Just over a year ago, local communities in Rochdale, Oldham, Middleton and Heywood voted in their thousands for Sustrans Connect2 to win the lottery vote to bring £50million from the Big Lottery Fund to 79 communities across the UK to create networks for everyday journeys for people travelling by foot and by bike - including Rochdale 's towpath.
Now, the £1.6million pound project to connect walkers and cyclists via a tranquil and pleasant green corridor running the length of the canal is a step closer as sustainable transport charity Sustrans and its Connect2 partner at Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council sign the paperwork that will guide the development for the coming years.
This agreement, a Memorandum of Understanding, confirms partners' continued commitment to the project and pledges £450,000 from Sustrans' Connect2 lottery award to complete the network of paths along the Rochdale canal and links into the community across the Borough.
More than 300,000 people live within a mile of the network, and when open, it will offer a pleasant waterside route along the canal, in contrast to the busy A627.
Howard Gott, at Rochdale Borough Council says: "We are delighted that
funding from the Big Lottery Fund is now in place to regenerate Rochdale 's canal for everyday journeys by foot and by bike. We anticipate that work will begin in summer 2010 and I look forward to the grand opening in summer 2012."
Peter Foster, Sustrans' regional director says "We are really excited about this new route to connect communities along the entire length of the borough. There's already an extensive walking and cycling network, but once open, this greenway will link them all up to offer people a more enjoyable way to get to where they need to go."
This scheme has been made possible through the enormous popular support for Sustrans' Connect2 - as voted for by the public in the UK 's largest lottery competition last December.
The anticipated cost of the Rochdale Towpath scheme is in excess of £1.6million, with £450,000 coming from the Big Lottery Fund as part of Sustrans Connect2.
The lottery award will join locally sourced match-funding to transform local travel in 79 communities throughout the UK - changing the lives of six million people who live within a mile of a scheme. Over the next five years, nearly £30 million a year will be invested in creating these local walking and cycling networks from Devon to Perthshire.
Source: Sustrans
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Rochdale 's canals to be refurbished for everyday journeys by foot and bike
