ULVERSTON is gearing up for a cycling revolution thanks to a group of local youngsters.

A wealth of ideas about how to make the town more bike-friendly were floated at the town’s first Cycling Summit.

And the wheels were first put in motion by the vision of a group of teens from the local Xenolith Scout Group.

Matthew Fleming, 17, Rowan Barton, Madigan Long and Harry Musker, all 18, began the process earlier this year when town councillor Colin Pickthall and former mayor Judith Pickthall held a surgery at one of their meetings.

The councillors were so impressed by their ideas about how Ulverston could become more cycle centric they invited them to make a presentation to the town council, which culminated in the decision to hold the summit.

“It was a really good feeling to know that it all came from a little meeting that we had,” said Madigan, of Town Street, Ulverston.

“People don’t cycle enough in Ulverston, it’s not the done thing. I think one big thing is having the A590 right through the middle of town and a lot of people struggle with that, especially if they have young children.”

Madigan and his friends are continuing to take an active role by biking some of the cycle routes in Ulverston with an eye to producing an up to date map.

About 35 people attended the summit held by Ulverston Town Council and chaired by Coun Colin Pickthall.

Coun Pickthall said issues raised at the summit included the establishment of a 20mph speed limit in parts of Ulverston, as well as the creation of a cycleway between Greenodd and the Oubas Hill area.

One idea that was discussed was reopening the disused railway line between Lakeside and Ulverston for this purpose, he said.

Other ideas had included working with big employers like GSK to work on initiatives to encourage employees to bike to work.

“It is something that will come in chunks, rather than all happening in one go,” said Coun Pickthall.

“Our job now is to comb through all the ideas and get on with the things that can be done quite quickly and then carry out work with other responsible authorities on the other things that require it, for example, with Cumbria Highways.”

Coun Pickthall said the council would hold another summit to report on the progress of the ideas in the New Year.