Funding will help councils develop better designed walking and cycling schemes

Local councils are set to benefit from a £33 million Active Travel England backed fund which will enable them to develop thousands of local walking and cycling schemes, co-created by the communities that will use them.

The ‘capability fund’ will support local authorities to maximise active travel investment by enhancing their technical skills, creating a skilled active travel workforce able to collaborate effectively with local communities and conduct high-quality engagement and consultation. The fund could see hundreds of new jobs created across England.

Active Travel Minister Jesse Norman said, “Leaving the car and walking and cycling instead is an easy way to get fit, save money and reduce your carbon footprint. Better designed schemes, which take into account the views of local people will help deliver improvements that have widespread local support.

“Skills training and local community engagement will help local authorities to make active travel an attractive choice for getting around.

“Developing teams that lead active travel programmes will create more cost-effective and well-targeted projects. Local authorities will learn how to enhance their engagement with residents, businesses and other road users to ensure schemes are delivered with local support.

National Active Travel Commissioner, Chris Boardman, added, “If we want to enable hundreds of thousands more people to walk, wheel and cycle for everyday trips then we need to deliver high-quality schemes that make it feel easy, fun and safe.

“Delivering schemes that offer an attractive choice takes technical skill, local knowledge, and community involvement. Survey after survey has shown people want the choice to be able to use the car a bit less and would love their kids to have more transport independence, so we aim to ensure they are at the heart of creating the right solution for their area. 2023 is the year Active Travel England will start to make that happen.”

Living Streets’ Chief Executive, Stephen Edwards, said, “Our streets are used by everyone, so they should be designed with everyone in mind. The capability fund will boost the quality of our places and support people to choose cleaner and healthier ways to get around. We look forward to working with local authorities to increase walking and wheeling across the country.

Xavier Brice, Chief Executive Officer of Sustrans, said, “Sustrans is pleased to see this investment in training and community engagement which will ultimately lead to high-quality infrastructure developments across England that help people choose to use their cars less.

“This funding is crucial in ensuring that travelling actively is a safe and accessible option for all, particularly as we work towards the government’s goal of 50% of all journeys in towns and cities being walked or cycled by 2030.

“We’re looking forward to seeing ambitious plans being brought to life and continuing our work to support our local authorities in doing so.”