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£2 million from Local Sustainable Transport Fund for nine projects across England

Schemes in Tyne & Wear and West Yorkshire take three quarters of the money between them

The Department for Transport (DfT) has announced details of nine schemes across England that will share nearly £2 million in cash from the Local Sustainable Transport Fund (LSTF). More than three quarters of it will be spent on projects in two local authority areas – Tyne & Wear, and West Yorkshire.

In Tyne & Wear, more than £600,000 goes towards a scheme to encourage families to switch to two wheels to take children to school, while in West Yorkshire, a similar amount will be spent on an ongoing initiative to help jobseekers access employment opportunities, including by bike and by public transport.

The successful bids are the first to be announced for 2015/16, but as we reported last December, the funding for that period is much less than that seen in previous years, with the total amount available £78.5 million, around half the £600 million aggregate amount from 2011-15.

For 2015/16, the maximum sum of any individual bid has also been slashed, standing at £1 million plus match funding at local level, while some previous schemes have received £20 million or more.

The LSTF was created in 2010 after the Coalition Government was formed and followed the abolition of Cycling England, which among other activities had co-ordinated funding for cycling demonstration towns and cities including Bristol, Cambridge, Darlington and York.

Here are details of the latest schemes that will receive funding, together with a description provided by the DfT. In addition to the sums stated, the projects will also receive local match funding totalling £1.6 million.

• Tyne and Wear: £609,000 for a scheme encouraging families to use push bikes for the school run and £295,000 to make cycling, walking and using public transport more appealing and simpler on the A1 Western Bypass corridor - this project aims to help more people looking for work to access prospective employment

• West Yorkshire: £590,000 towards a project that will help jobseekers access work

• Worcestershire: £110,000 to build on a previous successful scheme, making it easier to get about on foot and by bike in Redditch

• York city: £100,000 to continue a successful programme of helping households access more sustainable transport

• Warwickshire: £92,000 for a scheme to encourage more residents and tourists in Stratford-upon-Avon to make use of bikes and the town’s cycle facilities

• Staffordshire: £85,000 towards a scheme helping people access jobs, training and services

• Southend-on-Sea: £80,000 to encourage people to walk, cycle and use more public transport

• Luton: £75,000 to improve facilities for those walking, cycling and using public transport.

Announcing the funding on Thursday, transport minister Baroness Kramer said: “These successful schemes have changed how people travel, with communities now making healthier and greener choices.

“Dozens of great projects have been delivered already under this fund and I’m glad we’ve been able to support more today.”

The cash going to West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA), which came into being at the start of this month, extends the existing JobCentre Plus and go:cycling schemes in the area.

Already, 3,000 people have received free bus tickets to attend interviews, while 6,000 have benefited from being given a MetroCard in their first month in a job, reports the Telegraph & Argus.

Councillor Peter Box, chairman of WYCA, said: “While the new Combined Authority is primarily about the public and private sectors helping the economy to grow and creating jobs, it is also about making sure we develop the transport network that links people with those jobs. Connecting people with job opportunities is vital.”

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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10 comments

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Condor flyer | 9 years ago
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£2m is peanuts, when spread so thinly. How far will Tyne and Wear's share of £600,000 go when the going rate for
building one kilometre of cycle lane is £800,000?

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monty dog | 9 years ago
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£75k for a cycling 'project' just about cover the cost of someone to sit in a council office to come-up with an idea, consult with colleagues in a planning department and then issue an invitation to tenders to paint some white lines - this isn't investment, it's keeping a paper-pusher busy for a while.

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gazza_d | 9 years ago
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They are spending £60 Million on upgrading the A1 western bypass for non-sustainable transport i.e. Cars yet only spending £300K on promoting sustainable alternatives and making cycling and walking easier and simpler.

May I suggest that their heart's not in sustainable transport?

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Stumps | 9 years ago
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They are having a laugh aren't they ?

The A1 Western bypass corridor includes some of the worst places in Newcastle to live. I've worked there before and in some places its just wall to wall scum who would be more likely to pinch your bike than ride one to school etc.

Dont get me wrong there are some really nice people along that route but its the usual local govt plan to pump money into deprived areas in the hope that the leopard changes its spots.

The money could be better spent in my honest opinion.

Avatar
Initialised replied to Stumps | 9 years ago
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stumps wrote:

They are having a laugh aren't they ?

The A1 Western bypass corridor includes some of the worst places in Newcastle to live. I've worked there before and in some places its just wall to wall scum who would be more likely to pinch your bike than ride one to school etc.

Dont get me wrong there are some really nice people along that route but its the usual local govt plan to pump money into deprived areas in the hope that the leopard changes its spots.

The money could be better spent in my honest opinion.

I disagree, I use the routes they are talking about for access to Team Valley and improving (straightening and removing crossing points) it could reduce car traffic to the valley but it only gets busy round there when theA1 clogs up.

Avatar
paulfg42 replied to Stumps | 9 years ago
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stumps wrote:

They are having a laugh aren't they ?

The A1 Western bypass corridor includes some of the worst places in Newcastle to live. I've worked there before and in some places its just wall to wall scum who would be more likely to pinch your bike than ride one to school etc.

Dont get me wrong there are some really nice people along that route but its the usual local govt plan to pump money into deprived areas in the hope that the leopard changes its spots.

The money could be better spent in my honest opinion.

I thought the A1 bypass corridor was in Gateshead? Whatever, your comment stinks. Best you stick to the Daily Mail website.

Avatar
Stumps replied to paulfg42 | 9 years ago
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paulfg42 wrote:
stumps wrote:

They are having a laugh aren't they ?

The A1 Western bypass corridor includes some of the worst places in Newcastle to live. I've worked there before and in some places its just wall to wall scum who would be more likely to pinch your bike than ride one to school etc.

Dont get me wrong there are some really nice people along that route but its the usual local govt plan to pump money into deprived areas in the hope that the leopard changes its spots.

The money could be better spent in my honest opinion.

I thought the A1 bypass corridor was in Gateshead? Whatever, your comment stinks. Best you stick to the Daily Mail website.

Interpret it how you want mate but there's no need to be abusive. However the western by pass got its name after the A1 passed through the western suburbs of Newcastle and Gateshead. So in reality we are both right. The areas around Slatyford, Denton, Lemington and Scotswood are the areas i was referring to.

Avatar
tarquin_foxglove replied to Stumps | 9 years ago
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stumps wrote:

its just wall to wall scum who would be more likely to pinch your bike than ride one to school

stumps wrote:

...but there's no need to be abusive.

Quite.

Avatar
Stumps replied to tarquin_foxglove | 9 years ago
0 likes
tarquin_foxglove wrote:
stumps wrote:

its just wall to wall scum who would be more likely to pinch your bike than ride one to school

stumps wrote:

...but there's no need to be abusive.

Quite.

Ah yes, suitably chastised, thank you  2

Avatar
gazza_d | 9 years ago
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Hmm. DfT using the term "push bikes" hardly helps confidence in them understanding cycling at all.

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