Somerset County Council has been awarded more than £410k from Active Travel England to support its aim of making streets more cycling, walking and wheeling-friendly.

The award is from ATE's £32.9m Capability and Ambition Fund which aims to set up a national network of experts to work with communities, enhance high streets and improve active travel provision.

The £410,132 awarded to the Council will be split into two categories – capability building and behaviour change. It will fund projects such as:

• Training for local authority officers and local councillors
• Network design and planning
• New policy to enhance active travel provision
• Public engagement/consultation and co-design, including engagement with people protected by the Equalities Act 2010, such as minority groups.
• Data and evidence collection and monitoring and evaluation

Somerset County Council's Lead Member for Transport and Digital, Cllr Mike Rigby said: "The fund will help to make a real difference to improving active travel provision across Somerset, along with encouraging behaviour change towards a more sustainable way of moving around the county."

Somerset County Council's Lead Member for Climate Change, Cllr Sarah Dyke added: "Encouraging active travel is pivotal in terms of working towards Somerset's Climate Emergency Strategy and our net zero target for 2030.

"We all need to get on board and think about how we can get around in a more sustainable way and this funding supports that goal."

To find out more about sustainable travel in the county, visit Somerset's Commonplace website here: https://somersetsustainabletransport.commonplace.is/