Written question WQ93205

We make funding available to local authorities from our Active Travel Fund each year to create and improve active travel routes in their communities. The Guidance for local authorities can be found here Active Travel Fund | Transport for Wales (tfw.wales).

On top of their core allocation, which each local authority can access and which is currently at least £500,000, each local authority can submit up to four main scheme or package applications under the competitive element of the Fund. Paragraph 32 of the guidance sets out that one of these can be for a scheme outside of and not necessarily linked to the designated localities which are the main focus of the Active Travel Fund overall:

“Local authorities are also able to submit a maximum of one bid, included within their up to four main schemes, that supports the rural offer. 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. This could also include routes that are captured on the ATNM’s and Right of Way Improvements Plans (RoWIP’s), but evidence of how the schemes have been prioritised must be included.”

There is no ring-fenced amount or percentage of the Active Travel Fund for these schemes and the allocation each year will depend on the merits of the applications submitted. For 2024-25 there were three applications for routes outside designated localities supporting the rural offer, two of which have been awarded partial funding, including Denbighshire County Council’s Corwen to Cynwyd Active Travel Route, and Ynys Mon Council’s Pont Marquis to Malltraeth scheme. The total amount of funding awarded to rural offer schemes in 2024-25 is £568,250.