Written question WQ87450

Our Transport Strategy, Llwybr Newydd covers all of Wales, including both urban and rural areas. The package of measures to achieve that strategy has to be tailored to the specific needs of each region and community, with rurality being one of the factors influencing that. Earlier this month I published a written statement on the toolkit we are developing for rural transport and I published our final National Transport Delivery Plan which sets out all of our transport investment plans on 14 February 2023.

The legal duties to plan and improve active travel networks apply for all designated localities in Wales, broadly all places with a population greater than 2000 in both rural and urban areas. Our Active Travel Fund provides funding for this purpose. In addition for the 2023/24 funding round, local authorities were able to submit one bid that specifically supports the rural offer beyond those towns that are designated localities. These bids should seek to deliver improvements to routes outside designated localities that support the Wales Transport Strategy priority of working towards ‘Safe Cycling from Village to Town’, connecting market towns and other significant local centres to surrounding villages and outlying developments through safe active travel access.

With regard to active travel routes on the Strategic Road Network, we are considering all sites and prioritising routes in line with the local authorities’ Active Travel Map consultations.