HomeProjectsActive Travel Fund (ATF)

Active Travel Fund (ATF)

Recognising the importance of walking and cycling during the pandemic, the Government announced the Active Travel Fund in May 2020, which is being delivered in multiple tranches.

Project details

Portfolio: Transport

Area: County Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside, Sunderland

Funding amount: £29m

Funder: Active Travel Fund, Department for Transport

Project status: In progress

Delivery partner: Seven local authorities in the North East

Key contact: Transport Directorate

Key contact email: enquiries@northeastca.gov.uk

Page last updated 25-04-2024

Supported by

The objectives of the fund are to provide more space to pedestrians and cyclists, mainly through the reallocation of road space through a mixture of temporary and permanent schemes.

The schemes installed enable social distancing to be maintained, make walking and cycling safer, more comfortable, and more viable methods of travel, as well as encouraging people to maintain these habits over the longer term.

Active Travel Fund 4 and 4E

In 2023/24 the North East has received £12.3m in government funding from the fourth and extension round of the Active Travel Fund to invest in the region’s walking, wheeling and cycling network.

A total of seven capital and two revenue schemes have been awarded funding across Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside, South Tyneside and Sunderland. Delivery of these schemes aligns with the objectives of the North East Transport Plan and delivery is commencing following detailed design, consultation and design assurance in earnest. 

Capability Funding

The Go Smarter, Go Active campaign is an active travel campaign that has been created to help more people walk and cycle in the region as it bounces back from the impact of the pandemic. Its purpose is to inspire and instil confidence in the people of the North East to travel more actively and sustainably, so that carbon emissions are reduced and people can lead healthier lives- two of the North East Transport Plan’s key aims.. This is supported by the Active Travel Capability Fund. 

New resources were recently launched to help people make smarter, active travel choices using our well-developed and region-wide cycling and walking network. The resources include:

  • A new interactive cycling and walking map of the region to help people plan more sustainable journeys for leisure or work purposes. PDF maps showing cycling and walking routes in the North East are also available.
  • 16 new active travel itineraries, providing inspiration for fun days out across the North East that can be explored on foot or by bike.
  • Events and activities across the region. 

Follow the Go Smarter, Go Active social media accounts to keep up with campaign activity and for daily active travel inspiration:

Facebook: @gosmartergoactive
Twitter:  @Go_smarterNE
Instagram: @gosmartergoactive
YouTube: Go Smarter, Go Active

Tranche 3

In March 2021, the North East received £17.9m in funding from Tranche 3 of the Active Travel Fund to invest in the region’s walking and cycling network – the largest allocation in the country. The multi-million pound funding boost will create new enhanced cycling and walking infrastructure, making it easier and safer for more people across the region to choose active, low carbon transport options when they are able to.

A total of nine schemes have been awarded funding across Newcastle, North Tyneside, Sunderland and Northumberland. Delivery of these schemes aligns with the objectives of the North East Transport Plan, which was adopted region-wide in 2021. Of the nine schemes awarded funding in the North East, four were funded in Newcastle (£7,700,000), one in North Tyneside (£3,500,000), two in Northumberland (£3,462,244) and two in Sunderland (£3,267,000).

Tranche 2

In November 2020, the Secretary of State for Transport confirmed that the region is to be awarded £9.049m for Active Travel Fund Tranche 2 measures, in response to our ambitious bid submitted in August 2020. A programme of schemes across the North East has been prepared that will make use of this allocation. The schemes in our programme will build on the success of our Tranche 1 schemes and provide permanent reallocation of road space to pedestrians and cyclists, continuing to make it safer and easier for people to get around our region on foot or by bike. 

Tranche 1 emergency measures

Working with the seven North East local authorities and Nexus, Transport North East submitted a successful bid for short-term temporary measures to encourage more cycling and walking across the region. We received £2.2m that enabled ‘pop up’ cycling and walking infrastructure measures to be installed across the region over a period of up to twelve weeks.

The aims of the new schemes were to:

  • make it easier for people to get around on foot or by bike;
  • enable cyclists and pedestrians to observe social distancing, keeping two metres apart while travelling
  • free up space on public transport, ensuring people who need to use it for essential journeys can;
  • boost confidence by improving safety for all by segregating cyclists away from road traffic;
  • support the economic recovery of our towns and cities by improving mobility and making them more accessible to people on foot and bikes;
  • make it easier for people to maintain social distancing whilst queuing outside shops and other leisure facilities – without interrupting the flow of pedestrians and cyclists.