Council working to set up scheme for active travel in Hastings

The Secretary of State for Transport recently made available £250m for local authorities to use to implement emergency ‘active travel’ measures to encourage cycling and walking.

These include temporary cycle lanes, widened footways or road closures to provide greater space for people to move around to support social distancing.

Hastings Borough Council was one of several organisations consulted by the county council, which were given a tight timescale from government to collect feedback.

East Sussex County Council is still awaiting confirmation from the Government on the amount of funding that will be allocated for these measures.

Cllr Colin Fitzgerald, deputy leader of the borough council, said: “We have submitted a list of potential ideas to East Sussex County Council, which is now reviewing this and hopes to get back to us by the end of this month.

“We were already working on developing a strategic network of cycle routes as part of our local plan development and our ongoing work to tackle climate change, that will link local communities with key services in the town, so this new funding from the government is very welcome.

“We do hope that East Sussex County Council decides to go ahead with some of the schemes we have proposed.”

“There is also a huge amount of environmental benefit in improving our transport system.

“Investing in active transport infrastructure will make it easier for people to cycle/walk to and from work.

“Walking, cycling, electrification of transport, opportunities for car-sharing and improvements to public transport are all essential in helping to drive down greenhouse gas emissions and helping us tackle the impacts of climate change in our area.”

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