A further £500,000 of Welsh Government funding has been allocated for a new bridge for walkers and cyclists in Newtown.

The Newtown Bridge (third crossing) will be a 60-metre span bridge that will link the north and south sides of the River Severn, near to Poundstretcher on Pool Road, joining up with the cycle path on the riverside on Canal Road.

The Welsh Government announced last week that the new footbridge is set to receive a £500,000 boost as part of its Active Travel Fund.

The £1 million project was due for completion in 2020. Drop-in events about the design style and name for the bridge were held in 2018.

Llandrindod Tremont Active Travel will get £433,367 from the fund, and the Welshpool Active Travel is also set to benefit from £25,000. A further £355,000 will go towards other projects in Powys.

In addition, pupils using a route between Builth Wells and Llanelwedd will be helped to get to school through a Safe Routes in Communities grant worth £50,000.

The A4215 Libanus to Defynnog will also receive £20,000 for road improvements.

Lee Waters, Deputy Minister for Economy and Transport, said: “Over the past five years we’ve been able to dramatically increase the amount we spend on active travel, and this shows our commitment to taking forward the vision we outlined in our new transport strategy.

“Before the establishment of the dedicated Active Travel Fund, active travel projects not focused on schools had to compete for general local transport grant funding, without a set budget. The Active Travel Fund has grown since 2018 from its initial £10 million to £70 million for 2021/22.

“Continuing our funding to create safe routes to schools is particularly important as we know that embedding healthy travel habits early leads to lasting benefits.

“Our investment will lead to better connected towns and cities and contributes to efforts to tackle the climate emergency, cut congestion, improve public health and clean up our air quality.”