Mayor of Blyth Warren Taylor encourages town to have its say on North East Active Travel Strategy

Public consultations on the strategy, which so far includes £500m worth of as-yet-unfunded plans to improve active travel infrastructure in the North East, began earlier this month.

Mayor Warren Taylor wants Blyth residents to give their thoughts on the strategy, having seen the benefits of active travel by frequently cycling to work at the council offices and walking to events and meetings in the town.

He said: “Although this is a region wide scheme, I would urge Byth residents to have their say.

“Blyth will soon have a new rail network but that connection still needs to be accessible for people living in other parts of the town too.

“We already have a good cycle network but it can be improved and we need your ideas."

The Northumberland Line is due to open in early 2024, running from Newcastle to Ashington via Blyth.

Mr Taylor added: “We have pedestrianised some of our town centre streets but we would like to know if other schemes are possible to help people walk rather than use the car.

“There are so many benefits to using ‘people power’ to get from A to B like reducing carbon emissions, making people healthier, and improving air quality and noise levels.

“Add to this the savings in fuel and it all adds up to a strategy that can only benefit the area and Blyth too.”