News story

Millions of people to benefit from £200 million to improve walking and cycling routes

Funding will ease congestion across cities, transform the school run and provide a boost to high street businesses.

This was published under the 2022 to 2024 Sunak Conservative government
  • new government-funded schemes expected to generate up to 16 million more walking and cycling trips a year across the country

  • funding will enhance rural connections, create 120 miles of cycling track and see 130 more schemes to help over 35,000 children on their way to school

  • improved routes will boost healthier travel options and grow the economy

Millions of people across the country are set to benefit from £200 million of government funding for cycling and walking schemes, helping to promote healthy travel, reduce emissions and grow the economy.

The latest round of funding, will provide a boost to high streets and local businesses, and transform the school run for tens of thousands of children, generating up to 16 million extra walking and cycling trips a year.

Alongside the environmental benefits, the plans will help ease congestion across cities, with people choosing more active choices that can benefit their mental and physical health and wellbeing and relieve pressure on the NHS.

Following extensive consultation with local authorities, communities across England will benefit from new funding, with over 265 schemes in 60 areas – including Yorkshire, Manchester, Devon and Leicester – receiving a share of the latest round of funding.

The investment, announced in February of this year, will deliver a range of schemes across the country, including 121 miles of new cycle track, 77 miles of new paths and greenways and initiatives to make streets safer around 130 schools.

Active travel is also estimated to bring a £36.5 billion boost to the economy in a year through increased high street spending and better access to jobs, delivering on our priority to grow the economy.

Transport Secretary Mark Harper said:

We want to make sure everyone across the country can choose cheaper, greener and healthier travel while we continue to support our local businesses and grow the economy.

This £200 million investment will improve road safety, ease congestion and ultimately improve the health and wellbeing of the millions of people choosing active travel.

National Active Travel Commissioner Chris Boardman added:

By giving millions of people the freedom of choice to walk, wheel or cycle for everyday trips, this funding will help us improve public health, tackle climate change and give hundreds of thousands of children the independence to travel safely under their own steam.

Now our focus is working with councils to get these schemes built swiftly. We’ll be working together to ensure the projects are well-designed and effective, so that they bring maximum benefits to communities and help improve lives nationwide.

The winning projects have demonstrated they provide people with attractive choices to use cycling and walking for local journeys, and do not include any low traffic neighbourhood schemes. Local authorities have worked closely with local people to ensure the schemes benefit the community as a whole.

Successful authorities have detailed the benefits of successful schemes, including Tamworth in Staffordshire, which will use the funding to enable active and safe modes of travel to schools, while Barnstaple and Ilfracombe in Devon will see an unused railway track converted into a walking and cycling route to connect rural communities.

Safety and accessibility will be at the heart of improvements and creation of walking and cycling routes, meaning safety for women and children walking to school will be improved, and people in wheelchairs and mobility scooters will see street designs become even more inclusive.

Government funding has meant cycling across England has continued to thrive and is up 11% on pre-pandemic levels, increasing by more than 20% in the past 10 years.

Allocated funding

Local authority Capability level Allocated funding
Bedford Unitary Authority 1 £263,130
Blackburn with Darwen Unitary Authority 1 £157,270
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Unitary Authority 2 £3,780,000
Bracknell Forest Unitary Authority 1 £30,000
Brighton and Hove Unitary Authority 2 £3,000,000
Buckinghamshire Unitary Authority 2 £477,199
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority 2 £3,896,590
Central Bedfordshire Unitary Authority 1 £252,605
Cheshire East Unitary Authority 1 £1,297,882
Cheshire West and Chester Unitary Authority 1 £274,100
Cornwall Unitary Authority 1 £500,000
Cumbria County Council 2 £1,602,359
Derby Unitary Authority 1 £140,000
Derbyshire County Council 1 £3,005,000
Devon County Council 2 £1,825,000
Dorset Unitary Authority 1 £1,978,000
East Riding of Yorkshire Unitary Authority 2 £855,200
East Sussex County Council 1 £1,223,826
Essex County Council 2 £5,270,000
Gloucestershire County Council 2 £5,365,000
Greater Manchester Combined Authority 3 £23,719,500
Hampshire County Council 2 £2,477,515
Herefordshire Unitary Authority 1 £306,000
Hertfordshire County Council 2 £4,620,803
Isle of Wight Unitary Authority 1 £700,000
Isles of Scilly 1 £11,000
Kent County Council 1 £1,569,000
Kingston upon Hull Unitary Authority 1 £362,000
Lancashire County Council 2 £5,529,992
Leicester Unitary Authority 3 £1,800,000
Liverpool City Region Combined Authority 2 £14,400,000
Medway Unitary Authority 1 £486,418
Milton Keynes Unitary Authority 1 £1,182,516
Norfolk County Council 2 £2,240,000
North East Joint Transport Committee 2 £7,203,211
North Somerset Unitary Authority 1 £417,640
Nottingham Unitary Authority 3 £1,762,288
Nottinghamshire County Council 2 £1,081,761
Plymouth Unitary Authority 2 £2,480,000
Portsmouth Unitary Authority 1 £653,580
Reading Unitary Authority 2 £75,000
Shropshire Unitary Authority 1 £612,800
Slough Unitary Authority 1 £413,000
Somerset County Council 2 £1,583,322
Southampton Unitary Authority 2 £814,464
South Yorkshire Combined Authority 2 £2,430,943
Staffordshire County Council 1 £669,087
Stoke-on-Trent Unitary Authority 1 £509,320
Suffolk County Council 2 £7,933,216
Surrey County Council 2 £997,843
Swindon Unitary Authority 1 £381,500
Tees Valley Combined Authority 2 £441,269
Telford and Wrekin Unitary Authority 2 £1,895,772
Thurrock Unitary Authority 1 £305,000
Torbay Unitary Authority 1 £237,366
Warrington Unitary Authority 2 £727,950
Warwickshire County Council 2 £4,761,000
West Berkshire Unitary Authority 1 £275,000
West Midlands Combined Authority 3 £12,608,201
West Northamptonshire Unitary Authority 1 £673,314
West of England Combined Authority 2 £3,641,803
West Yorkshire Combined Authority 3 £17,430,668
Wiltshire Unitary Authority 1 £978,000
Windsor and Maidenhead Unitary Authority 1 £262,100
Wokingham Unitary Authority 2 £606,215
York Unitary Authority 1 £1,103,095

Funding is being provided for both the development and construction of schemes. Some schemes are being provided with development funding only.

Read more about capability ratings.

Roads media enquiries

Media enquiries 0300 7777 878

Switchboard 0300 330 3000

Head of Communications, Active Travel England

Email [email protected]

Media enquiries 020 7082 6603

Updates to this page

Published 19 May 2023