Over £1m of funding released for Thorpe Wood and Fengate active travel schemes in Peterborough

Active travel schemes in both Thorpe Wood and Fengate have been boosted by over £1m of funding that has been drawn down by the Combined Authority.

The funding has come from the authority’s Active Capital Funding Grant- allocated by the Department for Transport.

There has been £625,00 given for the Thorpe Wood Cycleway, which will connect the replacement footbridge - currently being progressed by the A1260 Junction 15 project - with existing cycleways off Thorpe Wood Road, and into the Anglian Water Offices. The cycleway has potential for extension beyond this point if further funding is obtained in future.

The Peterborough draft Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) identified Thorpe Wood, Peterborough as a priority and rated high benefit and value for money.

Around £220k is expected to be spent in 2022/23 financial year and the rest in 2023/24 financial year.

The scheme seeks to encourage active travel by providing improved and safe routes and in the long-term, increasing those walking and cycling and gaining the health and wellbeing benefits of exercise.

Thorpe Wood Cycleway has already received an award from Tranche 2 Active Travel Funding and preliminary design is already going ahead at pace with Active Travel England already reviewing the preliminary design. The addition of this fresh Tranche 3 funding will carry the project forward into detailed design and construction.

Meanwhile, £550,424 has been allocated to two active travel schemes that form part of the Fengate Access project ahead of the main highway works- scheduled to start in April 2023.

The schemes identified for accelerated delivery are the Newark Road Footpath and Oxney Road improvements for pedestrians.

A spokesperson for the combined authority said: “The Combined Authority hopes that improved walkways and cycleways will encourage people to change their habits and get about by foot or bike instead of by private car, and therefore help reduce current and future traffic jams and delays.

“Fengate is a particularly car-dependent employment hub, and the quality of the active travel infrastructure is lower than elsewhere in Peterborough.

"Without an improvement in routes for biking and walking, Fengate will remain reliant on cars, with their associated congestion and emissions, and less accessible for those who would otherwise welcome travelling by foot or cycle.

The ‘School Streets’ initiative has also been given a boost of £10,000.

School Streets sees temporary road closures outside the entrance of a school, creating a safer ‘foot, cycle or scoot zone’ during the school’s drop-off and pick-up times. The aim is both to enable more active travel and to reduce congestion and pollution outside the school entrances.

Funding from Tranche 2 enabled 11 schools to become ‘School Streets’ and the Tranche 3 funding means they can transition from temporary to permanent arrangements backed by Traffic Regulation Order and permanent signage.

Peterborough City Council would like to create more school streets with interested schools. These schemes are key elements of the city’s emerging strategy as outlined in the Combined Authority’s Local Transport and Connectivity Plan.