West to deliver new walking, wheeling and cycling routes, including a more active school run
Helen Godwin, the new Mayor of the West of England, has today joined a coalition of eleven of England’s regional Mayors to sign up to an ambitious joint statement pledging to create a new national walking, wheeling and cycling network, enabling millions more happy, healthy and green journeys.
In the West of England this means a commitment to deliver new high-quality walking, wheeling and cycling routes to schools, the shops and workplaces across the region.
As a cabinet member at City Hall in Bristol, Helen worked with colleagues to develop the School Streets programme to improve road safety near schools around pick-up and drop-off times. That scheme has since grown to more than a dozen schools, with more across the West of England – with plans to almost double the number of these projects by 2027.
Helen yesterday (1 July) attended a summit in York alongside West Yorkshire’s Tracy Brabin, South Yorkshire’s Oliver Coppard, York and North Yorkshire’s David Skaith, the North East’s Kim McGuinness, the West Midlands’ Richard Parker, and the East of England’s Claire Ward. The new Mayor met with National Active Travel Commissioner, Chris Boardman, and the UK’s Chief Medical Officer, Professor Sir Chris Whitty to kickstart the plans.
Collectively, Mayors have committed to delivering a national network of 3,500 miles of safe routes connecting housing to schools and targeting areas where health and air quality are poorest.
This will help the regions’ 20 million residents to become more physically active, supporting the Government’s Plan for Change by easing pressure on the NHS.
I promised to work with government to get the West moving. Three-quarters of a billion pounds for transport in our region at the Spending Review will do just that, with my active travel pledge with England’s other Mayors another step in the right direction.
Helen Godwin, the new Mayor of the West of England
Walking, cycling, and wheeling are an important part of how people get around, with real health benefits. School Streets are something I backed as a councillor and continue to support as the new Mayor, working with council leaders and Active Travel England.
Active travel is also greener, cutting pollution, which people in the West Country really care about. The better buses, more trains, and mass transit unlocked by unprecedented government funding for transport in our part of the world, will all be better for our planet too.
I know I am one of many who enjoy the physical and mental health benefits that come with walking or cycling to work or school.
The Local Transport Minister, Simon Lightwood
That’s why this Government is investing £616m over the next four years, on top of £300m announced in February, to give more people around the country high quality and healthy ways to get around, and supporting Mayors’ plans to create a joined up network.
It is a key part of our Plan for Change, boosting local businesses, growing local economies and easing pressure on the NHS.
Our regional leaders have today marked the start of an exciting chapter, by pledging to give people across the country more transport choice. We know that more walking, wheeling and cycling will improve our countries mental and physical health, but it will do much more; it’s the foundation for thriving integrated public transport networks, it increases access to work, boosting local economic growth and it will give millions of children more independence.
National Active Travel Commissioner, Chris Boardman
People will only consider traveling actively if it is easy and safe. That’s what the Mayors have today pledged to do and that’s why Government is backing them. It’s going to have a hugely positive impact on millions of people’s daily lives.
As part of the agreement the Mayors have committed to:
- Work with the Department for Transport, Active Travel England and local authorities to create a country-wide national walking, wheeling and cycling network, comprising of local networks that are safe and easy to use. This will give their regions’ 20 million residents access to high quality, safe routes in their communities.
- Transform the school run by delivering high-quality, safer routes in neighbourhoods nationwide.
- Boost regional integrated transport networks by giving people easy walking, wheeling and cycling access to buses, trams and trains which will link to new housing and support local economic growth.
The initiative comes as recent research shows one in six early deaths could be prevented with regular moderate exercise. Meanwhile, a study from 2023/24 found that, in England, 35.8% of year 6 children were overweight or living with obesity, with 22.1% living with obesity.
Increasing physical activity has health benefits across the life course. As part of this, we need to make walking and cycling more accessible, and safer, as well as access to green space easier and more equitable. This will help remove barriers to improving physical activity levels and could significantly improve the health of England’s increasingly urban population.
Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty
The first wave of improving active travel routes to schools will include the delivery of proven and popular schemes, including school streets, traffic calming measures, new crossings and well-maintained pavements.
Regional mayors will lead local implementation, selecting interventions that best fit their communities’ needs and developing programmes to encourage active travel, such as walking and cycling buses for children.
The initiative aligns with the government’s Plan for Change, focusing on prevention rather than cure by building health and wellbeing into everyday activities.
The programme will be delivered primarily using existing transport resources, with additional targeted investment from Active Travel England, improving efficiency by consolidating separate funding streams into a mission-focused approach.
Have a read of the Joint Statement.
Press release by West of England Mayoral Combined Authority.
