Active Travel England (ATE) has announced £626m of new support for walking, wheeling and cycling schemes, which was allocated to local councils in England based on the recently published ‘capability ratings'.

Split over four years from 2026/27 to 2029/30, the funding was initially announced in the spending review earlier this year and is estimated to be enough to deliver 500 miles of new and upgraded active travel routes, along with 170,000 ‘greener, more active trips' per day.

Local authorities are rated on a scale from 0 to 4 based on their capability to deliver schemes supporting active travel, with a focus on local leadership, plans and the authorities' delivery record.

Those authorities with higher capability ratings are set to receive more cash – such as West Midlands Combined Authority, which received the highest total award of £36m for the four years – with authorities scoring lower given less funding but also additional training and support to help them ‘boost their ability to deliver more ambitious schemes'.

ATE highlighted nine authorities for improving their capability scores compared to last year:

  • Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole
  • Cheshire East
  • Derbyshire
  • Gloucestershire
  • Milton Keynes
  • Nottinghamshire
  • Oxfordshire
  • South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority
  • West of England Combined Authority

However, Tees Valley Combined Authority was the only authority whose score decreased compared to 2024. Due to this, ATE plans to provide ‘targeted support' to help it improve its rating in the future.

National active travel commissioner, Chris Boardman, said: ‘Our innovative funding approach is proving effective, consistently raising the ability of local authorities to deliver the level of quality needed to achieve that ambition. This is evidenced by nine authorities improving their capability rating this year, showing what's possible when investment and levels of support are carefully tuned to local needs.'

Lilian Greenwood, local transport minister, added: ‘It is especially encouraging to see nine councils improve their capability rating this year, reflecting real progress and dedication across the country.'

The full list of local funding allocations can be found here.