A multi-million pound cycle ‘corridor’ is to be created in Stockton to link outer areas with the town centre.

Councillors have been told the £6.2m scheme was expected to receive funding via a second tranche of the Government’s emergency active travel fund.

Let’s Go Tees Valley surveyed more than a thousand residents in the Tees Valley during lockdown – finding more than 53% reported walking or cycling more, said Teeside Live.

The Tees Valley Combined Authority received £481,000 from the first phase of the Travel Fund which was split between the five local authorities in the region.

Stockton got £96,000 to pay for cycle routes in bus lanes and extra cycling parking spaces alongside measures for pedestrians.

But Cllr Mike Smith, cabinet member for environment and transport, said the council was seeking funding for a Norton Road project which would “cost a fair old tranche of money”.

He added: “It’s believed it will cost somewhere in the region of £6.2m. At the moment, our allocation (from the second tranche) is likely to be somewhere in the region of £0.5 to £1.5m. This will probably mean we will end up prioritising it a phase at a time to do it, unless the future funding is made available. We’ve got to wait for that to come through.”

“The second round of funding has offered up £1.7m to the TVCA with major schemes also lined up in Darlington and Middlesbrough alongside Stockton’s Norton Road “cycling and walking corridor”.