Walking and cycling encouraged with cash injection
A cash boost to help councils encourage people to walk and cycle more has been announced.
A new quango Active Travel England will hand out £32.9m for local authorities to train staff in the design ‘active travel’ schemes.
This would create a ‘national network of experts to work with communities, enhance high streets and make places truly walkable and cyclable for everyone’.
Activities to be funded will include training for local authority officers and councillors, development of cycling and walking infrastructure plans and public consultation.
The ‘Capability and Ambition Fund 2022/23’ follows a similar Department for Transport Capability fund that distributed £30m across local authorities last year.
ATE said it will support local authorities across the country to train and retain local engineers and planners, ‘creating a skilled active travel workforce able to collaborate effectively with local communities and conduct high-quality engagement and consultation sessions’.
ATE commissioner Chris Boardman said: ‘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.’
