Cycling Partners
Delivering the Cycling Strategy in Essex is a task for both the county council and our key partners. To achieve the level of ambition we have set ourselves in the Cycling Strategy we will require joined up approaches and collaborations with our partners, to bring together the knowledge and expertise from a range of organisations for the purposes of implementation.
There are further opportunities for new synergies and innovative approaches to promoting and enabling cycling in Essex, which reach out wider into our communities to explain the many benefits of cycling. Moreover we are not trying to create ‘cyclists’, rather we are aiming to provide more choice and encourage a multi-modal approach which encourages people to think of the most appropriate mode of travel for each journey they undertake, and we hope that for a lot more shorter journeys, people will opt to cycle. Working with partners and organisations is critical to achieving this ambition.
The Safer Essex Roads Partnership (SERP)
The partnership has brought together the three local authority areas of Essex County Council, Southend-on-Sea Borough Council and Thurrock Council to provide a road safety service across ‘Greater Essex’.
Public Health
Public Health is about helping people to stay healthy and protecting them from the threats to their health. It is represented by Public Health Practitioners (one from each of the four ECC Quadrants - Haven Gateway, West of Essex, Heart of Essex and South Essex).
Public Health Practitioners are key members of the Public Health workforce and can have a great influence on the health and wellbeing of individuals, groups, communities and populations.
Sustrans
Sustrans is a UK charity enabling people to travel by foot, bike or public transport for more of the journeys they make every day. They work with families, communities, policy-makers and partner organisations so that people are able to choose healthier, cleaner and cheaper journeys, with better places and spaces to move through and live in. The charity is working on projects to encourage people to walk, cycle, and use public transport, to give people the choice of "travelling in ways that benefit their health and the environment". Sustrans' flagship project is the National Cycle Network, which has created over 14,000 miles of signed cycle routes throughout the UK, although about 70% of the network is on previously existing, mostly minor roads where motor traffic will be encountered.
Sustrans works with schools to encourage active travel (cycling, walking or scooting) among students. They also work with employers and local authorities. Sustrans administers several thousand volunteers who contribute their time to the charity in numerous ways: by cleaning and maintaining the National Cycle Network, enhancing biodiversity along the routes, leading walks and rides, supporting communities to improve their air quality and other activities.
Their vision is that by 2020 four out of five local journeys will be made by bike, foot or public transport.
You can volunteer to help support Sustrans in Essex.
The cake escape is encouraging Essex residents and visitors to grab their bikes and cycle through some of the most beautiful places in Essex. The cake escape combines a little exercise with exploration of the countryside and the best of local café culture.
www.sustrans.org.uk
Active Essex
Is a publicly funded organisation, hosted by Essex County Council, whose aim is to make sport and physical activity accessible to all Essex residents.
Active Essex Workplace challenge. Use the Activity Log to record your levels of sport, physical activity and active travel online and compete with other workplaces at the same time. You can log activities all year round for your own records, and many CSPs will be organising mini logging challenges across the year.
Cycling Ambassadors. Active Essex, working in partnership with ECC will be looking for inspirational everyday people from a range of backgrounds that have an interest in helping double the number of people cycling and the creation of an active Essex. For more information contact us on cycling.strategy@essex.gov.uk .
www.activeessex.org
British Cycling (formerly the British Cycling Federation)
The main national governing body for cycle sport in Great Britain. It administers most competitive cycling in Great Britain, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. It represents Britain at the world body, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and selects national teams, including the Great Britain (GB) Cycling Team for races in Britain and abroad. As of 2015, it has a total membership of 116,644.
British Cycling reaffirmed the tremendous health of cycling in Britain in the organisation’s 2016 annual report, published 17th November 2016.
www.britishcycling.org.uk
Cycling UK
Cycling UK’s vision is of a healthier, happier and cleaner world, because more people cycle. It runs a number of initiatives such as the Big Bike Revival, Community Cycle Clubs and Cycle for Health. All of these schemes are designed to enable people to have fun and get fit through providing opportunities to cycle in inclusive social groups.
Cycling UK Big Bike Revival. Events across Essex to give you the chance to get your bike fixed by a friendly expert, improve your cycling confidence and have some fun.
www.cyclinguk.org
Highways England
The government-owned company who operates, maintains and improves England's motorways and major A roads in England. It operates information services, liaises with other government agencies and provides staff to deal with incidents on the roads it manages. Founded as a government agency in 1994, it was converted into a government-owned company on 1 April 2015.
Their Cycling Strategy shows how they’ll contribute towards the development of an integrated, comprehensive and high quality cycling network. This includes facilities that are safe and separate from traffic, that enable users of all abilities to cycle and encourages cycling as a sustainable form of transport.
gov.uk/government/publications/cycling-strategy
Love to Ride
Love to Ride is all about showing more people how easy and enjoyable cycling is. If you love to ride, then let's spread the love! Show your support for cycling and together we can get more people cycling.
Love to Ride Cycle Challenges include:
- Ride to Work Week (March)
- Cycle September (September)
- Winter Wheelers (December)
www.lovetoride.net/uk
SEAT Programme.
is a three year Department for Transport funded project, which aims to boost active travel and improve access to jobs, learning and skills in South Essex. It will facilitate a step-change in the area’s approach to sustainable transport; using targeted travel engagement with jobseekers, young people, newly recruited employees, students, lower socio-economic communities and volunteers so they can use active travel to get to work, training and educational opportunities and fully contribute to the local economy. Targeting six local Growth Areas, the programme will increase active travel by tailoring packages of advice, support and promotion to each of these groups – enhancing their access to the 12,100 new jobs and 10,500 education and training opportunities available in South Essex over the next three years.
South Essex Active Travel