Communities at the heart of active travel investment

Communities and their aspirations will be at the heart of investment in active travel as the Council looks to make best use of £0.5m recently allocated by elected members towards foothpath, care path and cycleway improvements in the county.

In December last year, Councillors approved £8.25m of funding towards a specific suite of projects aimed at supporting Orkney's recovery from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, utilising government funding remaining from 2020/21 aimed at helping councils meet the additional costs of operation and to compensate for income lost during the year. Elected members allocated £500k of the overall pot towards paths and cycleways – in recognition of the hugely important role these played and will continue to do as a result of the pandemic.

The Council’s aim is for the £500k to be used to support projects with strong backing from communities – this includes aspirations already earmarked for further work with communities through consultations and place plans such as ‘Your Kirkwall’ and ‘What’s Next for Stromness’. The recent Orkney Matters consultation will also inform future projects with Orkney’s communities; including our islands.

It’s anticipated funding can be issued to help attract match funding from elsewhere, leveraging even more from the initial £500k.

Chair of the Council’s Development and Infrastructure, Councillor Graham Sinclair, said: “Active travel supports our wellbeing and is vital to a low carbon future for Orkney.

“The next step on the path to more active travel provision in Orkney is to look closely at the feedback from communities we’ve received through Orkney Matters.

“Our officers including our Sustrans Embedded Officer want to work with communities to develop a plan of attack and a set of priorities.

“One of the key outcomes from the Orkney Matters consultation so far has been that our communities have enjoyed the great outdoors during periods of lockdown and how they would like to see more active travel journeys and opportunities for all.

“Progress will involve some further consultation to make sure we are best using the funds and resource.

“Having this additional funding, especially after such a difficult two years, is a great position to be in and we look forward to working closely with communities to make the best of it, and make headway into some long standing aspirations.”

Council officers and partner organisations are currently working through over 1200 questionnaires and the outcomes of 11 virtual community meetings – detailed feedback will be provided in coming weeks to communities, community councils, development trusts, community associations, local press, and via the Council’s ‘OIC Updates’ Facebook page.