The Comber Greenway has received international recognition for its role in the local community.

The greenway’s co-ordinator, sustainable transport charity Sustrans, was awarded first prize in the Mobility Category of the IV European Greenways Awards organised by the European Greenways Association.

The award aims to promote the best of Europe’s routes that are designed to take non-motorised traffic, otherwise known as ‘greenways’. The Comber Greenway was selected from 21 nominations from 10 countries.

The judges particularly liked the quality of the route, environmental protection measures applied during construction, and the links that were made with the communities.

During the development of the greenway and since then, Sustrans has worked with schools, communities and workplaces to encourage people not just to use the routes but to feel that it belongs to them.

Since its official opening in November

last year, the Comber Greenway has been used for thousands of journeys yet the its future remains in the balance as proposals for a bus rapid transit (BRT) system to run along the route are still under discussion by local authorities.