A NEW cycle route will link East Lancashire with the rest of the country.

The cycleway will go from Preston to Bury, via Hoghton, Blackburn, Rishton, Accrington and Haslingden. It is likely to go through Witton Park, Blackburn, along the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and through Blackburn and Accrington town centres. It is one of four Lancashire routes proposed by Sustrans, the civil engineering charity which supports sustainable transport.

The others will go from Preston to the Lake District, Southport and Wigan.

Some of the funding for the Lancashire routes will come from a £42 million grant from the Millennium Commission.

The rest will come from other sources and further bids for cash will be made to the National Lottery through the Sports Council.

The Millennium funded route will be completed by the year 2000 and the remaining sections should be finished by 2005.

Some routes will take in vehicle-free paths, suitable for cyclists, walkers and in some cases, other road users such as those in wheelchairs.

Others will follow minor country roads and traffic-calmed areas through towns.

Tom McCabe, leader of the cycling team in the county surveyor's department, said: "We are hoping to encourage commuter cycling in the town centres by taking the routes through traffic free or traffic-calmed streets.

"In rural areas where possible they will be off-road, on upgraded farm tracks, with benefits for leisure cyclists."

Previous news story

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.