Inclusive Cycling gets just over half a million Big Lottery Fund boost

The charity will now set up a network of Inclusive Cycling Champions to build on the work that CTC already does to enable people with disabilities to enjoy cycling. The project will run for 2 years, and is aiming to provide inclusive cycling opportunities to over 1,000 disabled people across England.

CTC is going to be helping disabled cyclists get on their bikes and experience the joy of cycling, thanks to over half a million pound grant from the BIG Lottery Fund  which will go a long way to making sure that disabled people across the country can enjoy cycling."

Lorraine Stone
Senior Fundraising Manager for the charity

CTC, as part of the Travel Actively consortium which has received a total of £3.6m Lottery funding today to deliver 19 projects across the UK, will be building on the excellent work at existing projects like the ‘Everybody’s Active’ sessions in Reading and starting new ventures. In Sheffield there will be continued support for disability cycling with regular sessions within the city parks which already gives access to riding on adapted and bespoke bikes.

The funding will see an Inclusive Cycling Champion officer based in the north east, north west, south east and south west. They will work at existing centres helping them to become sustainable, setting up new inclusive cycling projects where they are needed and establishing an awards system for leisure centres. The quality mark will be much like a hotel star system to standardise the projects that are on offer so that everyone will know what to expect when cycling at a particular centre.

Lorraine added "Each region has a fleet of adapted bikes available through our partners at Cycling Projects and the new CTC officers will now be on hand to give disabled people the opportunity to learn a new skill, get active and have fun."

We will be publicising new and existing inclusive cycling opportunities as they come on stream over the coming months and will be getting the information out to disability advocacy and social groups, through a GP referral scheme and to carers. 

The £3.6m funding for the ‘Travel Actively ‘ consortium is part of a £40m investment from Big Lottery Fund’s Well-being programme in community health schemes across England.  Fourteen organisations, including local health bodies and leading charities are receiving funding to deliver interventions to encourage healthier eating, increase physical activity and promote good mental health.

Many of the projects will target vulnerable and marginalised groups such as families struggling with food poverty; older people experiencing loneliness and isolation; and young homeless people.

Big Lottery Fund, the largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding, is responsible for giving out 40% of the money raised for good causes by the National Lottery. We are committed to bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need and have been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK. Since June 2004 we have awarded close to £6bn.

The Well-being programme: In 2007, Big Lottery Fund awarded £165m funding through its Well-being programme to support the development of healthier lifestyles and to improve well-being. To deliver this programme, The Big Lottery Fund appointed a number of organisations that will each deliver a portfolio of projects in England. The £40m funding awarded today builds on the work of the portfolios in each region and on a national level.