Over the next three years the Department will invest:
* £2.84 million in Blackpool
* £2.4 million in Chester
* £1.8 million in Southport
The three towns have ambitious plans for cycling including in Blackpool new opportunities to cycle being created for residents and visitors. Chester will designate new cycling routes and double the number of cycling trips from four to eight per cent. Southport aims for an average of 15 per cent of high school pupils cycling to school.
Local partners will match the Department's contribution to create record levels of investment in cycling and help make it a more viable travel option.
The schemes will boost the numbers cycling to school and work as well as for pleasure.
The UK's first Cycling City was named as Bristol, with ambitious plans to double the number of people cycling. A further ten Cycling Demonstration Towns have also been confirmed who, along with Blackpool, Chester and Southport and the six existing towns, will receive funding of nearly £50 million in the run-up to 2011.
These towns are Blackpool, Cambridge, Chester, Colchester, Leighton/Linslade, Shrewsbury, Southend on Sea, Southport with Ainsdale, Stoke, Woking and York.
Earlier this year the Department for Transport invested an unprecedented £140 million in cycling. This included increasing the provision of Bikeability training to help half a million children cycle safely by 2012; create the UK's first-ever Cycling City and appoint further Cycling Demonstration Towns and build 250 new Safe Links to School.
