A £1.94million funding boost to improve green transport in East Lancashire has been welcomed by Blackburn with Darwen Council and Lancashire County Council.
The investment, called the Access Fund, is part of a £64m package to encourage more people across the country to walk or cycle to and from work.
Road safety improvements, training for cyclists and funding for more secure storage for bikes are some of the measures the money could be spent on. Full details of the project will be announced in the next few months as they are finalised.
Cllr Phil Riley, Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council’s Executive Member Regeneration, said:
“This funding is a real welcome boost, not just for the borough but for the rest of East Lancashire. It will help ensure we are a better connected area which will also help benefit those looking to work in the borough and beyond.
“We are committed to providing more sustainable ways to travel. With the development of our Weavers Wheel cycle network well underway, there are lots of exciting opportunities in the pipeline.
“This will help ensure we continue our work to increase cycling, walking and car sharing whilst working with people who are looking for work to help remove barriers to employment. We will also work with local businesses to make it easier for people to get to and from work.”
County Councillor John Fillis, Lancashire County Council’s cabinet member for highways and transport, said:
“This funding is great news and will help us deliver even more projects to encourage people to cycle or walk to work in East Lancashire.
“We want to do all we can to minimise the number of cars on the road to protect the environment and encourage people to be more active.
“We need to make sure it’s as safe as possible for people to get around and the investment will help us fund projects to help us to do this.
“We’ve already improved facilities with projects like the Pennine Reach scheme and encouraged people to keep fit with our Active Lives, Healthy Weight service.
“We’ll be able to build on this with the new investment and look forward to working closely with Blackburn with Darwen Council and other partners on this important project.”
The project will see a £2.349m investment in new walking and cycling facilities. This is made up of the government investment together with match-funding from Lancashire County Council and Blackburn with Darwen Council and other organisations including British Cycling and Community Rail Lancashire Ltd.