Earlier this week it was announced that the government and Active Travel England, an organisation responsible for making walking, wheeling and cycling the preferred choice across the country, announced £32.9m in funding for England.
As part of this, Greater Manchester will receive just under £3.4m from the Capability & Ambition Fund, which is higher than its original allocation after a successful high-quality bid submitted to Active Travel England back in Autumn 2022.
The money is to go towards supporting the city’s infrastructure programme by helping Greater Manchester residents to walk, wheel and cycle more across the city.
It will help local communities implement more active practices, enhance high streets and make places more accessible for walking and cycling. It could also see over 1,000 new green jobs created across England.
Dame Sarah Storey, Active Travel commissioner for Greater Manchester, said: “This funding announcement is a vote of confidence in Greater Manchester’s plans for active travel.
“In November, I launched my refreshed mission for active travel – to ensure walking, wheeling and cycling is possible for everyone. This new funding will be used across the region to further develop active travel work in 2023.
“From helping increase cycle hire facilities to building a comprehensive and cohesive pipeline of high-quality schemes, and also to ensure there is better publicity to ensure people can use existing active travel routes.
“I look forward to working with the Mayor, local authority leaders, the Transport Commissioner and community groups to continue the work that has been underway to make Greater Manchester the best place in the country to walk, wheel and cycle.”
