Ealing's mini Holland plan set to go ahead

The project will help making Ealing safer for cyclists

Plans to turn Ealing town centre into a "mini Holland" will go ahead despite organisers only securing up to half of the funding for the project.

Ealing Council bid for a share of £100m, available through the Mayor of London's cycle scheme.

Transport for London has this week said it would give the council up to £15m for the project.

The council said the money would help fund the key parts of the plan and they would apply for other fund sources.

Original plans for Ealing included a cycle route for Uxbridge Road, a link to the new A40 superhighway as well as segregated cycle paths and towpath improvements.

'Revolutionising travel'

In a letter to the council, TfL said: "Few routes in the centre of the borough are possible without passing through the town centre, which is currently rather intimidating for cyclists.

"The borough's town centre proposal creates the possibility for transformative change and we will work with you to deliver it."

The "mini Holland" initiative is intended to make local communities as cycle-friendly as their Dutch equivalents.

The council submitted its bid for over £30m to fund a number of cycling projects which also included major road and bridge improvements and a wider programme of cycle training and support for schools.

Council leader Julian Bell said: "We are doing everything we can to secure as much funding as possible from the mini Holland pot to carry out our cycling improvement plans.

"We will also be looking to identify other funds from TfL and from sources such as section 106 [developer contributions] to deliver the entire mini Holland bid."

Last month, Ealing was named along with Kingston, Enfield, Waltham Forest, Bexley, Merton, Richmond and Newham as the recipients of the £100m mini Holland funding pot.