Monday 22 August 2022

Walking and cycling get £12.7m wheel-up

The government is providing local authorities across the country with £12.7 million to encourage more people to take-up walking and cycling.

Cutting carbon emissions of car travel is not the only reason for the decision, as GPs will now be given the right to administer social prescriptions to patients to improve their mental health and wellbeing through exercise.

The funding will go to 11 local authorities and be spent on ensuring free bicycle loans, adult cycle training schemes and walking groups are in place for the communities.

A stipulation of receiving the funding is that improved infrastructure must be in place to ensure these activities can take place easily.

Bradford, Leeds, Cornwall, Doncaster, Nottingham, Bath and Plymouth are some of the places benefiting from this investment.

Trudy Harrison, Minister of State at the Department for Transport, said: “Walking and cycling has so many benefits – from improving air quality in our communities to reducing congestion on our busiest streets.

“It also has an enormous positive impact on physical and mental health, which is why we have funded these projects which will get people across the country moving and ease the burden on our NHS.”