SOMERSET County Council is preparing a bid for £5million from the Government to help promote greener travelling around Bridgwater.

If the bid to the Government’s new flagship Local Sustainable Transport Fund is successful, it could be used to fund new cycle paths and walkways around Bridgwater, and promote car-sharing schemes, but it could not be used for infrastructure work like changes to major road junctions.

Over the next four years, £560million will be dished out nationally through the LSTF, but Bridgwater is the only town in Somerset in the running for funding, after the county council ruled out similar schemes in Taunton and Yeovil.

Bridgwater county councillor David Hall was the cabinet member who this month took the decision to go for the bid.

He said bid details were now urgently being put together to meet the April 18 deadline to have any chance of getting funding this year.

Cllr Hall told the Mercury: “Our bid will have to show how it will benefit the local economy, employment and training opportunities, and reduce carbon emissions.

“We will find out whether or not we have been successful at some point later this year.”

The Mercury will reveal more details about the bid in coming weeks - have your say by posting comments below.