Plans to introduce active travel in Cambridgeshire are on tenterhooks as the wait to see if government funding will be approved goes on.

The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CAPCA) Board voted to approve funding for walking and cycling infrastructure, subject to CAPCA’s bid being approved by Active Travel England (ATE).

Board members approved the funding on October 19 as the ATE, part of the Department for Transport, rated CAPCA’s bid for part of the government’s £30m Capability and Ambition Fund for 2022-23 as ‘good’.

“Approval means CAPCA and partners can be ready for a successful outcome and waste no time in getting projects off the ground within the 12-month timeframe stipulated by ATE,” said a CAPCA spokesperson.

The ‘Capability and Ambition Fund 2022-23' bid was submitted last month in partnership with Cambridgeshire County Council and Peterborough City Council.

ATE has now invited CAPCA to submit plans to the Capability and Ambition Fund of up to £823,637.

A further 25 per cent funding can also be awarded if ATE believe a local authority has submitted strong proposals.

CAPCA’s bid aims to develop local cycling and walking improvement plan priorities over one to 10-year periods in order to encourage more active travel to take place.

“The Combined Authority was rated level two (the range was between zero to four, four being high) when the majority of authorities were level one and none were classed as level four,” the CAPCA spokesperson said.

“The Fund enables ATE to focus investment on authorities with ambition and capability, whilst giving support for all committed authorities to boost capability to deliver high quality schemes.”

As well as £30m to support revenue projects, the second part of the fund includes £500m of grant funding to help capital and revenue schemes from 2022-23 to 2024-25.

A decision on whether ATE funding will be given to CAPCA is due at the end of this month, with funding issued by ATE in November.

A public consultation was carried out for both transport and active travel plans both in person and online over eight weeks in Cambridgeshire.

Councillor Neil Shailer, vice-chair of the county council’s highways and transport committee, said: “We want to put the health and wellbeing of our residents at the centre.”