Later this summer the Department for Transport will launch a £60 million Sustainable Travel Access Fund aimed at providing further support to councils in implementing sustainable and accessible travel schemes.

This money will support schemes over a three year period from 2017 to 2020. But until then, as part of a Sustainable

Travel Transition Year revenue competition, the DfT has allocated £20 million of new funding to be shared between 23 councils.

It is great that some local authorities have received funding for their schemes with Brighton and Hove City Council receiving £485,000 to help make sustainable travel, including cycling and walking, the first choice for people travelling around the city.

However, the fund was massively oversubscribed and many more projects around the country missed out on this vital funding.  If the Government really wants to create more liveable towns and cities it must get serious and make more money available for these sustainable transport schemes. £20m is just a drop in the ocean when, for example, £15 billion is being spent on the motorway-expanding 'Road Investment Strategy'.

Schemes to improve sustainable transport, like the one in Brighton, have a direct impact on people’s lives and communities. They help commuters get to work, improve access to vital services such as shops and hospitals and will reduce pollution by allowing people to leave their cars at home.

Also, in its Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, the Government is only making £600 million available to local authorities for cycling and walking initiatives. This is wholly inadequate to achieve the revolution in cycling that they say they want to create. We need to see more investment to encourage people to get around Brighton and Hove on their bike or by foot leading to more active and healthier lives.    

James MacColl is from the Campaign for Better Transport