Cycling facilities across England are set to improve with the opening of a £15 million ‘Places to Ride’ capital grants programme, designed to support a lasting legacy from the 2019 UCI Road World Championships in Yorkshire.

Applications are now being accepted by British Cycling and Sport England. Made possible through a new £15m commitment from the UK Government, ‘Places to Ride’ will be delivered over the next three years through a unique partnership between British Cycling, Sport England and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS).

The programme will fund the development of multi-use facilities to engage with a broad spectrum of cyclists and to encourage people who have never cycled before to get on their bikes. This will also include a small grants fund for the improvement of existing cycling facilities and supporting opportunities to ride in communities across England. 

The right to host the UCI Road World Championships – which is set to be the most inclusive, innovative and inspiring road world championships in the history of the UCI – followed a successful bid by British Cycling, UK Sport and Welcome to Yorkshire, which pledged to use this once in a generation opportunity to help transform Britain into a great cycling nation.

The funding scheme sets out to ensure that the championships have a far-reaching and lasting impact on cycling participation across the country. For the first time since 1982, the world’s best cyclists will compete in the pinnacle event in Britain, which will include a range of men’s and women’s races across age groups and will include, for the first time, para-cycling. The full route was revealed during a handover ceremony at the 2018 championships in Innsbruck, Austria, where Harrogate was named as the main competition town to host every race finish.

Martin Merryweather, Strategy Director of British Cycling:

“Ultimately, this funding will encourage more people from a range of backgrounds - regardless of gender, age, ability or ethnicity - to engage with cycling in all its forms.

“We want to work with any organisation that is developing cycling in their community, be that supporting them with improvements to existing facilities or equipment, or large-scale, new-build projects, across all disciplines of cycling. 

“As well as the programme objectives, there are a series of key aspirations that we are seeking to achieve across the projects we invest in. This includes innovation, co-location and integration into the local cycling network as well as a commitment that projects which are accessible by walking and cycling are prioritised.”

Mims Davies, Sport Minister:

“UCI Road World Championships is a fantastic event which will be embraced by our passionate sports fans. It will bring both inspiration and economic benefits to Yorkshire and beyond. I am delighted with this key £15 million investment from government which will further boost the Championships' cycling legacy, and help to get more people across the country on their bikes and get active.”

Charles Johnston, Sport England Director of Property:

“Cycling is one of the most popular activities for people in England, but what stops many from getting on bikes is a lack of access to traffic-free or easy-terrain routes.

“Sport England is proud to be delivering, in partnership with British Cycling, the single biggest government investment into community cycling facilities the country has seen in recent years. The investment will provide more facilities such as tracks and bike centres, where people can ride confidently and safely as well as access to essential equipment they need to have a go.

“The investment will ensure that anyone inspired to cycle after watching the 2019 UCI Road World Championships will have safe and accessible opportunities to do so in their local area.”

This development is hugely exciting for British Cycling and Sport England and will help to broaden the appeal of cycling, by providing more opportunities for people to enjoy riding a bike, connect local communities and create a sustainable lasting legacy:

Find out more about Places to Ride here