CIHT has shared practical lessons on building community support for active travel schemes at Active Travel England’s Making Active Places 2026 conference in Manchester. 

Speaking as part of the session ‘From Resistance to Reality: Building Community Support for Active Travel’, CIHT Policy Advisor Matilda Fisher presented findings from CIHT’s Overcoming the Barriers to Implementing Active Travel Schemes report. 

The presentation explored why communities can be sceptical about proposed active travel schemes, with common concerns including loss of parking, increased congestion, safety, changes to local character and a lack of trust in decision-makers. 

Fisher highlighted the importance of moving beyond traditional consultation towards co-cultivation, with communities involved earlier and throughout the development of a scheme. 

The research recommends listening before designing, engaging early, shaping proposals together and building ongoing relationships rather than relying on one-off consultation. 

Understanding what matters locally 

The presentation emphasised that building community support starts with understanding the place and the people who use it. 

Questions such as who currently benefits, who is excluded, which journeys matter locally, and what problems people are trying to solve can help practitioners understand local priorities and frame schemes around issues that matter to communities. 

These could include congestion, access to schools and local services, high street vitality, health inequalities, and air quality. 

The presentation also highlighted the importance of delivery in building trust. Communities notice safe crossings, well-maintained footways, clean and usable infrastructure and accessible design- while potholes, obstructions and poor maintenance can undermine confidence. 

Practical recommendations from the research included engaging communities before options are fixed and continuing engagement throughout scheme development, using trusted local champions, and measuring perceptions as well as usage. 

The presentation also highlighted the importance of demonstrating the wider benefits of active travel. Research by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) found that active travel can deliver a £5.62 return for every £1 invested, while increasing walking and cycling can reduce pressure on health services, improve air quality and contribute to safer communities. 

A major investment in active travel 

The session took place as the conference brought together practitioners, policymakers and industry representatives to explore how active travel can contribute to healthier, greener and more inclusive places. 

The conference programme included sessions on women and girls’ safety, active travel and planning, evidence and data, rural highways, child-friendly places, public realm and Greater Manchester’s approach to delivering active travel. 

The event also saw the announcement of £104 million of Government funding for the National Cycle Network. 

Announced by Secretary of State for Transport Heidi Alexander at the conference on 22 September, the four-year investment will be provided to the Walk Wheel Cycle Trust to support hundreds of projects across England, including new traffic-free routes, safer crossings, resurfacing and the removal of barriers affecting wheelchair users. Funding will also support repairs and maintenance to bridges, tunnels and former railway infrastructure forming part of the network. 

The announcement forms part of the Government’s commitment to establish the foundations of a national active travel network by 2030. Work is also underway on a national walking, wheeling and cycling wayfinding system, alongside guidance on network planning and connectivity. 

For CIHT, the investment underlines the importance of ensuring that infrastructure is not only funded and designed effectively but developed in a way that responds to local needs and builds confidence among the communities it serves.