Nine miles of green space are in the pipeline for the pedal-powered makeover if sustainable transport charity Sustrans wins the People's £50m Lottery contest being run by the Big Lottery Fund.

The urban lung would connect Rothwell Country Park to Temple Newsam, Roundhay Park and Harewood House avoiding congested, polluted roads.

Sustrans' connect2 project has been shortlisted for the award, and now depends on the public vote if it is to win the sought-after funding.

Other green charities competing include the Black Country Urban Park; The Eden Project in Cornwall and Sherwood Forest in Nottingham.

The winner of the £50m Big Lottery Fund grant will be decided in a public vote in early December.

It will be the biggest Lottery grant yet awarded by public vote in the UK.

Sustrans wants funding for 79 cycle schemes which would be developed across the country. A further 20 schemes have been drawn up in reserve.

The Leeds scheme is currently on the reserve list, but John Grimshaw, chief executive of Sustrans, insisted it was at the top in terms of readiness.

And Mr Grimshaw added that it was "likely" to make it on to the final list as some schemes would run into unforeseen difficulties.

The ribbons of cycle lanes will link pockets of green space, schools and city parks.

He said about the Rothwell Country Park route: "It's a very, very exciting scheme, and one that I have cycled a couple of times.

"It is a reserve scheme because things didn't come together in time, but it is right at the top of the reserve list – we know some are bound to drop out."

If Sustrans wins, an isolated railway path in North Yorkshire will also be opened up to connect Harrogate with Ripley village. The proposed four-mile route will take in Nidd Gorge and the listed Nidd viaduct.

A coastal cycle path in Bridlington and an urban route for schoolchildren in Bradford are also planned for the region.

Voting will happen online at www.thepeoples50million.org.uk and by phone following the TV awards show due on ITV1.