Consultations on new cycle lanes will soon be underway as Wiltshire Council receives over £600,000 for round two of the sustainable transport scheme.

The public will be asked for its views on five new proposed cycle schemes across the county in an online survey which will start next week, says the council.

The £681,000 received by the council, however, is over £200,000 less than the £908,000 the authority had bid for and the surveys will determine which schemes it will progress.

This funding comes as part of the Department for Transport’s (DfT) Emergency Travel Fund to create safe options for cyclists and pedestrians to get into towns without driving or using public transport.

The new cycle lanes proposed by the council are improvements to Lowden Hill, Chippenham to give a continuous route between bath Road and Lowden Hill, a permanent shared-use path on Downton Road, Salisbury, A Hilperton to Melksham (via Semington) route and a bike link between Chippenham and Corsham.

The survey will also seek views on making the controversial cycle lane on Bristol Road in Chippenham a permanent fixture and extending it out to Bumpers Farm.

Consultation over the already existing cycle lanes will also be taking place.

Cycle lanes under the scheme have already gone up across the county to mixed responses from cyclists, councillors and businesses.

Concerns were raised over the first lot of schemes, due to the lack of consultation undertaken by the council.

However, when developing the first lot of cycle paths, the council said it was told that changes needed to be made quickly and without the usual consultation.

Cllr Bridget Wayman, cabinet member for highways, said: “We want to find out people’s views on the next round of schemes, and also on the temporary cycle lanes that are already installed, so we are holding this online consultation, which will start next week.

“We will progress schemes based on the outcome of this consultation and further comments from the DfT, and we will also make a decision on the ones currently in place based on the feedback we receive.

“We’ll have more details on how people can respond to the online survey next week, and will promote it through our social media channels, on our website and in the local media.”