Efforts to complete a 'missing link' between two growing Somerset towns have received a huge boost following a central government grant.

The Frome's Missing Links project aims to deliver a new multi-user path from Welshmill Lane, just north of the town centre, to the Colliers Way cycle path in Great Elm, providing an unbroken route between Frome and Radstock.

Phase two of the project, which runs from the Colliers Way terminus to Elliots Lane in Hapsford, was partially implemented in December 2018 – but the surface is currently too "loose and uneven" for horses, bicycles, scooters or wheelchairs.

A Crowdfunder was recently launched to allow phase two to be brought up to the same standard as the other existing sections of the route – with the work intended to be carried out in the spring if the target of £20,000 could be hit.

This target is now firmly within sight after the charity confirmed they had received a £15,000 grant from Sport England, which is part of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

In an update posted on Crowdfunder on Friday (September 20), a spokesman for Frome's Missing Links said: "Our project has been awarded £15,000 by Sport England, which means at the time of writing this update – and including the Gift Aid we can claim on your generous contributions – the total is £19,487. Yippee!

"We are going to chase down the stretch target of £45,000 next. Thank you so very much to every person who has contributed so far."

Since this message was written, the Crowdfunder has raised £8,961, with a further £2,017.25 being able to be claimed back under Gift Aid.

When taken together with the Sport England grant of £15,000 and the two £50,000 pledges already in place (one from Sustrans, one from an anonymous donor), the total raised as of Wednesday morning (September 25) is a whopping £125,978.25.

Any additional money raised while the Crowdfunder remains open will be used to make additional improvements to this section and assist with the future delivery of additional multi-user paths.

Frome's Missing Links chairman Richard Ackroyd said: "All donations, no matter how small, will help us to reach our target – and we simply can't do it without public support.

"There are some rewards to be claimed for certain donations too, from key rings to named benches – but these are limited so it's worth having a look sooner rather than later."

Two further phases of the Frome's Missing Links have already been delivered, with phase one (which opened in February 2015) running north from Welshmill Lane for 950 metres, skirting around the Rossett House care home and the town's waste water treatment plant up to Whatcombe Fields Phase three (which was completed in September 2023) runs north from Whatcombe Fields along the river to just south of the railway line.

Once work on the Great Elm section has been completed, the group can turn its attention to the final section of the northern 'missing link', which will run from Elliots Lane to the railway line and take cycle traffic away from the busy A362.

The group also has longer-term ambitions to deliver a southern missing link, which will run south from the Edmund Park housing estate under the railway line and link up NCN route 24 towards Longleat.

The Frome Missing Links forms part of the wider Somerset Circle project which, when completed, will form a 76-mile traffic-free circuit linking Bristol, Bath, the Mendip Hills and the Somerset Levels.

Around two-thirds of the route is currently complete, with the remaining gaps lying predominantly within the Somerset Council area.

Numerous projects are under way to complete the route, with the Strawberry Line Society working to close the gap between Shepton Mallet and Wells following the delivery of the Dulcote extension in the summer.

Work is also under way on extending the small section of the route between Westbury-sub-Mendip and Easton, in a bid to provide a safe car-free route between Wells and Cheddar.

In addition, the Friends of Windsor Hill Tunnels are currently progressing a safe route north of Shepton Mallet towards Emborough and Binegar, with an aspiration that the route will eventually link up to Radstock.

To donate to the Frome Missing Links phase two CrowdFunder, visit www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/surfacing-phase-2.

For more information on Frome Missing Links, including how to volunteer, visit www.fromesmissinglinks.org.uk or email [email protected].