An action plan is to be created to encourage more walking and cycling on the Shotley peninsula as part of wide district campaign, which will include a costed list of priority routes.

Babergh sustainable travel action plan at their full council meeting this week, in an attempt to continue the shift towards more cycling caused by the coronavirus lockdown.

Councillors said they hoped the plan, which will be reassessed every three years, will help encourage more people on to their bikes or walking, as well as promote public transport instead of cars.

As part of that work, a fully-costed list of proposed priority cycle routes is to be drawn up, sustainable transport will become an automatic consideration for future planning applications and a review of the way developer contributions can be distributed will be carried out to ensure cycle routes get a good enough share.

Greens councillor Leigh Jamieson at Babergh, who put forward the original motion, said: "We need to take our active travel responsibilities seriously," and added that it would "ensure there is a permanent shift in the number of people choosing to cycle or walk".

Ganges ward member Derek Davis second the motion, which was also supported by peninsula councillors Jane Gould, Mary Mclaren and Alastair McCraw.

"We know people will sill have to use their vehicle," said Cllr Davis, who is also cabinet member for communities. "But the more we can encourage to walk, use bikes, or e-cycles the better. A huge thing to encourage them off the road is to ensure we have safe cycling and routes and this action plan will pave the way for funding and a clear direction in where these routes can go."

Councillors said it would help address carbon levels and pollution from vehicles, boost health and wellbeing for people cycling or walking, and reduce congestion in key towns like Hadleigh and Sudbury and improve connectivity on the Shotley peninsula.

The councils will work alongside Suffolk County Council on the plan, which had formed a cycling task group last year which earlier this year established a priority list of 148 routes countywide for cycling improvements.