Council bidding for cycling and walking improvements
07 Jul 2022 ARCHIVED (over 3 months old) - view latest news
Major bids are going to Government for funding towards new cycling and walking routes for Tynedale and Bedlington - to make it easier, safer and greener for people to get around the county.
A bid for nearly £17m is being made through the Government’s Levelling Up Fund (LUF) - a £4.8 billion scheme for eligible local authorities to invest in infrastructure that improves everyday life, including regenerating town centres, high streets and upgrading local transport.
In Bedlington, the scheme will provide new and upgraded active travel infrastructure to improve the east to west link across the town, connecting key residential and employment areas with the planned Northumberland Line station.
Additional benefits to this route include a connection towards the BritishVolt factory and connections to schools across the town.
In Tynedale it’s proposed to create an active travel link between Hexham train station and Corbridge, improving both local connections within Hexham and facilitating active travel trips between Hexham and Corbridge. The proposed route would largely follow the A695 between the two town’s rail stations.
Councilor John Riddle, Cabinet member for Local Services, said: “The benefits of using our cars less where we can and taking more sustainable transport are well known to us all.
“Over the past 12 months a considerable amount of work has been carried out to develop a suite of Local Cycling and Walking Investment Plans for main towns across the county.
“These have now been prioritised based on a number of detailed criteria and we’re pleased to be submitting this strong bid which we feel will markedly improve active travel in these areas.”
The council also has funding through the DfT active travel fund to deliver a second scheme in Blyth and a route in Ashington.