AN MP has welcomed £4.5million of Government funding for new walking and cycling schemes across Barrow.

The Government’s £200 million Active Travel Fund will enable communities across the country to get out on their bikes and enjoy cheaper, cleaner and greener travel across their area.

This includes £161 million of funding for 134 schemes across 46 local authorities outside of London to deliver new footways, cycle lanes and pedestrian crossings.

In addition, 19 authorities will also receive a share of £1.5 million for ‘mini-Holland’ feasibility studies to assess how the areas could be as pedestrian and cycle-friendly as their Dutch city equivalents.

The Government has also confirmed it will inject £35 million to improving the quality, safety and accessibility of the National Cycle Network, a UK-wide network of paths and routes for walking, cycling or wheeling managed by the independent charity Sustrans.

Up to £8 million is also going towards a new programme to accelerate the uptake of e-cycles by offering short and long-term loans of e-cycles.

This announcement is the next phase of an initial £2 billion investment up to 2025 to put in place connected local routes to give people the choice to walk or ride instead of driving – cleaning our air giving people more choice of travel around their local community.

Barrow and Furness MP Simon Fell said: “As we focus on greener and cheaper travel to slash emissions and address the cost of living, it is vital we provide communities with the infrastructure they need to enjoy active travel.

“That is why I am delighted the Government will be committing £4.5 million across Barrow and Walney, marking the Government’s longstanding commitment to improve the quality, safety and accessibility of walking and cycling routes.

“This builds on the work currently underway on Michaelson Road in a project worth £1.1 million, to make active travel safer and easier for people around BAE systems and the town centre.

“These new projects will improve infrastructure on Abbey Road, and along North Walney towards the new Earnse Bay hub that is planned.

“Providing the infrastructure to boost active, green and cheaper travel not only cleans our air but increases the choice of travel and makes it easier for people to keep active.”