Wiltshire Council is being urged to ‘become a truly cycle and walking friendly county’ due to the ‘unprecedented increase’ brought about by the pandemic.

At next week’s (Tuesday, July 22) Full Council meeting councillors Brian Mathew and Ross Henning will put forward a motion which asks Wiltshire Council to look beyond the current road reallocation projects.

The motion asks that future council policy and planning to will prioritise the needs of cyclists and pedestrians.

The councillors also call for an expansion the council’s ‘Bikeability’ programme to all age groups – from eight to 80 – or to develop a new scheme specifically for adults.

Its asks for Wiltshire Council to work with the parish and town councils to also consider installing ‘theft-resistant’ bike parking, reducing speed limits in residential areas, adopt auto speed cameras and cycle/ footpaths in pedestrian areas between the towns and villages.

Cllr Mathew and Cllr Henning believe that these proposals will attract more visitors to the county and reduce health and road maintenance costs, as well as aiding the county in reaching carbon neutrality by 2030.