Major investment in cycle infrastructure
Announcing the investment of over 拢62 million in cycling in England.
I am pleased to announce today details of a major investment of over 拢62 million in cycling in England.
This funding is part of the overall 拢107 million the government announced during 2012 for investment over the following 3 years, and is in addition to the 拢600 million for the Local Sustainable Transport Fund.
I have decided that the 拢42 million cycling investment funding announced in the Chancellor鈥檚 autumn statement will comprise 2 elements - an urban element and an element for rural areas that are covered by National Parks.
For the urban element there will be an opportunity for cities to bid for 2 or 3 Cycle City Ambition Grants. These grants would be for infrastructure improvements to give people the confidence to take up cycling.
The areas eligible to apply for those grants would be the cities that have taken part in wave 1 and wave 2 of the City Deals process. The list of cities is:
| City - wave 1 |
|---|
| Birmingham |
| Leeds |
| Sheffield |
| Newcastle |
| Bristol |
| Liverpool |
| Manchester |
| Nottingham |
| Wave 2 applicants |
|---|
| Black Country |
| Bournemouth/Poole |
| Brighton and Hove |
| Cambridge |
| Coventry |
| Hull |
| Ipswich |
| Leicester |
| Oxford |
| Milton Keynes |
| Norwich |
| Plymouth |
| Portsmouth/Southampton |
| Preston |
| Reading |
| Southend |
| Stoke on Trent |
| Sunderland |
| Swindon |
| Tees Valley |
Successful applicant cities would be expected to provide funding of around 拢10 per head of population over 2 years, with a commitment to longer-term funding from the cities. We would expect funding to be focussed on a single continuous urban area (ie a city centre and its suburbs), or perhaps 2 centres with high levels of travel to work/leisure connectivity.
Rural areas that are covered by National Parks will be invited to apply for funding via the Linking Communities Fund which is administered by Sustrans who will collate bids for Ministers. Successful bids will be those that can demonstrate schemes enabling more people to cycle.
The deadline for receipt of bids for the 拢42 million package will be 30 April, with a view to announcing successful bids in the summer this year. I will be placing a copy of the bidding guidance and application forms in the library of the House when they are available shortly. They will also be published on the department鈥檚 website.
In respect of the remaining 拢20 million, 拢15 million will be used to boost the Community Linking Places Fund to support schemes that improve cycle-rail integration and enhance community cycling. A full list of schemes can be found at Linking Places Fund tranche 2. 拢5 million will be added to the fund already earmarked to tackle dangerous junctions.
Related documents
- Minister announces record 拢62 million investment in cycling, press notice, 30 January 2013
- Linking Places Fund tranche 2, 30 January 2013