A further £4.761 million has been secured by the county council to help support cycling schemes across Warwickshire.

The funding, from Active Travel England, comes from the Active Travel Fund 4 which aims to support active travel fro everyday trips.

Warwickshire County Council says the grant will help make the first two sections of the K2L cycleway a reality.

£961,000 has been secured for sections 1a (Leamington Town Centre to edge of town) and 1b (edge to town to Blackdown).

Construction of the first part of the route began in January but the council is yet to finish most of the design.

With the budget approved in 2020, the 5km cycleway was given the green light fully by councillors in January 2021.

The project - which could take another four years to complete - will also see a new pedestrian and cycle bridge built over the River Avon near Chesford Grange.

Cllr Jan Matecki, portfolio holder for transport and planning, said: "We are absolutely delighted to have secured this funding towards the cost of delivering these three key inter-urban strategic active travel schemes in Warwickshire. 

"As a council, we have ambitious plans to extend the reach and quality of our cycling network so that cycling can be the go-to travel choice, particularly for short urban journeys, and this is perfectly complimented by this huge funding boost for three of our key schemes, including our flagship Kenilworth to Leamington Project."

The rest of the funding will see £1.15 million spent on a 2.2km route along the A47 Hinckley Road in Nuneaton, and £2.5 million for routes between Leamington and Rugby.

Edward Healey, senior technical network development manager (Midlands and East) at Sustrans, said: "The news about additional funding for active travel in Warwickshire is very exciting, especially for the Lias Line.

"Over the last few years, we've already transformed 4.2km of disused railway into Warwickshire's longest greenway as part of our Paths for Everyone programme.

"So, we welcome any additional investment to complete the next section of this off-road greenway route between Leamington Spa and Rugby. And we're looking forward to working closely with our partners to improve the National Cycle Network in Warwickshire for the benefit of local people."