Bolton Council risks losing a portion of its share of a multimillion-pound government fund if it does not prove itself to be ‘willing and able’ to improve its performance.
The Active Travel Fund (ATF) was handed out to Greater Manchester by the Department for Transport in May 2020 to be spent on transport infrastructure – specifically for walkers and cyclists - by March 2023.
It was prescribed for the completion of 26 schemes across every local authority in the city region - nine of which are currently not being delivered.
The pandemic is part of the reason for some of these delays, but Bolton Council has been named as the least-productive local authority in Greater Manchester in its efforts to improve its walking and cycling networks.
The council was named and shamed in a report by the Greater Manchester Transport Committee at the end of summer.
The report says that a number of Greater Manchester local authorities have now fully committed their Mayor’s Challenge Fund (MCF) budget and have received approval for the schemes.
The MCF is a £160m pot specifically for the delivery of walking and cycling infrastructure.
Bolton Council says that it is developing and implementing Active Travel Schemes from a variety of funding sources, however, not just the MCF and ATF that are covered in the report.
A spokesman said: “Bolton Council has been ambitious in defining schemes that are borough wide and contain many components as opposed to focusing on individual junctions, for example, in isolation.
“These schemes have been subject to detailed consultation and design, have undergone a rigorous review process via the Combined Authority and have been continuously developed and refined throughout this period. As such it, has taken longer to secure approval to progress these schemes.”
Despite the council’s claims, the report adds those local authorities that are showing little progress may be considered a “reputational risk” to the region and could therefore have their funding reallocated to areas showing more intent if they are not "willing and able" themselves.
It goes on to state that delivery performance has been identified by Active Travel England as a “key metric when considering future funding”.
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Bolton Council was apportioned £7.6m from the MCF, of which they had only spent £763,430 at the time the report was published, and it was yet to have approval granted for any of its schemes.
Conversely, Wigan, who are leading the way for progress across all of Greater Manchester, was budgeted £19.8m and was reported to have spent £4.1m with £3.6 worth of schemes had been approved.
The Bolton Council spokesperson said: “Significant work is required to move these schemes through the Combined Authority’s gateway review process in order to ensure the scheme is technically sound, deliverable, and justifies investment, and we are on the verge of having our first MCF ‘Full Business Case’ approved for the Bolton Town Centre East Scheme which will deliver a network of high-quality pedestrian and cycling facilities.
“This scheme will connect with the Trinity Street Corridor Scheme that is almost complete on the ground, the ATF2 Manchester Road Corridor Scheme that is under construction, and will link into the Farnworth ‘Streets for All’ scheme which is being funded by the Future High Streets Fund, thereby creating a comprehensive and continuous network.”
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“This will be followed up with the Bolton Town Centre to Doffcocker scheme.”
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) says it is working with all local authorities to support the development and delivery of projects.
A TfGM spokesperson said: "We’re in the process of delivering one of the largest cycling and walking network in the UK - as part of the region’s Bee Network vision - connecting up Greater Manchester so that it is easy, safe and attractive for people to walk, cycle or wheel for everyday trips.
"This is a £1.5 billion ambition to create a network consisting of around 1,800 miles of routes and 2,400 new crossings connecting neighbourhoods, schools, high streets and public transport hubs in the city-region.
"There are a number of active travel projects currently being delivered in Bolton, at varying stages of development, to improve cycling and walking accessibility in the local area."
If you have a story or something you would like to highlight in the community, please email me at lewis.finney@newsquest.co.uk or DM me on Twitter @lewisfinney18
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