Blackburn with Darwen Council has been given a grant of £110,703 to promote cycling and walking in the borough.

The cash comes from Active Travel England which has promoted the authority in its league table of effectiveness.

A report by borough growth boss Cllr Quesir Mahmood on the cash allocation from the organisation's Active Travel Capability and Ambition Fund 2024/25 says: "Conditions of the grant allow local authorities to plan active travel infrastructure, undertake evidence-based planning and deliver behaviour change initiatives.

"This announcement of revenue grant funding for 2024/25 follows a self-assessment exercise which the council submitted in December 2023.

"This has been moderated by Active Travel England and clearly demonstrated that the council should move up in terms of its active travel rating from being a Level One authority (as it was last assessed in 2022) to a Level Twp authority.

"Only a handful of authorities (eight in total) have had their rating increased this year, demonstrating the good progress that has been made since 2022.

"In Blackburn with Darwen, there are now clear long-term plans in place to form the basis of an emerging network (i.e. an adopted Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan or LCWIP) and investment ongoing into priority schemes such as south-east Blackburn, and links to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal corridor.

"The production of a new Cycling and Walking Strategy (to update the 2021-24 document) and the formulation of a hearts and minds approach with strong local leadership, key stakeholders and partnerships, will be crucial in securing future funding and achieving Level Three.

"The funding provided for this financial year is expected to be spent with a clear focus on further building the authorities’ capability and technical skills, developing good quality local community engagement and a hearts and minds approach to help support all new cycle and walking measures.

"The proposed expenditure of the £110,703 allocation from the Active Travel Capability Fund 2024/25 is as follows: approximately £34,000 for a bespoke active travel campaign programme starting in March 2025 and running until 2026, approximately £40,000 for feasibility studies of priority LCWIP routes, approximately £15,000 for school routes audits, and the remaining funds to be used for a range of public engagement and data collection related work."