Sustainable Travel Grants for Schools
Schools can apply for ‘Sustainable Travel Grants’ to help implement measures that increase walking, wheeling, cycling and scooting to school.
The grants are open to schools who can demonstrate a need to improve road safety outside the school gates by reducing the number of people who travel to school by car and increase the number of people who travel actively and sustainably.
Schools can apply for grants up to the value of £10,000 for cycle and scooter parking and up to £5000 for supplementary measures that support your plans to encourage more people to walk, wheel, cycle or scoot to school, building on the rise of greener, more environmentally friendly, people-powered journeys.
Benefits of promoting and enabling active and sustainable travel
- Better air quality around the school gates
- Reduce issues caused by inconsiderate and dangerous parking
- Improve road safety around your school
- Reduce traffic queues and congestion around your school
- Support your students and staff to be more physically active by making it easier to walk, wheel, cycle or scoot to school
- Healthier and happier students – improved physical and mental wellbeing
- Reduce your schools transport emissions
- Save money on fuel and vehicle costs – for your parents and your employees
Funding will be directed towards schemes that:
- Support and encourage active modes of transport which deliver health and well-being benefits, thereby reducing the number of people who travel to school by car.
- Support and encourage travel which minimises CO2 emissions and other pollutant emissions.
- Improve road safety.
Schemes that will be eligible for funding:
- Promotional events/campaigns that encourage walking, wheeling, cycling, scooting
- Scooter, skateboarding or cycling skills sessions
- Active Travel Breakfasts or incentives to walk or cycle to school
- Provision of pool / or fleet of bikes
- Improvement of pedestrian / cycling access
- Bike Maintenance or Dr Bike sessions
- New or improvements to cycle and or scooter parking facilities
Schools are able to apply for more than one initiative/schemes e.g. funding for Dr Bike Session and Scooter Storage.
This isn’t an extensive list, please feel free to apply for any initiative or scheme that will increase active travel.
Scheme criteria:
- Schools can apply for a sustainable travel grant up to a maximum of £10,000 for cycle and / or scooter parking and up to £5000 for supplementary measures that support your plans to encourage more people to walk, wheel, cycle or scoot to school.
- The grants will support schools with the development of a Modeshift STARS school travel plan, to enable an increase in walking, wheeling and cycling and other forms of sustainable and active travel.
- Schools will agree to monitor the impact and benefits of the scheme by providing baseline data and surveys.
- Schools must register on the Modeshift STARS platform, create a travel plan and as a minimum, have completed the Site Audit section and student travel survey.
- The awarded school must commit to achieving a minimum of Good Modeshift STARS accreditation within 12 months of receiving their grant. (This means that they will have developed a Travel Plan and committed to delivering actions to further promote and enable active and sustainable travel to and from their site.)
Scheme application process
- Complete the application, include details of your proposed scheme: Sustainable Travel Grant Application
- Milton Keynes City Council will assesses applications on a monthly basis
- MKCC accepts/rejects application
- Applicant agrees to criteria, registers on Modeshift STARS and commits to creating a travel plan to encourage and enable more people to travel actively and sustainably to school.
- Applicant completes school travel survey to capture baseline data and completes site audit.
- Applicant delivers the travel plan and monitors the impact and benefits of the investment via the Modeshift STARS platform.
