Southport Wins Cycling Bid

Southport has won its ambitious £5 million bid to become an official Cycling Town.

The announcement has been greeted with delight by councillors and officers at Sefton Council and marks the culmination of months of hard work and planning.

More than 70 towns and cities staked a claim for a share of £47 million in Government cash from Cycling England. Southport, and neighbouring Ainsdale, are among just 10 towns and one city to be named among the winning bidders.

Last month a high-profile Sefton delegation presented an overwhelming case to judges in Birmingham which included a special DVD outlining the ambitious plans for Southport.

Cycling England will now pledge around £2 million for Southport over three years which will be matched by funding from other sources.

The investment will allow Sefton to work with developers and other partners such as Sefton PCT to create an environment where visitors and residents instinctively travel around the resort by bike.

A select number of new high quality cycle routes will be created, providing access to the town centre, seafront, and the key development sites to the east of the town. Road space will also be re-allocated on some routes to provide an infrastructure where families and novice cyclists feel confident to travel around the resort by bike

There will also be concentrated publicity and marketing campaign to support an expanded programme of cycle training which will include every high school in the Southport area. This will build on the successful TravelWise programme running in Merseyside.

Cllr John Fairclough, Sefton's Cabinet Member for Technical Services, said: "This is absolutely fantastic news for Southport and Ainsdale - and the thousands of residents and visitors who are set to benefit.

"Southport really is a town on the up and this funding will ensure that cycling plays a major part in new developments such as the regeneration of the former Pleasureland site, the expansion of KGV college, Southport Business Park and proposed housing developments in the east of the town.

"The Southport area is very flat and blessed with a wonderful coastline which makes it absolutely perfect for cycling.

"Cycling also plays a vital part in the Merseyside Local Transport Plan and this funding will allow us to build on the excellent work that is already underway.

"Over the coming months and years we will be working on exciting events and proposals to help more and more people choose cycling as a safe, clean and healthy way to travel around this fantastic part of Sefton."

To find out more about how funding will be spent, watch Sefton's successful cycling bid video at www.sefton.gov.uk/news