ECONOMY secretary Ken Skates announced £31.4 million of grants to local authorities across Wales for transport schemes to improve safety yesterday.

The grants comprise of four different funds: £20 million through the Local Transport Fund, nearly £4 million from the Road Safety Capital Grant, £5.5 million through the Safe Routes in Communities Grant and almost £2 million for road safety education and training programmes.

Mr Skates made the announcement at the site of the Active Northern Corridor in Newport, a £1.35m project to improve active travel routes that connect northern settlements and urban areas to the city centre.

The successful scheme, which started in 2015, will be extended and completed with Welsh Government investment of £1m.

He said: “I’m delighted with the range of schemes I’ve been able to announce and commend the high quality of applications we received across these grants.

“It’s also very pleasing that a number of these projects feed directly into some of our key transport priorities such as North East and South Wales Metros, improved local bus services and better choices for communities.

“I’m confident that this substantial investment will help have a similar effect on our communities and look forward to communities benefitting at the earliest opportunity.”

The £20m Local Transport Fund will see communities from across Wales benefit from 46 schemes across 20 local authorities, whilst the Road Safety Capital Grant will enable the delivery of 31 road casualty reduction schemes in 16 local authorities.

The schemes target the locations and routes across Wales with the highest casualty and collision figures and support our road casualty reduction targets.

The Safe Routes in Communities Grant makes an investment of over £5.5m in 32 schemes that will make a big difference to pupils’ journeys to school by improving walking and cycling routes to schools in 19 local authorities. The grant supports the work that is being done in schools across Wales to encourage more children to walk and cycle to school.

In addition, funding of nearly £2 million will be made available to all local authorities for road safety education and training programmes for, in particular, high risk and vulnerable groups such as children, young people, older drivers and motorcyclists.