CYCLISTS in Chippenham will soon be able to enjoy improved routes.

Funding from the Government’s Local Sustainable Transport Fund is allowing Wiltshire Council to widen footways to give more room to cyclists on parts of London Road, Wood Lane, Bristol Road and Hungerdown Lane.

Horace Prickett, Wiltshire Council’s portfolio holder for transport, said: “Cyclists will notice a big difference when they head out.

“Hopefully, the improvements will also encourage people who don’t normally do so to get on their bike and go out for a ride.”

The footway in London Road, between Habrels Close and Wood Lane, has already been widened to create a shared use path.

Work has started in Avenue La Fleche, between Little Englands and the Job Centre, to create a shared use path and upgrade a pedestrian crossing to a Toucan crossing.

The work, which also includes new dropped kerbs and a better connection to Wood Lane, is scheduled to finish by mid-February.

Roadworks in Hungerdown Lane, due to finish mid-March, include putting in a shared use path between Bath Road and Sheldon Road and improved crossings at those junctions.

Footways on both sides of Bristol Road, near Woodlands Road, will be widened, with the existing pedestrian crossing upgraded to a Toucan crossing. Work is due to start on February 16 and last for four weeks.

The council is encouraging people to read its code of conduct for shared use paths at www.connectingwiltshire.co.uk/shared-path-cycling