Derby aims to quadruple the number of young people on bikes in the next three years. With the help of Cycling England, Derby would like to provide the National Cycle Training Standard to every Year 6 child to ensure they are properly trained on the road.
To meet this ambitious target, the local authority will be working closely with head teachers and teachers offering 'the personal touch'. By actually going into the schools to talk about cycling, Derby will encourage children to see cycling as a healthy, active and exciting sport.
There are currently four after school cycling clubs in Derby and while there is funding for another five, with the help of Cycling England's funding, Derby plans to increase this number to 27! Derby was the first local authority in the country to have a specific Community Sports Cycle Coach to work with these after school clubs and more coaches are in the pipeline.
These clubs not only provide children with bikes and a coach, but the chance for children and young teenagers to go out riding in a fun, safe environment. The clubs want teenagers to see cycling in a different light - as a fun and often challenging sport, not just something you learn as a young child.
Derby has a large team of supporters backing the city's cycling plans including the Primary Care Trust, sports and health professionals, head teachers and parents. The first projects are already in place and now Derby has the chance to make a real and lasting difference to cycling participation in the city.
What a great end to 2006! We have been working hard to give every person in Derby the opportunity to get on their bike, through cycle training opportunities, developing after school cycle clubs and installing cycle storage in schools. Our overall target is to quadruple the number of cycling journeys to school by 2009.
Projects underway include the construction of the R66 Cycle Ringway route, set for completion at the end of the year ensuring that everyone in the city is no further than two miles from a strategic cycle route. We are also installing secure cycle storage at every School Travel Plan school in the city.
We will continue to develop and expand National Standard cycle training. We are delighted that over the past year we have doubled the number of children receiving Stage 2 on-road cycle training from 300 to 600. By the end of this project all the city’s 3,000 Year 6 children will receive cycle training each year.
The team is also working hard to expand the number of after school and community cycle clubs. Last year we doubled the number of after-school cycle clubs from 4 to 8 and by the end of this project we aim to increase the total number of clubs to 28. The clubs aim to provide young people with the opportunity to ride in a fun, safe environment while fostering links with community clubs and raising awareness of community facilities.
We have ambitious plans for 2007. The team will be developing an annual season of events, rides and races between March and October with a Festival of Cycling planned in the Spring. There will be a Valentine’s Day cycle speed dating event and a week-long Derby Bike Film Festival in partnership with the Metro cinema. This year we will again hold our Five Parks Ride, the annual charity sponsored ride in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support. We will also be celebrating our 100th km of cycle network.
Look forward to seeing you on your bikes!
Another project which, with the help of Cycling England funding, can now be quickly achieved, is the 6 million development of the Exe Estuary Cycle Route. The estuary will eventually have cycle paths down both sides as far as Exmouth on the East side and Dawlish on the West, and create a scenic new tourist attraction.
This month, all eyes are on Lees Brook Community Sports College as they pilot the new six week cycling curriculum package. The package, designed for teachers in secondary schools, has been created to support after school cycling clubs and offers lesson plans, activities and supporting materials. The lessons are suitable for both physical education and citizenship classes.
Lees Brook Community Sports College has 1,100 pupils and was considered an ideal place to trial the materials by everyone concerned; the College has a rich and varied programme of extra curricular activities and already runs a popular after school cycling club. If anyone wants to see the new curriculum package, please don't hesitate to contact us here at Derby Council.
Another after school cycling club opened this month in Boulton Primary School. The club, which received additional revenue from Local Network Funding, will be appointing a coach to meet the needs of the pupils. The funding will also be used to train a number of the school's teachers to become Cycle Trainers and to provide bikes and bike containers for the pupils.