EXPERTS have come up with a new route for the final phase of a river and canalside cycle path that will link Chippenham and Melksham.

Originally the path was to have crossed the River Avon at a cost of £400,000.

North Wiltshire District Council has now been told an alternative route has been found which means the path can stay on one side of the river.

The total bill for the stretch of the path is estimated at £225,000, and as the council has £250,000 set aside for the project, work can start immediately.

Members of the council's executive committee will be told tonight that the new plan also means it will be easier to carry out restoration work to the Wilts and Berks Canal.

The path will follow the canal towpath by Naish Hill, Chippenham.

A new path will be built across a Wiltshire County Council owned farm to Pewsham Lock, then the route will follow the disused canal towpath to Reybridge.

The council has received £25,000 towards the scheme from a developer as part of the Englands project and £75,000 from a national charity set aside to improve cycle paths. It is also putting in £150,000 of its own money.

Originally the path would have crossed the River Avon by the sewage works south of Chippenham, and then gone through the grounds of Lackham College to Reybridge.

But the bridge would have had to be more than 60 metres long due to the Environment Agency's flood defence requirements and cost £400,000.

Countryside officer Jack Konynenbourg is delighted an alternative and cheaper scheme has been found which will allow the path to go ahead quickly, and also open the possibility of carrying out more restoration work to the canal.

He said: "All of the completed parts of the project are well used for leisure trips, commuting and journeys to school. The new route does not appear to be any obstructions, bad ground conditions, other problems. There are no new bridges, which were the reason for cost escalation in the other legs."

Planning permission could be agreed in September and construction could start in November. The path could be completed by March 2003.