Derby City Council commissioned a study (by Amion) on the benefits of the Derby to Matlock Derwent Valley Cycleway which concludes that investment in the cycleway would provide “Very High” 4.8:1 benefits from any investment. The majority of the returns would be from the impact of the cycleway on commuting journey quality although there would also be other economic benefits from health improvements and employment. The study uses modelling approaches as recommended by the DfT.
The full study can be downloaded here. This includes the conclusion that “… represents “Very High” value for money, and fits well with recently-approved D2N2 cycling projects.”
Derbyshire County Council are currently reviewing their proposed key cycle network and deciding on priorities for investment. This report is a very powerful argument for including the Derwent Valley Cycleway as a high priority project within this plan.