York set to receive £1.2m in active funding
It comes as the city scored one out of four on its ability to organise, plan and deliver projects
York is set for almost £1.25 million for walking, wheeling and cycling schemes amid fears it could be locked in to receiving low levels of funding in coming years.
Active Travel England’s (ATE) grant of £1,245,154 to York until March 2030, comes as the city scored one out of four on its ability to organise, plan and deliver projects.
Garry Taylor, York Council’s city development lead, said the score was disappointing but they were confident several schemes currently in progress would help improve it.
But Green activist Andy D’Agorne said York failed to make progress while schemes such as upgrading the footpath on the River Ouse between Jubilee Terrace and Scarborough Bridge had stalled.
Cllr Kate Ravilious, the council’s Labour transport spokesperson, said many of the problems facing local active travel infrastructure, including the riverside path project, were due to decades of neglect.
It comes as ATE unveiled a total of £60.3 million in funding for walking, wheeling and cycling schemes for local authorities across Yorkshire and the Humber along with their capability scores.
The cash is part of national multi-year funding worth £626 million which was first unveiled in the Spending Review in June.
ATE stated the money would be enough create and upgrade 500 miles of footpaths and cycle tracks across England and support 170,000 more active travel trips a day.
Councils and combined authorities received scores from the lowest of one to the highest of four based on their ability to deliver schemes.
Authorities scoring one, including York, were deemed to have some local leadership, organisational capability, basic plans and isolated schemes but lacked a broader active travel network.
Higher-rated authorities receive more funding while those with lower scores are due to get extra training, guidance and support to improve the delivery of schemes.
National Active Travel Commissioner Chris Broadman said the aim of the funding was to give people more choice in how they get around by creating safe, accessible and welcoming streets.
He added ATE’s approach to funding had consistently raised the ability of local authorities to deliver the level of quality needed to achieve that ambition.
Transport Minister Lilian Greenwood said the £626 million in national funding demonstrated the Government’s clear commitment to making walking, wheeling and cycling safer and more accessible.
The Council’s Director of City Development Mr Taylor said the council had adopted strategies to help deliver ambitious local targets to make York more healthy, accessible and affordable.
But Green activist Mr D’Agorne told a meeting on Tuesday, December 16 the latest score came as funding to upgrade the Jubliee Terrace riverside footpath remained in council coffers.
Mr D’Agorne told the transport decision session: “Yet again we score one out of four, locked in to determine our funding now until 2029.
“Three years ago when York’s capability score was set at one this made headline news, however failure to make any progress is now evidently just par for the course.”
Transport Executive Member Cllr Ravilious said the riverside path upgrade scheme had faced the collapse of a bank on the River Ouse.
The Labour executive member said: “We hope that next year we’ll start to see improvements and successes coming forward that benefit active travel.”