Sustrans

An initiative in York is bringing bicycles and beauty products together to highlight break down some of the barriers that prevent young women from cycling.

Schoolgirls from primary and secondary schools across the city are being encouraged to get riding through the initiative, called Beauty and The Bike, which is being run by Bike It officer Vicki Hill from the sustainable transport charity Sustrans with the help of female cycling trainers from Cycling City York and staff from the city’s Lush cosmetics store.

Staff and students at higher education institutes in Nottingham are this month being encouraged to cycle to work or university this month to help them get fit.

The initiative, called Ucycle Nottingham, has been put in place by the susutainable transport charity Sustrans in partnership with The University of Nottingham, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottingham City Council, Cycling England and The Big Wheel.

Anyone interested in doing their bit to promote cycling in Shropshire might be interested in a public meeting being held in Ludlow this week.

Sustrans, the national sustainable transport charity, is looking for volunteer 'cycle rangers' and, with Ludlow Cycling Support Group, is holding a meeting at Ludlow Conference centre on Thursday, March 18, at 7pm.

The open meeting will offer those interested the chance to find out more about being a ranger.

A report by an Edinburgh-based cycling group has condemned the Scots government for slashing its cycling budget.

Spokes says that the SNP has cut £5 million of funding over the past three years for Sustrans, the sustainable transport charity that promotes cycling, walking and other green transport.

A scheme to make neighbourhoods in seven areas of the UK quieter and more car free has been hailed a success.

Transport charity Sustrans implemented a 'DIY Streets' project in 11 streets in London, South Wales, Coventry, Manchester, Sheffield, Torquay and Oxford.

The project encouraged communities in these areas to re-design their own streets affordably to make them safer, cleaner and more people-friendly. The scheme follows the successes of home zones and aims to create more attractive spaces at a lower cost and with communities driving the process.

Work has finally started on the Two Tunnels project in Bath, which will provide a four-mile cycling and walking route between the city and Midford using the route of a disused railway line.

The £1.9 million project has been championed by sustainable transport charity Sustrans and local campaigners the Two Tunnels group, who are delighted that it is finally turning into reality.

A cycle-friendly facility is to open in Stockton-on-Tees to encourage more people to use their bikes or walk.

'The Hub' will open on March 16 in Bridge Road, Stockton, following a Lottery-funded project set up by sustainable transport charity Sustrans in partnership with Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council and the local Primary Care Trust.

The Scottish Government has launched a major initiative to encourage the country’s 5 million inhabitants to lead healthier, more active lifestyles. Called ‘Active Nation’, the campaign seeks to encourage Scots to draw inspiration from the 2014 Commonwealth Games, which are being hosted in Glasgow, to motivate them “to increase their physical activity and live longer healthier lives.”

Sustrans, the sustainable transport charity, says that by the end of the decade, people should be seeking to make four in five local journeys by sustainable means, and has outlined to the politicians the way it believes that can be done at a cost of just £20 per household.