Active Travel Fund Guidance note is issued by the Welsh Government and sets out procedures for managing street works, road works, and associated maintenance activities wherever they may impact walkers and cyclists. It provides supplementary guidance to the ‘Safety at street works and road works: a code of practice 2013’ (the Red Book) in anticipation of this being updated in the future. The Welsh Government’s aim is to dramatically increase the number of people walking and cycling for everyday journeys and managing street works, road works, and maintenance activities are key to facilitating this. People will only substitute walking or cycling for a car journey if the available route is safe, comfortable, coherent, and direct. Whilst cyclists and pedestrians should always be accommodated within the road and street works the significance of active travel routes is that they attract a wider range of users.
Eligibility
To be eligible for Active Travel Fund Guidance applicants must:
- The majority of the total funding available to deliver Active Travel schemes across Wales for 2023-24 will be available through the Active Travel Fund Grant Programme. This will comprise a proportion available to local authorities through the main scheme application process, a proportion to provide local authorities with core allocation funding, and a proportion to manage the fund and support the Welsh Government to enhance the implementation of the Active Travel Act. The core allocations available to local authorities are shown in Annex 1.
- All schemes must comply with the Active Travel (Wales) Act 2013 and its supporting Active Travel Act: guidance and forms, updated in 2021. Funding for active travel schemes will only be granted where the scheme design reflects the Active Travel Act Guidance.
- Schemes that include highway improvement, construction, or traffic management must show how they comply in particular with Section 9 of the Act (Provision for walkers and cyclists in the exercise of certain functions). This includes giving due consideration to the procedures for managing street works, road works, and associated maintenance activities wherever they may impact walkers and cyclists, as set out in 114/20 Supplementary Guidance for the Safety at Street Works and Road Work a Code of Practice 2013 published by the Welsh Government.
- You will also need to confirm that a scheme is part of an existing or future designated active travel route. Identified ATNM reference numbers should be indicated on the relevant application forms.
- When designing schemes, local authorities must also consider their responsibilities under Section 6 –The Biodiversity and Resilience of Ecosystems Duty under the Environment (Wales) Act 2016. The duty requires that public authorities must seek to maintain and enhance biodiversity so far as consistent with the proper exercise of their functions, and in so doing, promote the resilience of ecosystems. This is, for example, highly relevant to the treatment of verges and planting schemes as part of transport projects. Guidance on the Duty: Environment (Wales) Act 2016: factsheets | GOV.WALES
- Local authorities can work together on their applications. The lead local authority must be identified for each scheme. Funding would be allocated to the lead local authority.
- We will fund works and pre-works/scheme development for main capital schemes and the cost of scheme monitoring and evaluation, engagement and promotion should be included. Local authorities should ensure that adequate consideration is given to each of these elements and that further information is included later in this guidance note.
- Funding will be allocated up to the amount awarded for actual eligible expenditure incurred on an accepted scheme. Funding will be capped at the level of the award and the local authority will be required to carry the risk of any overspending that may occur. Where increased costs arise due to exceptional circumstances, outside the local authority’s control, Welsh Government may consider making additional funding available.
- Local Authorities will be expected to deliver the schemes accepted in accordance with their applications. Reports on progress will be required at intervals throughout the 2023/24 financial year and end-of-project information should be provided, either through the existing annual reports or project-specific reports, following completion of construction projects to identify the impact of the schemes as well as to capture any lessons learned. Further information will be included in the award letter.
- The final funding recommendations will also take into consideration the extent to which the local authority has delivered against its forecasts in relation to the Active Travel Fund grant in recent years.
- Welsh Government officials, Transport for Wales officers, or their representatives may request meetings or site visits to discuss scheme progress as considered appropriate. Failure to demonstrate appropriate progress with delivery may result in funding offers being withdrawn and funding claimed up to that point being recovered from a local authority.
- Where multiple applications are submitted, all schemes or packages of schemes should be ranked in number order of priority.
- Where multi-year schemes were given approval in 2021-22 or 2022-23, an application will be required to update the information provided previously. Please provide Transport for Wales officials with the scheme names of any continuation schemes as soon as possible, as they can assist this process with the pre-population of the online portal. This should highlight changes to scheme design, timeframes and the amount of grant required. Should the application vary considerably from that previously submitted, this will be appraised as if it was a new scheme and will not automatically attract funding.
Benefits
- Active Travel Fund Guidance Category 1 scheme indicative funding thresholds increased from £200,000 to £250,000.
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Application Process
- Local authorities will be expected to submit their applications via the Transport for Wales online portal.
- Further guidance and training on how to use the portal is available to local authority officers, for further information and assistance please contact TfW via email at: grants@tfw.wales
- Applications, including schemes seeking core allocation funding, must include a plan showing the scheme in as much detail as possible at the application stage and a map showing how the scheme fits within the wider active travel network to provide context. A grid reference to identify the location of the scheme must also be included on the application form.
- For all main scheme and scheme development applications, and for relevant core funding applications (e.g. where proposals will enhance or upgrade an existing route), local authorities should provide evidence to support their existing and future route audit scores in the form of completed assessments using the walking and cycling audit tools contained in the Active Travel Act Guidance. If no evidence is provided, this element of the scoring criteria will only be assessed as meeting the minimum audit requirements (70%-79%).
Supporting documentation must be provided as follows:
- maps and plans in respect of all applications (these maps and plans must clearly show the proposed measures). Core applications – a plan showing indicative locations will be sufficient. A good practice example is included in Annex 8.
- design drawings (preferably detailed design) including general arrangement drawings for all construction schemes, and for scheme development and core applications where relevant and available.
- evidence in support of stage gate progress for main schemes and scheme development proposals.
- other supporting information, which you feel is essential to the bid, must be kept to a minimum and be anonymized, where applicable.
The Active Travel Fund Guidance application requirements vary depending on whether a local authority is making applications for funding relating to main schemes, scheme development proposals, or other core allocation activities. These requirements are explained further in the following sections and summarised in Annex 7.
| Theme | : Travel |
| Applicant Country | : WorldWide |
| For more information | : Welsh Government |
