be found.

“We had the willingness of the landowner, the generosity of a nearby quarry company and the good fortune of being able to use government cash via the NPA, plus smaller but significant sums from a commercial company and the local authority,” he said.

“I’m just so pleased that there is now a much safer means of getting in and out of Marchwood by cycle or on foot.”