Paths For All - New Legacy Fund for Footpaths
The path fund announcement, made by Active Travel Minister Patrick Harvie at the Scottish Parliament, came just over a year after Ian Findlay’s sudden death and on what would have been his 61st birthday. Ian made a huge impact during his time at Paths for All and this fund recognises and continues his legacy. The Fund will support the improvement of local paths within and between communities, making it easier for people to travel by walking, wheeling, or cycling for daily journeys.
The new grant fund is supported by Transport Scotland and will launch in Summer 2022. It will help organisations to improve paths to make active travel easier and more attractive. This will encourage people to leave their cars at home for short journeys and benefit air quality, reduce CO2 emissions and improve our physical health and mental wellbeing.
Minister for Active Travel Patrick Harvie said:
“I am delighted that through the Co-operation Agreement the Scottish Government is investing a record sum of £150 million for active travel in 2022/23 and have committed to investing at least £320 million or 10% of the transport budget for active travel by 2024-25”.
“What matters now is for that record investment to deliver on the ground, with exciting new ideas for footpaths and cycleways, increased safety, provision of bikes where cost is a barrier and making sure that more people feel confident to choose to walk, wheel or cycle – and so much more”
What type of projects will be funded?
The fund will support path management projects that:
Improve accessibility and resilience of existing paths between homes, community facilities, active travel routes and public transport facilities.
Remove barriers to make existing paths more accessible to more people.
Link paths to community destinations such as homes and public transport connections.
Improve and create routes to aid the development of 20-minute neighbourhoods.
Who can apply?
The fund will be open to a wide range of community and third sector organisations.
The Ian Findlay Path Fund will open to applications this summer. To find out more, visit here