Background
In January 2023, Active Travel England invited bids for capital funding under Tranche 4 of the ATF, to be submitted by 24 February 2023. Tranche 4 is designed to:
- create a local authority capital investment programme that optimises delivery of 2025 and 2030 objectives, as set out in the statutory Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS 2):
- 50% of short urban trips in England to be walked, wheeled or cycled by 2030
- Increase active travel from 41% in 2018 to 46% of short urban trips by 2025
- Increase walking to 365 stages per person per year by 2025
- Increase cycling from 0.8 billion stages in 2013 to 1.6 billion stages in 2025
- 55% of primary school-aged children to walk to school by 2025
- align investment with Gear Change and wider government objectives, including local growth and productivity, tackling public health issues, decarbonisation, levelling up and cost of living challenges
- increase participation in active travel amongst underrepresented groups
ATF Tranche 4 funding is to be split into two streams:
- Construction funding, for schemes that are ready for delivery within the 2023/24 financial year.
- Development funding, for schemes that are at an earlier stage.
Devon County Council’s submission
Devon County Council submitted a bid for £4.9m of ATF Tranche 4 funding, split between 19 schemes. The submitted proposals were designed to:
- increase walking, wheeling and cycling across Devon;
- support delivery of the ATF Tranche 4 objectives (outlined above);
- build on the successes of schemes delivered through previous ATF tranches;
- incorporate key investment opportunities highlighted in strategy documents, such as:
- Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans (LCWIPs) for Exeter, Heart of Teignbridge and Barnstaple with Bideford and Northam
- the Multi-Use Trail Network Strategy
The table below summarises Devon County Council’s ATF Tranche 4 submission. Schemes are ranked in priority order, with 1 being the highest priority.
| Rank | Name | Funding stream | ATF funding sought |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Queen Street – Exeter | Construction | £200,000 |
| 2 | Tarka Trail – Ilfracombe to Braunton | Construction | £820,000 |
| 3 | Tarka Trail – Ilfracombe to Braunton | Development | £110,000 |
| 4 | Queen Street – Newton Abbot | Construction | £500,000 |
| 5 | Mallison Bridge and boardwalk – Exeter | Construction | £1,100,000 |
| 6 | E12 Rifford Road Onward Connections – Exeter | Development | £100,000 |
| 7 | Teign Estuary Trail – Dawlish to Teignmouth | Development | £200,000 |
| 8 | E3/E9 Barnfield Road – Exeter | Construction | £250,000 |
| 9 | Multi-Use Path – Seaton to Colyford | Construction | £616,000 |
| 10 | Town Centre West – Newton Abbot | Development | £100,000 |
| 11 | Hospital to Railway Station – Barnstaple | Development | £105,000 |
| 12 | E3 Multi-Use Path – Cranbrook to Exeter | Development | £100,000 |
| 13 | Newton Road – Newton Abbot to Kingsteignton | Development | £100,000 |
| 14 | Multi-Use Path – Sidbury to Sidford | Development | £110,000 |
| 15 | City Centre Walking Schemes – Exeter | Development | £100,000 |
| 16 | New Crossings Programme – Countywide | Development | £200,000 |
| 17 | Clovelly Road Missing Links – Bideford | Development | £25,000 |
| 18 | A386 Appledore Crossing – Northam | Construction | £95,000 |
| 19 | Active Travel Infrastructure – Ivybridge | Development | £100,000 |
Next steps
Active Travel England is expected to announce final ATF Tranche 4 funding allocations before the end of March 2023. Following this announcement, Devon County Council will work to implement the schemes awarded funding. This will include developing designs, conducting consultations and delivering construction works.
Further details of next steps will be provided in due course.