Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of converting disused railway lines into traffic-free shared-use greenways; whether she plans to establish a national programme to support their development; and what funding is available to local authorities and community organisations to support the development of such routes.

The Government supports active travel and the reuse of former transport corridors where appropriate. Funding opportunities are available through active travel and local transport programmes, subject to eligibility criteria and business cases.

Local authorities are empowered to decide where investment is made in their areas. As such, it is for local authorities to consider whether disused railway lines in their areas would be suitable for active travel routes and to work with National Highways, in their role as custodians of the Historical Railways Estate, to assess the viability of any particular routes.

Best practice in the design of active travel routes away from the highway, including on disused rail corridors, is covered in ATE’s Rural Design Guide which was published this summer.