Monmouthshire County Council has been awarded up to £8.2 million in transport funding to deliver a variety of projects across the county -including the long awaited footbridge and links between Abergavenny and Llanfoist - but has stressed the cash cannot be used to improve the state of its roads

“The funding includes contributions from the Welsh Government's Active Travel Fund, Local Transport Fund, Resilient Roads Fund, Road Safety Capital and Revenue and Safe Routes in Communities and is allocated on a project-by-project basis and cannot be used for the general maintenance of our highways network,” said a council spokesman.

The cash boost will allow Monmouthshire County Council to continue implementing its transport projects across the county which aim to enhance access, safety and promote sustainable transport. Projects have been awarded funding from the following transport grants;

The Active Travel Fund has provided the majority of the funding with a total award of £6.5 million, most notably for the Abergavenny to Llanfoist project.

Monmouthshire County Council's Active Travel strategic focus concentrates on making active travel the first natural choice for local journeys through improving walking and wheeling infrastructure to key destinations within communities.

Monmouthshire County Council's Cabinet Member for Climate Change and the Environment, Cllr Catrin Maby, said: “It is encouraging to have agreed funding for so many transport projects across Monmouthshire. Each one will help to make transport more efficient for communities in all corners of the county. I look forward to seeing work get under way.”

Monmouthshire County Council's Cabinet Member for Rural Affairs, Housing & Tourism, Cllr Sara Burch, said: "It is pleasing to see the level of support continued for Active Travel here in Monmouthshire and in particular the Llanfoist to Abergavenny active travel scheme. We know how important this scheme is to provide safe connections within the community, and I look forward to providing more information on next steps in due course".

Active travel fund

Core funding of £500,000, plus: £6 million for Abergavenny bridge and links

Local transport fund £700,000 for bus infrastructure improvements

Resilient roads fund £494,000 for A41136 Staunton Road stabilisation

Road safety

£258,000 for A4136 Staunton Road collision reduction scheme £212,000 for B4235 Chepstow to Mynydd Bach collision reduction scheme £44,400 for Child Pedestrian Training £37,000 for implementation of 20mph speed limit £6,000 for National Standards Cycle Training £4,500 for under-7s active travel and road safety workshops £2,000 for Mature Driver training for ages 65 and over

Safe routes in communities £338,000 for Kingwood Gate to Williamsfield Lane route link