£3m funding 'pencilled in' for walking and cycling schemes in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough stand to benefit from a "pencil figure" of £3 million of Government funding for walking and cycling schemes, the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) has announced.

If granted, the money - which comes via the Department for Transport's (DfT) Active Travel England agency - would be put towards "shovel-ready" schemes in the region, CPCA says.

This means that some of the schemes may be new, but others could be established and perhaps unsuccessful in previous funding rounds.

Peterborough City Council (PCC) is "putting the finishing touches" to its pitches, according to CPCA, with the 24 February deadline approaching.

Active Travel England says that the funds, totalling £200m across the country, could go towards improving crossings and junctions, creating more paths in rural areas and developing safer routes for children to walk to school.

There are also some more specific requirements: street designs should take wheelchair and mobility scooter access into account, they say, as well as women's safety.

"Studies show that 1 in 2 women feel unsafe walking after dark in a quiet street near their home," Active Travel England says.

"Local authorities will also need to show that their proposed schemes take women’s safety into account."

DfT active travel funding travel has previously been granted for a new Thorpe Wood cycleway and new footpath on Newark Road in Fengate among other schemes.

PCC has been contacted for comment about the latest round of funding.