WORK has started on a new cycle path linking the northern fringes of Darlington with the town centre.

The route will run along the river Skerne from North Road Station to the town centre and is set to be a key piece of the town’s cycle network.

It will comprise a 450 metre section adjacent to the River Skerne and a 90-metre link up to High Northgate.

The project will open up an important historic asset as it will run underneath the 1825 Skerne Bridge designed by Ignatious Bonomi.

The bridge, also known as the £5 note bridge, is the oldest working railway bridge in the world and is a nationally designated scheduled monument.

Councillors were made aware of the route’s progress at a full council meeting last week and the scheme was welcomed by members who said it would help keep cyclists off the busy High Northgate road.

When the council first announced the proposed route in early 2015, officials said it was part of a “masterplan” to connect the river cycle path up to the Head of Steam museum and mark it part of a heritage walk.

The path will take around three months to build.