In 2019 the district council published a draft Local Walking and Cycling Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP), which gathered audit data on the use of existing routes and identified where, with sufficient central funding, improvements might be made to the existing network over the next ten years.
The government's Active Travel Fund was announced in May 2020, and the first tranche was released to support the recovery from Coronavirus to introduce a programme to put in place temporary walking and cycling schemes to help people get out and socially distance through a newly created Active Travel department. Officers worked with Kent County Council to identify that Cinque Ports Cycle Route Phase 4B would meet the qualifying criteria, and the scheme was subsequently delivered using tranche 1 funding.
Under tranche 2 of the Active Travel Fund, monies were allocated to Kent County Council (KCC), as the local transport authority, to deliver phase 5a of the Cinque Ports Cycleway. Round 2 funding was also awarded to KCC to progress associated design work and scheme implementation for a proposed walking, wheeling and cycling improvements along a section of Cheriton Road as far as the Cheriton Road/Radnor Park roundabout.
The Levelling Up Funding money awarded to Folkestone & Hythe District Council shall deliver a major overhaul of Folkestone’s town centre with £19.8 million to improve shopping areas, an upgraded bus station and a new public green space to encourage businesses and visitors into the area. Specifically, this investment will markedly improve accessibility for walking and cycling for connections between Folkestone Central railway station and the town centre, with significant enhancements to the walking and cycling network within the town centre itself.
The district council has also been awarded £25,000 from Active Travel England Capability Fund to update the draft LCWIP. The intention of the refresh will be to take account of schemes that have emerged since the LCWIP was drafted in 2019, for example the Cheriton Road and Levelling Up Fund schemes, amongst others, and to use the update to focus on what the next major walking/cycling infrastructure project might be.
In addition, Explore Kent has developed an online map resource to show walking and cycle routes covering the eastern part of the district that was developed by district council officers together with those from the county council.
For more information or feedback on any of the climate action work please contact our Low Carbon Senior Specialist