Introducing the ATSP Fund
The Fund will open on 1 February 2024. The full information on how to apply is on this webpage: Active Travel Social Prescribing Fund – Cornwall Council
Cornwall is one of 13 areas in England supported by Active Travel England to pilot active travel social prescribing. We have chosen to focus the pilot on Bodmin, St Austell & the China Clay Areas, and Penzance (including Newlyn, Heamoor and Gulval) as these three areas have been identified as having entrenched health inequalities and poor health outcomes. They also all have active travel infrastructure and social prescribing schemes at different levels of maturity and working across the three areas will enable us to compare and contrast the impact of interventions.
We welcome proposals that will do one or more of the following (this list is not exhaustive):
- Projects that deliver bicycle sessions to our target cohorts (such as teaching adults to ride a bike, building confidence to cycle as part of modal shift, adaptive cycling, bike maintenance, everyday route familiarisation, use of national cycle networks and other cycling infrastructure);
- Cycle loans and e-bike loans;
- Projects delivering walking/wheeling sessions to our target cohorts (such as building confidence to walk/wheel as part of modal shift, use of public transport network, walking to access other activities);
- Projects that tackle inclusion and accessibility barriers (including developing interactive maps, signage);
- Enabling participation (such as providing adults with cycle helmets, waterproof clothing, walking shoes);
- Minor capital investments (such as refurbishing community based changing rooms, providing community bike storage);
- Training for volunteers and to upskill them in facilitating active travel (such as ride leader training, walk leader training and walking buddies);
- Innovative projects that facilitate active travel.
Proposals must focus on delivering behaviour change activities, such as:
- supporting individuals who have been socially prescribed active travel to engage in cycling, walking and wheeling activities;
- encouraging travelling by active means (principally cycling, walking and wheeling or as part of a multi-modal journey using public transport);
- reducing the barriers individuals face to travel actively.
Early applications are strongly encouraged as the ATSP Fund will remain open until it is fully committed or Sunday 17 March 2024, whichever is the sooner. There is currently no cap on the minimum value organisations can apply for. The maximum is £25k per pilot area (there are three pilot areas). Projects supported by the ATSP Fund must complete delivery by 30 June 2025.
Alongside the ATSP Fund we have three Health Improvement Practitioners (HIPs) in Healthy Cornwall who deliver behavioural change interventions to clients, connecting them to existing provision in the community and new provision supported by the ATSP Fund. They help clients identify their barriers to active travel and connect them to activities to support them make a modal shift to active travel. Professionals are invited to make referrals for adults who are registered with a GP in one of the three pilot locations and who fulfil one or more of the following criteria:
- An adult seeking to improve their mental health and wellbeing,
- An adult with poor physical health (including long term health conditions)
- disabled people (adults)
- an unemployed adult
- Aged 50+
The referral form is found at: Active Travel Social Prescribing – Healthy Cornwall (Note: this support is delivered as part of the pilot and will end in July 2025).
Promotion
If you know of any partner organisations that would host a link to the ATSP Fund on their website, please can you ask that the following be uploaded:
The Active Travel Social Prescribing Fund – Cornwall Council is open for applications from 1 February 2024. Early applications are strongly encouraged as the ATSP Fund will remain open until it is fully committed or Sunday 17 March 2024, whichever is the sooner. Proposals must focus on delivering in one of the three ATSP pilot areas of Bodmin, St Austell & the China Clay Areas, and Penzance (including Newlyn, Heamoor and Gulval) and focus on behaviour change activities, such as:
- supporting individuals who have been socially prescribed active travel to engage in cycling, walking and wheeling activities;
- encouraging travelling by active means (principally cycling, walking and wheeling or as part of a multi-modal journey using public transport);
- reducing the barriers individuals face to travel actively.