Councils awarded active travel funding
Telford & Wrekin Council and Shropshire Council have both been awarded money from the Government’s active travel fund following successful applications.
Active Travel England has awarded Shropshire Council £612,800 and Telford & Wrekin Council £1,895,772.
Shropshire Council will use £382,800 towards the Meole active travel schools project in Shrewsbury, which includes Bank Farm Road Active Travel Corridor improvements and £230,000 to fund the council’s School Streets scheme.
Richard Marshall, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for highways, said:
“The award of this funding is great news, and is recognition of our commitment to improving road safety and active travel opportunities.
“The safety of children travelling to and from school is vitally important and we’re grateful to the local community for highlighting their road safety concerns in the area, particularly in relation to walking and cycling in the vicinity of the nearby schools.
“Officers have been working closely with local residents and groups over the past few months as our plans have been developed and progressed, and this funding will help to make these plans a reality.”
Telford and Wrekin will use its £1,895,772 to improve dedicated walking and cycling routes between Telford town centre and Oakengates.
The £1.9m improvement scheme will see the creation of new off-road cycle and walking routes, improved highway crossing points and enhanced wayfinding. Maintainance will also be carried out on the existing walking and cycling route from central Oakengates to Telford town centre to improve user experience and safety.
The council says work will now get underway to secure contractors, with the completed scheme due to be delivered by March 2025.
Cllr Lee Carter (Lab), cabinet member for place (the economy and neighbourhood services), said:
“Nationally, £200m was awarded by Active Travel England to 67 authorities, with Telford & Wrekin and Warwickshire being the only councils in the West Midlands awarded more than £1m.
“This is phenomenal and demonstrates our commitment to pursuing the climate action agenda while also connecting communities and boosting the local economy.”
