The creation of a 26-mile “cycle spine” through Gloucestershire is planned following a multi-million pound cash injection to improve the county’s sustainable transport infrastructure.
Gloucestershire County Council has been awarded £12.8m from the Government’s Levelling Up Fund following Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Autumn Budget and Spending Review last week (October 27).
The money will be used to connect a so-called “missing link of cycle paths” in the heart of the county through improvements to local routes through the city of Gloucester.
Council leaders said the money would “breathe life” into its ambitions of linking the recently enhanced Gloucester and Sharpness Canal Towpath with the A40 West Cheltenham Transport Improvement Scheme, via Gloucester and the B4063 cycle path.
The proposed improvements would help to create a substantial, joined-up cycle and walking path network that could span from Stroud to Bishops Cleeve.
The bid also seeks to improve links to the docks area of Gloucester and its hub of businesses to the city centre and beyond through a “sustainable travel corridor”.
Gloucestershire County Council said the cycle path would complete a “missing link”, connecting the recently upgraded Gloucester and Sharpness Canal Towpath through the city centre to Cheltenham via already committed funding.
It added that this would be complemented by addressing a pinch point on the Gloucester Southwest Bypass (GSWB) at Llanthony Road, which would result in improved journey times for the 25,000 vehicles that use it every day.
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Cllr Mark Hawthorne, leader of Gloucestershire County Council, said, “I’m absolutely delighted by the news that Gloucestershire will receive a significant boost to sustainable transport.
“Our long-term goals to tackle climate change and reduce carbon emissions must include sustainable modes of travel, and I believe building a substantial and safe network for cyclists and pedestrians is going to transform our county. This funding allows us to fully fund these ambitions for Gloucestershire’s future.”
Liberal Democrat group leader Paul Hodgkinson, a councillor for Bourton-on-the-Water and Northleach, added: ‘I am delighted to see this money coming to Gloucestershire and strongly applaud our council officers for putting together this winning bid.
“This funding should provide a critical link for cyclists in Gloucester, or even those eventually wanting to cycle through the city from Stroud or Cheltenham.”
As part of Government commitments to combat regional inequality, £131m has been allocated to six South West projects from the first tranche of allocations from the Levelling Up Fund,
As well as an upgrade of ferries to the Isles of Scilly and a major road improvement project in Plymouth, funds have been made available to support the University of Gloucestershire transform the former Debenhams building in Gloucester into a health and education campus.
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