Mayor to Appoint Active Travel Commissioner
Mayor of York & North Yorkshire David Skaith will today take a step towards appointing an Active Travel Commissioner.
A meeting of the York & North Yorkshire Combined Authority this afternoon will approve the establishment of a Mayor’s Active Travel Fund and the appointment of a Commissioner.
£4 Million Mayor’s Active Travel Fund
£4 million from the Mayoral Investment Fund will be allocated to a Mayor’s Active Travel Fund.
The report says it will be used ‘to accelerate delivery of active travel solutions across York and North Yorkshire’.
Active Travel Commissioner
An Active Travel Commissioner will be appointed for the duration of the Mayor’s term, i.e. until May 2028. The cost of the appointment will be met out of the Mayor’s Active Travel Fund.
The Commissioner will be a figurehead who encourages healthy travel choices. They will promote and encourage the uptake of these modes of transport.
They will be an expert who works with Active Travel England, the highways authorities, land owners and businesses to develop the walking, wheeling and cycling network.
One of the Commissioner’s key tasks will be ‘to improve the delivery of active travel schemes’. The report describes driving ‘improvements to spend levels and scheme quality’.
Strategic Transport Framework
The Commissioner will help implement the Mayor’s Strategic Transport Framework, which emphasises healthier travel and accessibility.
The Strategic Transport Framework recognises the importance of active travel as a key part of the tourism market in the region.
It also says:
‘The Mayor’s Vision commits to ensuring that active travel is a core part of an integrated transport network.
In the long term this means a comprehensive network of lit, well-maintained walk, wheel and cycle routes across the Combined Authority’.
The Combined Authority aims to increase active travel’s mode share, which will in turn contribute to net zero by 2034.
Active Travel Capability Ratings
The report notes that Active Travel England rates local authorities’ capability to plan, design and deliver active travel schemes on a scale of 0 to 4.
City of York and North Yorkshire Council both have a Capability Rating of 1. No councils are rated 0, so in practice 1 represents the lowest level.
The Combined Authority aims to help both councils improve their ratings.
How the Mayor’s Active Travel Fund Will Be Spent
The report says (para 3.19) that the Mayor’s Active Travel Fund will deliver ‘a wide variety of activities that support and encourage active travel’.
This could include (3.20):
- new infrastructure
- infrastructure refurbishment
- behaviour change
- training
- community bike schemes
- provision of information
- support for group activities
‘The rural nature of much of York and North Yorkshire means there is a particular desire to see schemes come forward which promote active travel in rural settings and market towns, as well as in urban areas’.
30% of the money is revenue and 70% capital (3.24).
The funding will be allocated as follows:
- £500,000 in 2025/26
- £1.75 million in 2026/27
- £1.75 million in 2027/28
The authority will aim to spread the benefits of the investment across the region.
The fund is expected to be launched in September 2025.