On your bike - but not in Aberdeenshire
A total of £1.79 million has been allocated from the Scottish Government active travel budget to support 173 organisations across Scotland.
But a breakdown of figures shows that just one cash award was made in Aberdeenshire.
This came under the cycle friendly secondary schools development fund heading to the value of £3721 which was made to Mearns Academy.
Two other awards were made under the heading of the cycle friendly employer fund to the Clyde Munro Dental Group and Community Integrated Care as part of their wider national coverage for their employees in all areas that they operate which includes Aberdeenshire.
Aberdeen City fared better with Robert Gordon University receiving £16,800 from the cycle friendly campus and £17,584 cycle friendly internship schemes while NHS Grampian and Marine Scotland Sciences both received £14,000 and Farrans Constuction were awarded £4000 from the employers development fund.
Grampian Housing received £20,000 and Sanctuary Housing £13,000 for housing support in the city while the cycle friendly NHS workers awarded NHS Grampian £15,000 for Aberdeen City.
It is estimated that more than 343,000 people can benefit from this support across the country.
Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity Michael Matheson said: “We’re providing record funding for active travel.
"Coupled with our support for active travel infrastructure – by improving facilities and providing access to bikes, we can make it easier for people to choose active travel for everyday journeys.”
Kath Brough, Head of Behaviour Change at Cycling Scotland said: “Cycling rates have soared since the start of the pandemic and we are delighted to allocate Cycling Friendly funding across Scotland to help even more people travel by bike for everyday journeys.
“Key developments this year have included: a new Cycling Friendly NHS Worker fund to provide access to bikes for lower paid and temporary NHS key workers, a considerable investment in social housing facilities nationally, supporting employers from small medical practices to larger sites such as Glasgow Science Centre, increasing access to bikes in schools and campuses, and supporting community groups in a range of urban and rural locations."
