North West to benefit from £25m funding package for walking and cycling schemes

Multimillion-pound government investment will create new walking and cycling schemes across the North West to improve health and the environment.

Manchester and Liverpool will benefit from cleaner air and easier ways to travel and keep active with a £24.7m funding package, part of a wider £161m programme that involves the delivery of 134 first-rate schemes, such as new footways, cycle lanes and pedestrian crossings in 46 local authorities outside London.

This will be overseen by the Government’s new executive agency, Active Travel England, headed by Chris Boardman, the Wirral Olympic Gold Medallist cycling champion who was promoted to the role in January this year. In May last year he was appointed Greater Manchester’s first Transport Commissioner.

Among the local programmes are improvements to Alan Turing way in Manchester and traffic-free city centre streets, while Liverpool will get new junctions and pedestrian crossings, cycle routes and new ‘liveable neighbourhoods’ – high quality public spaces that prioritise people over cars.

The projects will create new routes and improve existing ones, making it easier and cheaper for people to choose active and green ways of getting around while better connecting communities.

In addition to the £161m for the 134 local authority schemes, 19 authorities – including in Liverpool, Manchester and Cheshire – will also receive a share of £1.5m for ‘mini-Holland’ feasibility studies, to assess how the areas could be as pedestrian and cycle-friendly as their Dutch city equivalents.

Transport minister Trudy Harrison said: “This multimillion-pound investment will ensure people right across the country can access cheap, healthy and zero-emission travel.

“Active Travel England will be working hard to create a new golden age of walking and cycling, enabling everyone to reap the benefits of a more active lifestyle, creating streets where children can play, and making nicer places to live.”

Active Travel Commissioner Chris Boardman said: “This is all about enabling people to leave their cars at home and enjoy local journeys on foot or by bike. Active Travel England is going to make sure high quality spaces for cycling, wheeling and walking are delivered across all parts of England, creating better streets, a happier school run and healthier, more pleasant journeys to work and the shops.”

The Government has also confirmed it will inject £35m to improving the quality, safety and accessibility of the National Cycle Network, a UK-wide network of paths and routes for walking, cycling or wheeling managed by the independent charity Sustrans.

The new funding will see 44 off-road-sections of the network upgraded to ensure they endure for years to come.

Up to £8m is going towards the new ‘Cycling Made E-asy’ programme to accelerate the uptake of e-cycles by offering short and long term loans of e-cycles.

The pilot scheme, which will be delivered by Cycling UK and launched earlier this week in Greater Manchester, will be massively beneficial in enabling those with longer or hillier journeys to cycle and access employment opportunities in a way that’s not only more affordable, but is easier, faster and good for our planet. The scheme is set to be rolled out in Leicester, Luton and Dunstable, Hull, and Sheffield later this summer.

The latest £200m is part of the unprecedented £2bn for cycling and walking announced in 2020. Earlier tranches of the money have already delivered hundreds of schemes and cycling rose by almost 50% in 2020-21. ATE has been established to hold the budget and ensure that schemes are delivered to the new, higher standards set out in 2020.

Chris Boardman

£2m will also go towards Cycling UK’s Big Bike Revival – free events to help people start or return to cycling by fixing bikes, teaching skills and leading rides.
People across the country will be able to turn up at events with their bikes and receive a basic service or learn to repair their own bikes at a workshop. They will also be able to learn to ride a bike from beginner level or join a ride to increase their confidence.

People travelling to and around Hope Valley, in the heart of the Peak District National Park, will be able to do so by public transport, cycling or walking rather than by car, thanks to £120,000 of funding also confirmed today.

Hope Valley Climate Action’s ‘Travelling Light’ project will benefit the whole country by leading the way in decarbonising rural travel and giving local residents and visitors more options to benefit their health, as well as conserving the beauty of the National Park.

The Government is also continuing to ensure cycling is available to all by funding Wheels for Wellbeing. An additional £75,000 will go towards a programme of inclusive cycling sessions for disabled people and their families, carers or friends, helping to remove barriers to cycling faced by disabled people.

Xavier Brice, chief executive of Sustrans, the charity that makes it easier for people to walk, wheel and cycle said: “As custodians of the National Cycle Network, we’re delighted that the Government is continuing to invest in these vital and much loved walking, wheeling and cycling routes.

“This funding will see improvements made to the Network in England, connecting cities, towns and the countryside, making walking, wheeling and cycling a safer, more convenient and more accessible travel option for everyone.

“The network is a national asset that is loved locally, and continued investment will advance our work with partners and stakeholders across the UK. Together, we’re reimagining the ways in which we move around, empowering people to connect with others and helping everyone explore our shared environments.”

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