AN investment of £250,000 is set to be considered to make improvements to the Bridgewater Canal in the borough.

A project to improve 0.75 miles of walkway in the Bridgewater Way area in Astley as well as providing better access and signage will be discussed by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) this week.

It is part of the region's cycling and walking master plan which will see two other projects; Gidlow and Swinley in one investment and Trafford Road in Salford in the other- being put under the spotlight in the latest round of improvements.

If the plans in Astley go ahead, £37,000 will be pledged from Wigan Council and £25,000 from the Bridgewater Canal Company, with both investments included in the overall £250,000 figure.

Greater Manchester’s cycling and walking commissioner, Olympic gold medallist Chris Boardman MBE, said: “We’ve now got some fantastic schemes in the pipeline and we want to fast-track works as much as possible to kick-start Greater Manchester’s transformation into a cleaner and greener city-region.

“We know that all councils are now working on further schemes and I’d encourage people to keep in touch with their local authority to find out and feed in to what’s planned in their areas. In the New Year, we’ll be publishing the second draft of our network map that will reflect the thousands of comments we’ve had from local people.

"The map will then be used in collaboration with the districts to help us prioritise future schemes.”

If the three plans are approved it will bring the Mayor’s Cycling and Walking Challenge Fund up to £5.7 million with a further £15.1 million coming from council contributions.

The latest projects bring the total planned spend on cycling and walking across Greater Manchester to around £67 million.

A total of 24 confirmed projects so far will deliver 144 new and upgraded crossings and junctions as well as 26 miles of new cycling and walking routes.

This includes nine miles of Dutch-style cycle lanes that are separated from motor traffic.

Greater Manchester mayor and former Leigh MP Andy Burnham, said: “I’ve seen the difference that cycling and walking infrastructure makes to cities like Copenhagen and New York.

"This is about enhancing neighbourhoods so that they work for people, making trips on foot and by bike the most attractive and easy way to travel.

“Well done to all Greater Manchester councils on the schemes proposed so far and we look forward to many more being put forward in the New Year.”