Final submissions for Places for Everyone Concept (Stages 0-2) applications are due by the end of August 23rd 2022.
Ahead of this, an information session was delivered to community-led organisations, which had received a successful Expression of Interest outcome. A small cohort of the Places for Everyone team provided an overview of the Application Guidance and supplementary guidance for community-led organisations and outlined the next steps in the process.
Key questions answered
Are letters from stakeholders (for example, support letters) required? They aren’t required; however, they will support your application as evidence.
How detailed should the estimated costs be, and do you have advice on what approach to take when calculating these figures? We don’t expect accurate figures, so provide your best guess at this stage.
Is there guidance on existing project costs to refer to? Sustrans have not created guidance for this because it can vary significantly. It is a good idea to use the resources you have, and you can search online for comparable projects. The important part is evidencing why you have come to that conclusion. Transport Scotland has some guidance on their website on to arrive at estimation costs.
Do you have a list of consultants and contacts that have been involved in similar work? We are unable to provide a list of consultants or to provide recommendations taking in to account it is public funding.
Is it possible to arrange an appointment with a Grant Advisor before submitting the full application? We can arrange individual appointments for those who would find this beneficial and have received a successful Expression of Interest outcome. To arrange this, please email PlacesForEveryone@sustrans.org.uk with suggestions of dates/times that are convenient for you.
Is it okay to have an overlap in the delivery team e.g., Community Engagement Lead and Communications Lead to be the same person?An overlap in the delivery team is acceptable.
Is an email sufficient evidence of support from local authorities? Yes, if it is clear and it has a signature with their name, job title and organisation.
Full slides from the session can be downloaded below:
Final submissions for Places for Everyone Concept (Stages 0-2) applications are due by the end of August 23rd 2022.
Ahead of this, Heads of Programme Chiquita Elvin and Simon Strain outline the key changes to the Places for Everyone application process and answer a number of questions from applicants.
Key questions answered
How essential is it for local authorities to submit Expressions of Interest for new projects? Expressions of Interest allow applicants to receive a quick response on whether their project proposal aligns with the aim of Places for Everyone, thereby reducing the time expended on a full application for a project proposal that is not eligible.
If a project is being delivered as a trial within a calendar year, what stage should this be submitted to: 0-2, 3-4, 5-7? We consider trials from stages 0 to 4, therefore it would be 100% funded. If you’re needing to run trials to decide on a preferred option, then we’re happy to discuss this with you to determine which stage the trial would be most appropriate.
Will Sustrans consider retrospectively funding projects? For consistency and transparency, we’ll be looking to only be funding work into the future or yet to happen.
If your Expression of Interest is unsuccessful, can you make amendments to your proposal and still apply through the portal? Yes, Places for Everyone can provide feedback on why the project was considered ineligible. Changes can then be made in response to this feedback and a second expression of interest submitted to reassess eligibility.
Is the fund open to local authorities only or can community councils/groups apply if they have a proposal? The fund is open to applications from community organisations including community councils, development trusts and more. We wouldencourage interested parties to read the guidance for community organisations.
If we have undertaken Concept (Stages 0-2) with another agency, should we still submit our expression of interest? Yes, the expression of interest assesses the project’s eligibility for funding. Please refer to the deliverables for stages 0-2 to assess if all deliverables have been sufficiently met by the previous agency.
Have you increased your standards (i.e. paths should be a minimum of 3 metres in width)? Working to the standards specified in Cycling By Design, the width of paths in our projects should be appropriate for the estimated levels of usage. The benefits of a wider path enable improved comfort, travelling side-by-side, social experiences, and more robust infrastructure. However, we recognise there are barriers to development, such as width constraints, geological constraints, and land ownership. We promote a width of at least 3 metres wherever possible.
Is there support available to go over draft applications ahead of submission? This service is not currently available, though we wish to organise this in future – recruitment is ongoing. Currently, we can offer technical support for all applicants, and additional application support for community groups.
Due to heritage constraints, it’s not easy to build cycle infrastructure (e.g. cycle lanes on setted streets). Will this type of project be scored lower or will this be something that is taken into consideration? Scoring for this type of project would not be affected. We would encourage consideration of alternate routes that utilise streets that are un-setted, safer or more suitable.
Is there any additional support for community groups with the application? We have organised three Applicant Information Sessions for community organisations during week commencing Monday 15th August 2022, which are available to community organisations who have submitted an expression of interest and were successful at this stage.
Full slides from the session can be downloaded below:
Following the Covid-19 pandemic, the Places for Everyone fund is open to Concept (Stages 0-2) project applications.
Funded by the Scottish Government, Places for Everyone aims to create safer, more attractive, healthier, and inclusive places by increasing and diversifying the number of trips made by walking, wheeling, or cycling for everyday journeys.
Concept (Stages 0-2) projects are the first step in delivering high quality active travel infrastructure, serving to define the scope of a project, its desired outcomes and helping to develop a final project concept design.
What does this mean for you?
Both new and existing partners, big and small, are invited to apply for funding, from large statutory organisations like local authorities to smaller community organisations and development trusts.
We can award 100% of design costs and 70% of construction costs and will work with you to identify any match funding needed.
All our Places for Everyone partners can also look forward to receiving tailored support and guidance from Sustrans to ensure every project achieves the best possible outcome.
“Delivering high quality and accessible walking, wheeling, and cycling infrastructure has always been of the utmost importance to us. From multi-million-pound city transformations to new rural community active travel links, the Places for Everyone fund has allowed us to work closely with partners all across Scotland. We look forward to continuing to support more active travel projects to becoming a reality”.
“Sustained investment in walking, wheeling, and cycling infrastructure is crucial in helping to build a more active nation. With the Places for Everyone fund now open to new applications, supported by record funding here in Scotland for active travel, we will continue to enable our villages, towns and cities to build the right kind of transformative infrastructure in the right places – making active travel easier for shorter everyday journeys.”
Patrick Harvie, Minister for Active Travel, Scottish Government
What are the key dates?
All of our key upcoming dates, including those for other upcoming stage groupings, can be found below:
After more than a year away, the Places for Everyone fund is set to open again to new and existing project applications for Concept (Stages 0-2) from 25th July 2022.
To prepare for this, our team are working hard to ensure that updated Application Guidance is made available to partners as soon as possible.
This updated guidance will be made available to all partners on 11th July 2022.
From the opening date of 25th July 2022, partners will then have four weeks to submit their applications for the deadline of 23rd August 2022.
A Decision Making Panel will be held on 31st October 2022.
Updated programme aim
We have brought our programme aim up to date to emphasise that projects which receive Places for Everyone funding should be truly for everyone.
All Places for Everyone projects must deliver capital infrastructure which helps to achieve this aim to:
Create safer, more attractive, healthier, and inclusive places which are enjoyed equitably by increasing and diversifying the number of trips made by walking, wheeling or cycling for everyday journeys.
Examples of the types of projects Places for Everyone is able to fund can be found on the Our Projects page.
New Expression of Interest
We will be launching an online Expression of Interest form via our partner-facing Places for Everyone page on 11th July 2022.
A new shorter Expression of Interest form will allow partners to submit a basic project proposal to Places for Everyone and receive a response within one week as to whether the proposed project is something Places for Everyone can fund.
Whilst submitting an Expression of Interest is not mandatory, it is strongly recommended and will help us to process your Full Application more quickly.
The only information required from an Expression of Interest proposal will be the contact details of your organisation and a basic description of the project proposed, including it’s aims and which Stage(s) funding is being applied for.
If your Expression of Interest is successful, you will be invited to submit a Full Application via the Project Portal.
There are three separate project applications groupings which can be applied for through Places for Everyone. Concept (Stages 0-2); Design (Stages 3-4); and Construction (5-7).
Clearer eligibility for community organisations
To support community organisations to understand whether they are eligible we will be launching a quick and anonymous Eligibility Assessment on Monday 11th July 2022.
This Eligibility Assessment will ask community groups to complete a short set of ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ questions and receive an immediate response on whether they are eligible to apply for funding.
Eligible community organisations will then be invited to submit an Expression of Interest form, provided they already have a project vision in mind.
The Eligibility Assessment will consider the following requirements:
Ability to manage long-term financial obligations
Possession of Public Liability Insurance
Support from relevant local authority
Understanding of CDM regulations
Possession of a signed constitution
Required number of board members in accordance with constitution
Key dates
Applications, Deadlines and Panels
Applications for new and existing Concept (Stage 0-2) projects open on July 25th 2022.
Updated guidance will be made available on 11th July 2022.
The application deadline for Concept (Stage 0-2) projects is 23rd August 2022.
A Decision Making Panel will be held on 31st October 2022.
Expressions of Interest
An online version of our Expression of Interest form will launch for all partners on 11th July 2022.
Eligibility
An Eligibility Assessment for community organisations will launch on 11th July 2022.
Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us if you have any questions.
Snippet of the full Components of a Behaviour Change Plan drawing
A concrete and well-designed Behaviour Change plan can play a crucial role in determining the overall success of an active travel infrastructure project.
This can affect everything from the level of early engagement you are able to develop within a community, to the way a project is received in terms of infrastructure usage once construction is complete.
The resources below outline the key elements of developing your own Behaviour Change Plan and should serve as a guide to take your project forward.
Connecting Woodside project - The North Woodside Road/Maryhill Road junction
In the recording below, we hear from Anna Gale from Public Health Scotland, who give an overview of the findings and recommendations from the Health Impact Assessment.
The event poster for the Active Travel in Europe webinar series
Introduction
We hear from a fantastic line up of speakers who present and share experiences of the increase of temporary active travel interventions and strategies during the pandemic in Europe, and how these can shape the way for future long-term measures and solutions. By coming together and learning from each other, it may be possible to keep this momentum going – to transform temporary solutions into more permanent implementations and accelerate the development of sustainable active travel infrastructure across Europe.
The event poster for the Active Travel in Europe webinar series
Paris
Clotilde Imbert, Director of Copenhagenize France, presents case studies from Paris, a city that has seen an increase in temporary cycle paths but also a high increase in cycling since the beginning of the pandemic. In addition, the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, has an ambitious strategy, ‘Plan Vélo’ to transform Paris into a cycle-friendly city.
According to European Cyclists’ Federation, since the pandemic, France has added €300m in funding for the country’s cycling infrastructure. In the opinion column, ‘A unique opportunity to speed up the implementation of bicycle plans‘ on Copenhagenize’s website, Clotilde expands on her view of the possibilities and strategies that she believes should take place as a next step in creating permanent active travel infrastructure in France.
Brussels
Florine Cuignet, Policy Officer of GRACQ, shares how GRACQ represents cyclists and promotes cycling in the french-speaking parts of Belgium. According to European Cyclists’ Federation, Brussels is one of the cities that implemented the most cycle lanes during the pandemic in Europe. In addition, the country added almost €480m in their cycling infrastructure budget in response to the pandemic.
Last year the Belgian federal government, for the first time, published a cycling action plan for the country. The plan consists of 52 action points that will facilitate and promote cycling, which will be implemented by 2024.
Ed Lancaster, Director of EuroVelo at the independent non-profit association European Cyclists’ Federation, presents case studies from rural areas in Europe. EuroVelo (European cycle route network) is a cooperation between different national and regional partners. The aim is to ensure that there are very high quality European-grade cycle routes and networks across Europe.
In January, EuroVelo presented the news that cycling on the EuroVelo routes have continued rising since the pandemic. In addition, ECF is also partner for the cross-border BIGIMUGI project that ‘aims at developing cycling mobility for all in rural areas situated along EuroVelo 3’.
Ragnhild Sørensen shares more about work that the Berlin-based organisation, Changing Cities, do. As many other cities, Berlin has created pop-up cycle lanes during the pandemic, something that has not been appreciated by all political parties. The pop-up cycle lanes were monitored and developed according to feedback. The organisation has also launched the campaign Kiezblocks in Berlin, where more than 50 local initiatives want to limit the permeability of the road network for motorised individual transport (MIT) while prioritising walking and cycling on non-arterial streets. Kiezblock is a strategy for transformational urban adaptation, initiated by locals.
Panel Session
In this panel session, we welcome back all keynote speakers to answer pre-submitted and unanswered questions. The panel session will also include discussion around key themes identified throughout the series, including:
Evidence suggests that the most efficient mechanism for boosting active travel is a mix of interventions that complement each other (e.g. infrastructure interventions and behavioural interventions like a route planning training).
In Places for Everyone we therefore ask applicants to design a mix of behavioural interventions alongside their infrastructure projects, and present these in a behaviour change plan.
Intentionally developing and implementing a plan of activities will increase the use of new infrastructure at the outset and ultimately increase the impact it has.
Start by considering your local context (the local people and organisations), engage and listen. Design a plan just as you would design infrastructure; in a context specific way and in response to feedback. This may it take more time but is well worth it and important.
School placemaking engagement event - Corstorphine Connections, St Margarets Park
Introduction
This page offers materials and bite-sized, interactive tutorials on understanding and delivering community engagement and behaviour change in Places for Everyone projects.
This includes a practical guide to behaviour change strategies and interventions, as well as a community engagement guide, and the types of community sector organisations. Please note that you can find the references and relevant resources at the bottom of this page.
This page is a work in progress an will be updated with new materials frequently. Your feedback will help shape future sessions and materials.
Developing a Behaviour Change Plan
In this session, we cover:
Why behaviour change plans are important;
What behaviour change plans should include;
Community engagement vs behaviour change;
Involving seldom-heard groups;
Selecting interventions; and
Key points to remember.
Putting Theory into Practice
The session above, “Developing a Behaviour Change Plan”, mentions that one of the most effective mechanisms for boosting active travel is a mix of measures that complement each other. Infrastructure is just one measure we can use. In this session, we take a practical look at how to put together an effective programme that will result in a greater diversity of people using the infrastructure.
In this session we’re going to look at community organisations in a bit more depth. We cover:
Explanation of the terms Community Sector, Third sector and Voluntary sector
Types of community organisation
Legal structures
Social enterprises and BIDs
Community Engagement and Co-production
Our Community Engagement Guide 2022 provides an overview of best practice in community engagement and allows you to easily identify which deliverables and activities are appropriate at each stage in the process. This guide covers:
An overview of community engagement standards that underpin effective and purposeful engagement
The Loch Indaal Way joins the communities of Port Charlotte and Bruichladdich via a safe, accessible and traffic-free route.
Prior to this, the sole existing link between the two communities was a section of the A847 carriageway, a national speed limit road which offers little protection to those walking wheeling and cycling on the island.
The newly completed off-road route has already proved popular with local residents and business owners, with its frequency of use expected to greatly increase when the tourist season returns.
The Loch Indaal Way project was spearheaded by the Islay Community Access Group (ICAG), a local network of volunteers with a vision to increase health and wellbeing through greater outdoor accessibility.
Patrick McGrann, Head of the ICAG, said:
“ICAG, a small voluntary group, worked for 6 years to deliver the Loch Indaal Way. We are extremely proud of our new community asset .To see local folk and visitors of all ages and abilities enjoying access to the countryside is heart warming. We have involved our community throughout and all have ownership and satisfaction of a job well done.”
Pat McGrann, Head, Islay Community Access Group
With the support of Sustrans’ Places for Everyone programme, ICAG secured the a large part of the funding to deliver the 2.53km off-road active travel route.
Sustrans and ICAG previously worked together to deliver the lauded Three Distilleries Path at Port Ellen, a popular 5km active travel route which takes in the Laphroaig, Lagavulin and Ardbeg distilleries.
Emily Gait, Infrastructure Coordinator for Sustrans, said:
“The Loch Indaal Way is a great example of where a community have worked together to create a project which meets the needs of the people who live and visit the area. Inclusive designs and strong community backing have been key to the ultimate success of this project.
Going forward, we hope this inspires other small communities across Scotland to nurture their own walking, wheeling and cycling ambitions.”
Emily Gait, Infrastructure Coordinator, Sustrans
Key features of the route include three upgraded and newly created crossings, as well as landscaping and placemaking initiatives such as the provision of comfortable seating areas and shrubbery sections.
Smooth gradients and minimal placement of steps also maximise accessibility for users with limited mobility.
The proposals to create a new off-road walking, wheeling and cycling route between Port Charlotte and Bruichladdich received popular community support from the outset.
Through an proactive and considered period of engagement, ICAG worked closely with local landowners to secure necessary land donations to make the path a reality.
The local Bruichladdich Distillery also became involved in the promotion and funding behind the project, even entering into a maintenance agreement with ICAG to ensure to path stays fit for purpose.
AJ Cunningham, Operations Manager at Bruichladdich Distillery, said:
“Even before the path was finalised, it was being adopted by a lot of locals. I don’t think this was out of them being inquisitive, either. It’s just a really enjoyable and risk-free way to walk where they didn’t have that option before.
I don’t think it could’ve worked out any better unless you took it all the way out to Bridgend!”.
AJ Cunningham, Operations Manager, Bruichladdich Distillery
Evident local enthusiasm for project only further increased as construction got well underway against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic.
At an opening event in October of last year, children from Port Charlotte Primary School led a procession along the Loch Indaal Way from the Port Ban war memorial to Bruichladdich Town Hall.
They were joined on-route by local residents, members of ICAG and the local Baptist Minister, as well as the musical stylings of the Islay Pipe Band.
After passing several renowned destinations, including the Bruichladdich Distillery, the event culminated in a ceremonial ribbon cutting, which officially opened the route for all users to enjoy.
A recently installed cycle repair station has also been well received by the community, ensuring daily errands, active commutes and leisure trips are able to continue with minimal disruption.
