HEADLINE NEWS - TelegraphCycling charity Sustrans handed £92m in grants to introduce low traffic neighbourhoodsCampaigners argue taxpayers’ money should not be used to fund ‘lobby group’s’ work to push through controversial schemesBy Steve Bird16 September 2023 • 2:44pmA cycling charity handed vast sums of taxpayers’ money to introduce controversial low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) has amassed £165 million and doubled the number of executives paid up to £140,000.Sustrans’ latest accounts show how it also received £92 million in grants from national and local government bodies.The 'charity', which for years has lobbied politicians to back #LTNs, has £165,205,000 as “cash or cash equivalents” in the bank, according to its accounts for the 2022-23 financial year.Its annual report reveals how the charity has benefited from the Government’s LTN policy introduced in 2020 to promote walking and cycling at the height of the pandemic.The huge sums Sustrans now handles are in stark contrast to 2017 when it had £16million in the bank and and 2018 when it had £25 million in cash.Critics claim that Sustrans is effectively a cycling “lobby group” and is largely unaccountable and not subject to democratic processes, such as Freedom of Information laws or elections.In March, The Sunday Telegraph revealed how the Information Commissioner had to force Lambeth Council to honour Freedom of Information laws to reveal it had paid Sustrans £400,000 to help set up LTNs. For 15-months Labour-run Lambeth refused to release the payments spanning five years because they were “commercially sensitive”.Rishi Sunak has called for a review of LTNs in EnglandRishi Sunak has called for a review of LTNs in England CREDIT: Carl Court/Getty Images EuropeWhile LTNs are meant to reduce the public’s reliance on cars, opponents claim they simply shift congestion and pollution on to busy roads where poorer communities often live.Sustrans accounts also reveal how it now pays 20 staff between £60,000 and £140,000. Its chief executive, Xavier Brice, earns between £130,000 and £140,000, up to £25,000 more than the salary Graham Stuart, minister for climate change and net zero, receives.Six Sustrans staff were paid between £90,000 and £100,000, a further 12 were on £60,000 to £70,000, and one employee was on £70,000 to £80,000.The previous year only 11 staff were paid more than £60,000, with Mr Brice then on £120,000-£130,000. In 2018, he was paid £110,000-£120,000, with just three executives paid £60,000-£70,000. Sustrans’ 779 staff numbers run up a total salary bill of £26 million.Some employees are “embedded” in councils, meaning they are based in local authority transport departments to advise on ways to develop cycling infrastructure.‘Deeply concerned’A spokesman for the group Social and Environmental Justice, which highlights what it sees as the “unfairness” of LTNs said: “We are deeply concerned that Sustrans, essentially a cycling lobby group, continues to rake in millions of pounds of public money to help councils push through schemes such as unjust, discriminatory LTNs.“We look forward to the upcoming independent review into LTNs recently announced by the Government.”Joe Ventre, digital campaign manager at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Brits wonder why their money is funding controversial campaigns.“Some charities lobby for contentious policies while receiving taxpayers’ money, all while being exempt from many forms of accountability.“Government should focus funds on taxpayers’ priorities.”‘Value for money’Sustrans, which claims it also represents people who walk, insists it provides value for money.A spokesman said: “As governments, local authorities and organisations across the UK repeatedly appoint Sustrans to roles in design, consultation and review of a wide variety of schemes to make walking and cycling easier and safer, our expertise and value for money is made clear.”
Maggie Dodge ● 1055d