Chester Scoops Lotto

13 December 2007

Chester City Council is celebrating after the city scooped its share of lottery cash as part of a UK-wide project to create new cycling and walking routes was named winner of The People's £50 Million Lottery contest.

The bid known as Connect 2 and coordinated by the cycle organization Sustrans, won 42% of the 286,285 votes entered by members of the public for the competition and beat three other short-listed entries to win the £50 million prize - the biggest-ever UK Lottery grant awarded by public vote.

As part of the winning scheme, 79 communities will benefit from new walking and cycling routes which aim to improve local travel. The project involves building bridges, tunnels, crossings and networks of paths.

In Chester the project, which now has secured an estimated £1.25m from the lottery, is aimed at extending the current cycle network for everyone, with particular attention to the Greenway currently covering Upton, Newton and Blacon, including a plan to extend it to Guilden Sutton. Other projects under consideration are to link the Greenway and canal to Sealand Road and the Greyhound retail park as well as proposals to build and improve bridges across the River Dee.

Funding will be transferred to Sustrans for the scheme over the course of five years, starting in 2008. The Connect2 project will cost a total £140 million, of which £50 million will be lottery money, with the rest coming from other sources.

In a joint statement from all groups at Chester City Council, Council leader, Conservative Cllr Margaret Parker , Labour Group leader , Cllr John Price, and Liberal Democrat Group leader Cllr Paul Roberts said : “ This is fantastic news for Chester. To be part of an exciting national scheme that will improve people’s health and our local environment is a great achievement and we thank everyone who worked on , promoted and voted for Chester’s bid.”

Announcing the winner, Sir Clive Booth, chair of the Big Lottery Fund which distributes Lottery grant money, said the Sustrans project had won nearly half of all the votes cast.

"It really won hands-down. What did it was that public support was terrific," he said. "Given there were four projects, getting half the vote was a big achievement. I think it has captured people's imaginations because it is going to affect their lives right across the UK."

Speaking after the winning project was announced, Sustrans chief executive John Grimshaw said: "There are 79 towns and settlements which are just going to be changed, I think, out of all recognition. I think this is the start of our culture changing. This gives us all a chance to start again at a personal level and make our own contribution. I think it is hugely important."

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