GLOUCESTERSHIRECounty Council has bid for £900,000 of Government cash to spend on new sustainable transport projects.

The Department for Transport (DfT) has announced the second phase of its Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF) for 2015/16, giving local authorities the chance to bid for a share of £78.5million.

The money would be used for revenue projects proposed for up to 2021, and the county’s bid includes a focus on working with local businesses to promote alternative transport.

This includes using Gloucestershire’s role in the Rugby World Cup 2015 to encourage travel during the event and after and helping local people back into work by removing transport barriers.

The county council expects to find out if its bid has been successful by the end of July.

Councillor Will Windsor-Clive, cabinet member for fire, planning and infrastructure, said: “We are committed to looking for new ways to improve transport links in the county and this money would help us to work with businesses to promote solutions that directly affect the local economy.

"We particularly want to use the county’s involvement in next year’s Rugby World Cup to support new sustainable transport schemes and, by doing so, encourage walking, cycling and public transport as a way of cutting congestion and carbon emissions.”

To view a copy of the bid visit gloucestershire.gov.uk/lstf.