Buckinghamshire Council adopts new cycling and walking strategy
A Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) for Buckinghamshire, which will guide future investment in active travel infrastructure across the county, has been adopted by the Council.
It comes with news today that Buckinghamshire has been awarded more than £2 million to spend on developing further active travel projects and infrastructure in the county.
The Buckinghamshire LCWIP proposes a network of ‘corridors’ suitable for cycling, walking and ‘wheeling’ (adapted cycles, wheelchairs, mobility scooters, prams and push scooters), to connect towns and villages. The LCWIP has considered different journey destinations, including employment, education, public transport, local facilities and visitor attractions.
Following approval of the LCWIP by Cabinet, the Council will continue to undertake further work to establish how these ‘corridors’ could be created, including local engagement, design work and seeking external funding – which is essential to progress these schemes.
The LCWIP ‘corridors’ may include new or improved off-road routes, routes alongside roads or crossing points.
Cllr Steven Broadbent, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Transport, said: “I am delighted that Cabinet has approved the Buckinghamshire LCWIP following consultation, which means that we now have a clear long-term strategy setting out a network of active travel infrastructure in Buckinghamshire.
“It’s important we seek funding, potentially from national sources or through developers. However it should be noted that the LCWIP is not a prescriptive list of schemes that, if funded, can be used as justification for other development.
“Overall, the LCWIP outlines how the Council intends to provide residents with a variety of safe, viable and accessible travel options for their journeys in and around Buckinghamshire, so if they prefer, rather than travelling by car or public transport, they can choose to cycle, walk or wheel.”
Cllr Broadbent added:
“The Buckinghamshire LCWIP complements rather than replaces the town-level LCWIPs in place for Aylesbury, Buckingham and High Wycombe, which have supported the Council in securing funding to support the delivery of fantastic schemes such as the recently completed Keep Hill Woods project in High Wycombe and greenways including St Peter’s Greenway and the Waddesdon Greenway in Aylesbury, with the Railway Walk scheme in Buckingham also now in development.
Today I am also pleased to announce that the Council has successfully been awarded over £2 million of additional funding from Active Travel England which will assist us in continuing to develop and deliver active travel programmes and infrastructure schemes in Buckinghamshire."
The LCWIP was produced with input from local members, Community Boards and the local community and was consulted on in Autumn 2024, with people who live and work in Buckinghamshire and those who visit invited to have their say.