Worcestershire given £160k for cycling and walking routes

The funding will help develop cycle and walking facilities across the county

Worcestershire has been awarded more than £160,000 of government funding to improve walking and cycling routes.

The money will be used for training and to develop facilities for Worcester, Malvern, Pershore, Droitwich and Bromsgrove.

It comes after the authority had been told to improve its cycling and walking network last year.

Worcestershire County Council said it had continually worked to make improvements in the county.

It said plans to develop facilities in Evesham and Redditch were also in progress.

Last year, the council had been handed a zero rating and was told to improve by Active Travel England, the government body responsible for distributing funding for walking, cycling and wheeling.

In October, Active Travel England had said it would be "withholding" funding for the county and had barred it from making any further bids for money until enhancements had been made.

In a previous letter, it had also told the council that funding was "limited" and would only be provided where it would have been well spent.

Councillor Mike Rouse, cabinet member for highways and transport, said: "The zero rating we received last year was difficult to take, but we're now pushing forward to ensure we move away from this rating as soon as possible."

He added that work had already taken place to make improvements and that additional funding "would go a long way" in delivering the authority's plans.