Scottish walking charity pledges £7mn to encourage more ‘active travel’
Melanie May | 8 June 2023 | News
Paths for All, Scotland’s national walking charity, has launched three funds worth £7 million in a bid to encourage the nation to choose active travel and reduce how much they drive.
The new Paths for All funds are: Smarter Choices, Smarter Places (SCSP) Active Nation Fund worth £1.5 million, the Ian Findlay Path Fund (£1.5 million) and the £5 million SCSP Open Fund.
Supported by Transport Scotland and backed by the government, the aim of the funds is to encourage Scots to drive less and to walk, wheel or cycle as part of their everyday short journeys to cut Scotland’s carbon emissions and improve air quality. It is also hoped that they will contribute to reversing the trend of inactive lifestyles by tackling health inequalities throughout the country.
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Fund details
The SCSP Active Nation Fund is inviting public, community and third sector organisations to apply for up to £200,000 to support projects which encourage everyday travel behaviour change on a national or multi-regional level in Scotland.
To commemorate the legacy of the former Paths for All CEO, the Ian Findlay Path Fund supports projects designed to make improvements to local walkways and paths, and to make them more accessible to all. Applicants can receive a grant of up to £100,000 for their project.
First launched in 2018, the SCSP Open Fund grants communities and public and third sector organisations up to £100,000, and encourages people to change their everyday travel behaviours – such as using sustainable travel for longer journeys.
Kevin Lafferty, CEO of Paths for All, said:
“These funds will increase the pace and scale of active travel delivery across the country as we collectively work together to encourage active travel for a happier, healthier and greener Scotland.
“If we all make small changes to our daily travel habits such as making walking, wheeling or cycling the natural choice for journeys to the local shop, school or pharmacy, for example, it will make a huge difference to our health and wellbeing.
“This new support will help deliver a step change in how we choose to travel in order to tackle the climate emergency and help reduce car kilometres and would only be possible with support from the Scottish Government and Transport Scotland. It means projects will be able to extend their reach and will be more effective in communicating important information and improving local assets.”
Applications for this round of funding opened on 6 June:
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.