LAs: apply for £millions for cycle training

Local authorities have been invited to bid for funding to deliver more cycle training, with the 2008/9 Local Authority Cycle Training Fund opening today.
Now in its second year, the scheme is open to local authorities in England. Only training projects which can be completed by 31 March 2009 will be considered to enable the grant to be paid in full by 30 June 2009.
Grants are not available to London Boroughs, a separate fund for London is being administered by Transport for London, on behalf of the Department for Transport and Cycling England.
Grants are not available to the Cycling Demonstration Towns except where cycling training is delivered outside of the designated Demonstration Town boundary.
Local authorities across the country are increasing their cycle training capacity as the new Bikeability scheme gathers pace, and the grant is once again expected to be over-subscribed. It is expected the fund will receive increased bids from those who successfully applied for grants last time, as well as bids from a significant number of authorities applying for the first time.
The funding is intended to provide additional cycle training for children to Level 2 of the National Standard (across years 5, 6 and 7), with the grants supporting cycle training at a cost to up to £40 a head. This figure includes all aspects of delivery (such as Bikeability badges and certificates), but excludes staff and administration costs.
Individual project bids can range from £10,000 up to £250,000, with no upper limit set for tenders from partnerships. Added weight will be given to applications from local authorities who are taking part in the award scheme; local authorities who received a grant in 2007/08 and are now looking to increase their National Standard cycle training above existing levels; and training programmes that link to local or national strategies and policies, especially projects aimed at encouraging cycling to school.
Cycling England chairman Phillip Darnton said:
“Last month at our Cycling Demonstration Town conference the Transport Minister signalled the need for central and local Government to continue to work together to fund cycling initiatives given their clear benefits to improved health, reduced congestion and pollution; this grant gives local authorities the opportunity to invest even further in cycling and provide a key life-skill for our children.
“Bikeability has already captured the imagination of children, parents and schools across England, and is a cornerstone of Cycling England’ efforts to get more children cycling, more safely, more often. Giving the next generation the skills and confidence to ride on today’ roads is crucial, which is why we have increased the level of funding on offer to ensure as many local authorities as possible can deliver Bikeability. There is likely to be great interest in applying for the grants, so we would urge all authorities to start the process as soon as possible, by visiting the online application site.”
Pam Williams, road safety officer at South Gloucestershire Council, said:
“As an authority that has embraced national standards, now Bikeability, from the outset, we applied for a grant last year and the extra funding has enabled us to really get behind Bikeability and deliver high standard training. Cycle training is part of our Cycle Strategy and makes a huge difference to the confidence and skills of those we teach, ensuring they become integrated traffic users that truly understand the complexities of road traffic and awareness of others. It also contributes to our safety, accessibility, travel, health and environment goals. We would encourage all local authorities to support Bikeability.”
The Merseyside TravelWise Team is an example of a local authority which has chosen to deliver its training in partnership, to help it offer instruction to more children. Travel wise co-ordinator Sarah Dewar said:
“Bikeability, and particularly the additional funding, has helped us deliver twice the training we would be able to otherwise, meaning greater effectiveness of the programme overall and ultimately more children engaged with cycling.”
An MS Excel application form is available at the link below and should be downloaded, completed and sent by email to [email protected].
Postal applications should be sent to The Cycling Team, North West/ East Midland Division, Department for Transport, Zone 3/27 Great Minster House, 76 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 4DR
The closing date for applications is Friday 1st February 2008. DfT will acknowledge all applications and will aim to make decisions on allocations by Spring 2008.

www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/sustainable/cycling/bikeform.xls