DEVON County Council has been awarded a £2 million grant from Cycling England as it aims to become a “cycling county”.

The

funding from Cycling England's 'Finding New Solutions' initiative, will

help the county to promote leisure cycling and to investigate if this

encourages more people to cycle more regularly.

The County

Council is proposing to create cycling “hubs” across Devon which would

be easily accessible by various modes of transport, and would serve

local cycle networks. These centres include Exeter, Exmouth, Barnstaple

and Tavistock, and any increase in cycling trips would be monitored in

these locations. The project will also seek to establish what has

inspired people to cycle.

Devon County Council will be looking

to introduce people to cycling who may not otherwise consider taking to

two wheels, as well as making cycle hire more affordable for families,

and improving accessibility to routes for people with disabilities.

Cycle access to holiday parks and tourist accommodation will also be

improved to make it possible for visitors to cycle, as well as

exploring how to upgrade links to the railway network to encourage

people to take their bicycles on trains.

The funding will be

used to improve cycle routes and cycle facilities such as cycle route

signing, secure cycle parking and bike hire. A promotional campaign

highlighting leisure cycling routes in Devon will also be supported.

Councillor

Stuart Hughes, Devon County Council Cabinet Member for Highways and

Transportation, said: “This is an ambitious project but we’re fortunate

in Devon to already have hundreds of miles of family-friendly cycle

trails. We already have a sizeable investment in place to improve cycle

routes across Devon as part of our new cycling strategy, and this

additional funding not only recognises what we have already achieved

but will ensure we’re well placed to become a cycling county.”

The

funding adds to Devon County Council’s £25 million investment up to

2012 as part of a new cycling strategy to make Devon a premier

destination for cycling tourism.