THE city council has been awarded more than £2million to continue making changes to transport systems such as the Covid cycle lanes introduced over the summer.

Brighton and Hove City Council will receive this sum on top of the £663,000 it was given from the Department for Transport’s Emergency Active Travel Fund in June following a successful application for funding.

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It has previously been stated that the funding boost could be used for projects such as a new bike lane along the seafront, between Brighton Palace Pier and Duke's Mound, as well as the extension of existing cycleways.

The first bout of funding was used to make major changes to the city's road systems such as the installation of temporary cycle lanes on the A259 and Old Shoreham Road.

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Footways and pavements were also widened in some areas of the city to allow for social distancing.

This phase has been called Tranche 1, whereas the new funding would be used to support Tranche 2.

Proposals for this second stage include an extension of the Old Shoreham Road cycle lane in Hove, the widening of the existing cycle lane on the A23 London Road from from Stanford Avenue to north of Church Hill, a new cycle lane on the A259 Marine Parade between the Palace Pier and Dukes Mound and the extension of the westbound segregated cycle lane on the A259 seafront road from Fourth Avenue, Hove, to the city’s western boundary.

Brighton and Hove City Council found out today that its application for additional funding from the Department for Transport had been successful and the authority will receive a further £2.367million to adapt transport systems in the city.

This is the largest amount granted to a unitary authority in the UK.

In September, the council's environment, transport and sustainability (ETS) met and agreed that, if the application was successful, a special meeting of the committee would be held to agree the measures being taken forward.

The authority also said that "meaningful consultations" will be held "so that residents, stakeholders and community groups could offer input into the process".

Amy Heley, chairwoman of the ETS committee, said: "I’m delighted that the government has approved the funding of new travel options in our city.

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"We’ve been awarded this money to support safe, inclusive and sustainable travel for the city and I would like to thank council officers for their hard work in putting together the funding application.

"We want everyone, of all ages and abilities, to access safe travel in Brighton and Hove.

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"By creating more transport choices for residents and visitors, we can also improve our health and wellbeing, reduce carbon emissions, improve air quality and support local businesses by making it possible for people to travel around the city in different ways.

"As we raised during the last meeting of the ETS committee, we will now be looking at next steps ahead of meaningful consultation with residents, equalities groups and local stakeholders on future plans, and I look forward to hearing their views on these important changes for our city."