Wellingborough and Rushden area walking and cycling routes on Executive agenda
Walking and cycling06 March 2025
Next week’s meeting of North Northamptonshire Council’s Executive will receive an update on the Wellingborough and Rushden Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) following a consultation in Autumn 2024.
Results of the consultation showed 74% of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed with the LCWIP’s proposals and members will now be asked to approve the draft plan.
The draft Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan covers 31 specific walking and cycling routes across Wellingborough, Rushden, Higham Ferrers, Raunds, Irthlingborough, Finedon and surrounding villages.
If the report is approved by Executive, work will be able to start on developing preliminary designs and proposals for prioritised routes. These preliminary designs will form the basis of future bids for capital funding from the Government’s Active Travel Fund or other suitable funding sources.
When funding does become available for any of the schemes identified within the LCWIP to be progressed, then a thorough and systematic process would still need to be gone through. This examines the feasibility and viability of schemes and the views of stakeholders and the public are taken into consideration at various stages during the process.
The work on LCWIPs has also been developed considering the North Northamptonshire Greenway strategy - a rural strategic LCWIP which connects North Northamptonshire’s key settlements.
LCWIPs provide a strategic approach to identifying cycling and walking improvements at a local level, enabling a long-term approach to developing networks for the next ten years. They also form a vital part of the government’s strategy to increase the number of journeys made on foot or by cycle.
The Wellingborough and Rushden Area LCWIP has been developed to enable North Northamptonshire Council to:
- Identify prioritised cycling and walking infrastructure improvements for future investment
- Ensure that consideration is given to cycling and walking within both local planning and development and transport policies and strategies, and
- Make the case for future funding for walking and cycling infrastructure.
The Wellingborough and Rushden LCWIP is the last in a series of LCWIPs to go through formal approval, following on from approval of the Kettering LCWIP in 2023 and the Corby LCWIP in 2024.
The draft LCWIP for the Wellingborough and Rushden area provides a detailed analysis of current walking and cycling options. It identifies a network of routes and improvements that will enable NNC to prioritise sustainable transport infrastructure best suited for the towns and make a strong case for future funding.Cllr Macaulay Nichol, the council’s Executive Member for Highways, Travel and Assets.
If the draft plan is approved, work can start on developing preliminary designs and further consultation will be held before implementation of the proposed routes. The comments and feedback we have received so far has been very positive, with strong support for the proposed routes in the Wellingborough and Rushden area, and the surrounding villages.
Promoting sustainable and active travel for residents across the whole of North Northamptonshire is a priority for us. By creating safe and accessible infrastructure for walking, cycling, and wheeling, we're not just reducing pollution, we're also empowering residents to embrace healthier lifestyles.Jason Smithers, Leader of the Council
The LCWIP for Wellingborough and Rushden is a crucial part of our broader initiative for North Northamptonshire and I’m pleased to see it moving forward alongside others in development.
We are now in a position to take another step forward and discuss it at next week’s meeting.
If the report is approved by Executive, a final version of the Wellingborough and Rushden LCWIP will be published on the NNC website.
North Northamptonshire Council’s Executive will meet on Thursday 13 March at 10am at the Cube and all the papers are now online. The meeting will be live streamed on YouTube.