Shropshire Council awarded £2 million for walking, wheeling and cycling schemes

Shropshire Council has been awarded more than £2 million of Government funding to help deliver walking, wheeling and cycling schemes in the county.

The council is to receive £2,004,877 from Active Travel England’s (ATE) Capability and Ambition Fund (CATF) – investment that will allow the council to better utilise local capacity to design, consult on, and deliver high-quality walking, wheeling, and cycling initiatives.

For Shropshire residents, this means safer, greener, and more connected local journeys, and the accelerated delivery of projects that improve everyday access to schools, shops, workplaces, and transport hubs.

It will also support behaviour-change initiatives that promote healthier lifestyles and reduce carbon emissions.

This funding is an expression of support in Shropshire’s determination and growing capacity to plan and deliver transformative walking and cycling infrastructure, directly benefiting communities county-wide and acting as a stepping stone to attract higher Active Travel England funding awards in the future.

Rob Wilson, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for transport and economic growth, said:

“This funding will help to improve transport choice in Shropshire, and will enable greater capacity for Shropshire Council to deliver improvements that benefit residents. I welcome this funding from the government which will allow the council to plan longer term investment in line with its Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan. However, with our capability score remaining at 1 out of 4, it is clear that we have more to do to show the Department for Transport that the council can deliver and this is something that we’re determined to do.”

In total councils across England have received more than £626million of CATF funding.