£4.86m cash boost for walking, wheeling and cycling with Doncaster allocated £1m for a cycle route

£3.36 million of £3.9 million worth of schemes asked for from the Active Travel Fund 4 Extension funding has been secured which will transform walking, wheeling and cycling routes in the region.

Nearly £1 million from the Capability Fund has been allocated for South Yorkshire for bike hire, training and maintenance schemes, with SYMCA securing nearly double what it got last year. The aim of the Fund is to support the development of infrastructure plans and community engagement and training initiatives.

Half a million has also been allocated to help South Yorkshire become a national leader in its e-bikes offer to residents with a pilot for a free e-cycle loan scheme. SYMCA is one of only a handful of authorities in England to receive this funding.

This funding has provided a welcome boost to the region in support of its plans to ease congestion, transform the school run, create healthier communities and better places.

South Yorkshire’s Mayor, Oliver Coppard, said: “Getting people in South Yorkshire moving more and moving differently is key to my ambitions for improving our region’s health, wellbeing and happiness.

“Today, we took a big step toward that ambition. Last year we applied for Active Travel England funding but got much less than we hoped for. That was a fair reflection of where we were on our journey.

“We have now been given £3.36 million for improvements to walking, wheeling and cycling across South Yorkshire, nearly £1 million to invest in bike hire, training and maintenance and half a million to run an e-bike loan scheme, helping people in the region to get around more.

“That is recognition of how far we’ve come, but also a signal of support for our huge ambition; an ambition not just to give everyone freedom and choice about how they travel and move, but to make South Yorkshire the healthiest region in the country.

“If we are going to give people the freedom and choice to move more and move differently, we need the funding to improve not just infrastructure but offer the training, skills and support for people who want to make that change for themselves.”

South Yorkshire’s Active Travel Commissioner, Ed Clancy, said: “It’s my priority to make sure that everyone who wants to walk, wheel and cycle feels confident and safe enough to do so. I want to break down the barriers that are limiting people using healthier travel choices.

South Yorkshire’s winning schemes will improve the walking environment in Burngreave, Sheffield, deliver a new segregated cycle route on Bawtry Road in Doncaster at a cost of £1,074,629, and improve walking, wheeling and cycling routes to schools in Athersley and Bolton Upon Dearne in Barnsley.

Doncaster’s allocation will also provide two new crossings and upgrade a number of junctions to make it easier to walk and wheel to be committed by March 2025.

SYMCA is working with Active Travel England (ATE) in order for local ambitions to be realised in further rounds of funding.