SPT has allocated more than £450,000 of funding to community groups as part of the Transport Scotland-funded SPT People & Place Programme Community Fund. This funding is intended to support 24 community groups in our region working to influence sustainable travel behaviour change through localised projects.

The People & Place Programme Community Fund supports organisations delivering small-scale projects (£5,000 - £50,000) at a community level which aligns with five key themes: Schools and Young People, Workplaces, Accessibility and Inclusion, Capacity and Capability and Supporting Sustainable Transport.

Projects being delivered under each of themes will be working to encourage behaviour change from traditional car use to more sustainable modes of transport, and initiatives vary from small infrastructure changes such as cycle storage installations, to cycle lessons and led bike rides, management of bike loan schemes, as well as skills building opportunities, increasing capacity and capability across the sector and region.

SPT Chair, Stephen Dornan said:

“Through the People and Place Programme Community Fund, SPT is delighted to support these vital projects which aim to make a real difference to people’s lives, supporting them to play an active role in their communities encouraging sustainable travel behaviour change.”

“The funding will ensure the projects are able to run effectively and contribute positively to communities, increasing access to bikes for those in need and enhancing opportunities for active, sustainable, and resilient transport for people across the SPT region”.

The funded initiatives will work with and focus on various communities living and working across the SPT region, including female prisoners and ex-offenders; people facing mental health challenges and those living with mental illness; those with mobility challenges and physical health issues; primary and pre-school aged children and their families;, individuals recovering from addiction; New Scots; university students; and many more. The work will promote active and liveable communities where everyone can meet their needs facilitated by the ability to utilise sustainable, low cost, and low carbon means of transport.

 Funding of over £43,000 for ‘Shift, Inspire, Thrive’ was awarded to Living Lab CIC to support with addressing barriers to active and sustainable travel. The project aims to partner with local organisations to increase the number of people who commute to work by active travel modes. They will support this through introducing a fleet of bikes and conducting led rides, showing people how close they really are to their workplaces, and other opportunities, while offering travel planning and personal support for commuting by bike. Support will also be provided for workplaces through the creation of a best practice model for indoor bike storage for businesses to learn from. With Glasgow city centre the main project focus, along with the north areas of Glasgow, key areas of deprivation will be targeted, empowering people with knowledge and access, linking active travel with pathways to skills, training, and employment.

LEAP has been awarded over £25,000 to support their project ‘LEAP Zero-Emission Shared Transport’ which provides an affordable car club for those living in Renfrewshire, as well as affordable E-Bike hire. The project presents an alternative to car ownership, breaking barriers to accessing employment, education, and other essential services, creating financial security and improving emotional wellbeing.

More than £33,000 has been awarded to Clyde Cycle Park for their ‘On Yer Bike – Getting More People Cycling’ project to help improve cycling awareness, confidence, and skills among various groups, including people commuting to work, people suffering from infirmities, the elderly, and ASN children and adults. The project is based in South Lanarkshire and aims to inspire people to enjoy cycling and see the potential of active travel as part of their daily lives. 

In total grant funding has been awarded to 24 projects -

• Up to £30,000 to Getting Better Together for the GBT Bike School
• Up to £20,000 to Parents for Future for Air pollution and Active Travel in Schools
• Up to £43,145 to Living Lab for Shift, Inspire, Thrive
• Up to £9,500 to Social Enterprise Academy for Developing Sustainability in Bike Reuse & Cycling Organisations
• Up to £16,000 for Ebike Freedom for Lilias Centre Cycle-train-the-trainer Programme
• Up to £28,630 to SAMH for Bridging the barriers between mental illness and active travel
• Up to £29,000 to Biosphere Bikes for Biosphere Bikes Active Travel Project
• Up to £33,994 to Clyde Cycle Park for On Yer Bike- Getting More People Cycling
• Up to £25,881 to LEAP for LEAP Zero-Emission Shared Transport
• Up to £35,000 to Early Years Scotland for Little Riders and Striders
• Up to £25,500 to Belville Community Garden Trust for The Belville Bike Bank
• Up to £4,891 to RDT/Climate Action Lanarkshire for Increase Access to Active Travel through creating a bike reuse hub with South Lanarkshire Unpaid Work Team
• Up to £16,566 to Toryglen Community youth project for Toryglen community cycling hub – expansion & access project
• Up to £4,940 to Boots and Beards for Boots and Bikes
• Up to £7,674 to Glasgow School of Art for improving the bike facilities at the Glasgow School of Art residence halls
• Up to £1,995 to Hillpark Parent Council for Hillpark Parent Council Bike Club – Hilly Bikers
• Up to £5,706 to Castlemilk youth complex for Lets get CycleWise
• Up to £10,300 to Cambuslang Youth Committee for Bikes without Barriers
• Up to £10,475 to Lenzie Rugby Club for Lenzie Rugby Club Bike Shelter
• Up to £32,000 to North Glasgow Loading Bay for The Loading Bay – Riverside Urban sports and culture project
• Up to £14,986 to Cycling without Age Cumnock for Cycling without age Scotland Cumnock
• Up to £28,560 to NHS GCC-Leverndale GCCHSCP for Pedal for Progress
• Up to £17,100 to The Circle for Bike to Work
• Up to £5,000 to Movement Park for Movement Park Wheelie Project