The spending will be confirmed at a dedicated cycling summit hosted by Clegg in Bristol and with Chris Boardman.

The investment will include:

• £114m to secure funding to support the Cycling Ambition Cities Programme for the next 3 years (Bristol, Birmingham, Cambridge, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle, Norwich and Oxford) accelerate their development of local cycling networks, increase protection for cyclists at junctions and traffic hot spots and help prevent accidents
• £100m investment over the next years to improve the conditions for cyclists and walkers travelling alongside and crossing Britain’s most important and busiest roads

Clegg said: “I want to bring cycling down from the Alps and onto British streets.

“I’m committed to helping our dream of becoming a cycling nation, similar to places like Denmark and the Netherlands, become a reality.

“In government, we’re putting the money down: now we need the public and local authorities to jump on their bikes and get us to the finish line.”

Olympic gold medallist Chris Boardman said: “The new funds are fantastic for the 8 cycling cities – giving them more security to plan for the next three years and I thoroughly welcome the announcement.”