DEVON County Council has welcomed a funding award of more than £10million announced by Active Travel England.

The council will receive £13.3million over four years from April.

The funding needs to be spent on developing and constructing facilities for walking and cycling, as well as network planning and Bikeability cycle training.

Responsibility for the transport capital programme for the coming financial year (2026/27) will transfer from Devon County Council to the Devon and Torbay Combined County Authority (DTCCA), which will assume the role of transport authority for the area from April 2026.

Upcoming active travel plans making use of these funds will form part of a capital programme report planned for the DTCCA Board meeting in March.

The DTCCA will decide what schemes the funding is allocated to, based upon projects identified in adopted Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans covering the county, as well as supporting local pedestrian accessibility improvements.

Councillor Jacqi Hodgson, Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Biodiversity, said: ‘This funding commitment from Active Travel England is very welcome.

‘As it covers the next four years it provides certainty of funding over a longer period, which will enable these really important infrastructure projects to be planned and delivered more effectively, opening up more opportunities for safer walking and cycling throughout the county’.