Cumberland Council and Westmorland and Furness Council are delighted to announce they have been successful in securing £1.6M from the Government’s Active Travel Fund 4 (ATF4).
In February 2023, Cumbria County Council submitted the ATF4 funding bid to Active Travel England (ATE), the Government’s new agency for active travel. The bid focused on schemes prioritised within the county’s six Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans (LCWIPs). The LCWIPs cover the areas of Barrow-in-Furness, Carlisle, Kendal, Penrith, Workington and Whitehaven
Cumberland Council and Westmorland and Furness Council will now develop and deliver the ATF4 schemes.
The funding is part of the Government’s £2 billion commitment set out in ‘Gear Change’ to deliver a step change on the provision of active travel and better streets for everyone. ATF4 is a single year funding round, with local authorities competing for a proportion of a £200 million funding pot for 2022/23.
The funding will support the delivery of active travel infrastructure, which will be used to deliver improvements that allow walking, cycling and wheeling for everyday trips, supporting the uptake of active travel in Cumbria.
All LCWIP areas were included in the council’s bid, with a mixture of schemes identified as either construction ready or requiring further development. The council plans to implement the successful construction ready schemes within 12-18 months and these are:
- Carlisle LCWIP Route 38 – Cargo
- Whitehaven LCWIP Route 14 – NCN72 Urban South
For the other successful schemes, designs will be developed in consultation with local communities and delivery funding targeted in future Active Travel Fund rounds. These include:
- Kendal LCWIP Route 3 – Riverside South Stramongate to Nether Bridge
- Barrow-in-Furness LCWIP Route 10 – Duke Street and Schneider Square
- Carlisle LCWIP Route 36 – Victoria Viaduct
Cumberland Councillor Denise Rollo, Executive Member for Sustainable, Resilient and Connected Places, said:
“This is excellent news for Cumberland Council, as the funding from Active Travel England, will enable schemes to deliver a high level of design quality and safety while demonstrating value for money and the ability to convert a large number of journeys to walking, wheeling and cycling, making some schemes likely to be delivered within 12-18 months.
“Getting active is hugely beneficial for both our mental and physical health – helping reduce stress and ward off other illnesses, walking and cycling also improves air quality in our communities and will help to reduce congestion within our towns.”
Westmorland and Furness Council’s Cabinet member for Transport, Councillor Neil Hughes, welcomed the announcement, saying:
“This will enable us to build on the work that is already under way thanks to earlier successful funding bids. This includes the development of two new cycling, walking and wheeling routes in Barrow that we have just started our design consultation on.
“This latest funding from Active Travel England means we can continue to build on that network of safe, healthy and environmentally friendly travel options in Barrow and Kendal.
“Having more people using active travel to get around not only helps improve overall levels of health and wellbeing but it also contributes to fresher air and a cleaner environment for all, which supports economic development and regeneration by making our towns much nicer places to visit, live in and travel around.”
