Three Local Community Groups Awarded Grants By TfL
Among 60 across London encouraging local people to walk and cycle more
Three local community groups are among 60 across London to benefit from grants totalling £400,000 from Transport for London.
All the community and not-for-profit groups groups encourage people from all backgrounds to walk and cycle more.
TfL says this programme of grants addresses the barriers that prevent people from getting active and target a range of traditionally underrepresented groups in walking and cycling.
The three groups in Hammersmith and Fulham were:
Hammersmith Community Gardens Association
HCGA won the award for its Wildlife Walks – a series of walks around wildlife sites in London and the home counties over the winter period will help the Gardens' volunteers, who are often socially isolated and vulnerable, to keep more active during a quieter time of year.
Based at River House in Furnival Gardens, the trust is a community based centre for people who live with HIV. It was awarded a grant for its project, River House Ramblers, which will promote walking to people living with HIV and people over the age of 50 to actively reduce loneliness, increase peer-support opportunities and improve health and wellbeing. Through purchasing walking equipment and walking plans, people of all abilities will be able to benefit from the River House Ramblers scheme.
Its award winning project Walk this Way will provide low-cost group walking sessions across West London for local residents aged 50+ in order to improve physical and mental wellbeing, reduce their carbon footprint and reduce isolation. Walks will entail themes such as photography, local history and dog walking, providing a stimulating walk.
Other winning projects in the capital target a range of traditionally underrepresented groups such as people with physical disabilities, refugees and asylum seekers, and children with Down’s Syndrome, enabling them to feel confident while walking and cycling in London.
Walking and Cycling Grants London aims to encourage more people to walk and cycle, addressing the barriers that prevent people from getting active and helping to make London a more sustainable, inclusive and healthy city.
This is the first year that the grant has included walking projects, with 26 of the 60 projects focusing on walking, helping people to connect with their local communities, learn new skills, get active and improve their physical and mental health.
Since it began, TfL's Cycling Grants London programme has helped 120 projects encourage more than 18,000 people to participate in cycling projects in every borough across London.
TfL research shows that people felt better physically and mentally when they introduced just 20 minutes of walking and cycling per day into their lives, with benefits including an improved mood, feeling more alert and enjoying discovering new parts of London.
The expansion of this funding to include walking is part of TfL’s work to encourage Londoners to incorporate more healthy and sustainable travel into their daily journeys. TfL is committed to ensuring that walking and cycling is accessible for all.
Will Norman, London’s Walking and Cycling Commissioner, said: "There are so many benefits to walking and cycling from keeping fit to improving wellbeing and we want everyone in London to experience these benefits regardless of their age, ethnicity or physical or mental health.
" We’re looking forward to seeing the results of these inspirational projects, which are bound to encourage even more Londoners from diverse backgrounds to travel more actively around the capital."
December 5, 2019
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