Hertfordshire CC has been awarded £6.4m by the Department for Transport after a successful bid by the County Council for a share of the second phase of the Active Travel Fund grant.

The first phase of funding allocated to Hertfordshire in June (£1.25m) enabled the county council to implement a range of temporary active travel projects, including temporary cycle lanes, closures of road sections to through traffic, new cycle parking, and upgrading of temporary measures to allow for social distancing in town and city centres across the county.

As the result of the successful bid, we will now receive an additional £6.4m to implement further cycling and walking improvements across the county, as well as upgrading some of the temporary measures to permanent installations.

Phil Bibby, our Cabinet Member for Highways and Environment said: “I am delighted that Hertfordshire has been awarded £6.4m in funding from the Government’s Active Travel Fund to further develop our green travel network. These improvements will encourage and empower many more people to travel in an active and environmentally friendly way, which in turn will deliver significant long-term benefits to the health and wellbeing of our residents and reduce our impact on the environment.

“We want everyone in Hertfordshire to be able to walk and cycle safely, and this important investment will allow the development of further access for all, helping to make the county more sustainable and ready for the future.”

In order to obtain the views of residents, businesses and stakeholders the proposed schemes will be subject to a consultation later this year to gauge views on the proposals prior to their implementation. The DfT announced tighter rules for local authorities alongside the second tranche of funding.