Active Travel Fund: Portsmouth and Hampshire are given cash to promote walking and cycling

Announced today, the money will be used to boost the council’s work in this area, including building new cycle paths.

The grant is part of the £200m fourth round of funding through the Active Travel Fund and is expected to lead to 121 miles of new cycle track, 77 miles of new paths being built and support a series of school initiatives across England. No funding has been given for low traffic neighbourhoods, which have been controversial.

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Portsmouth City Council has been awarded 653,580 while Hampshire County Council will receive more than £2.2m and Southampton City Council £814,000.

‘We want to make sure everyone across the country can choose cheaper, greener and healthier travel, while we continue to support our high streets and local businesses,’ transport secretary Mark Harper said, adding that it would help ease congestion and improve people’s health.

Councillor Gerald Vernon-Jackson, the new cabinet member for transport, said welcomed the funding and said making the city safer for cyclists and pedestrians was a ‘priority’ for the city council.

‘This money will help us make cycling and walking a more attractive option for people and in turn that will help us reduce reliance on cars,’ he said.

But he added that the government’s grant-focused approach for providing funding for council reduced the ability to make longer-term plans.

‘It’s a bit of an obsession – particularly in transport – that everything is done through these bidding processes. We’ve been very successful in them recently but a long-term funding plan would be much more helpful.

‘Making bids is onerous and costly and tends to only encourage projects that can be delivered in the very near future.’

The latest package of funding was announced in February with councils invited to bid for a share.

Last month The News reported on new measures being put in place to make cycling and walking easier and safer at the junction of Bransbury Road and Eastney Road in Eastney, with a pre-start traffic light put in for cyclists as work was due to start to improve the walking route across junctions in the Milton market area.