A total of £94m will be spent on improving existing cycle routes and adding new ones, with Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, Newcastle, Bristol, Cambridge, Oxford and Norwich sharing £77m and four national parks getting a further £17m. Local contributions will see total new funding for cycling stand at £148m between now and 2015.

The Government has also committed to cut red tape in order to encourage more cycle-friendly road design.

Prime Minister David Cameron said: ‘Following our success in the Olympics, the Paralympics and the Tour de France, British cycling is riding high – now we want to see cycling soar.

‘This government wants to make it easier and safer for people who already cycle as well as encouraging far more people to take it up and business, local government, developers, road users and the transport sector all have a role to play in helping to achieve this.’