Active Travel England is to begin work from York this summer.    

 Active Travel England (ATE), the government's new funding body and inspectorate for walking and cycling, will be based in York from summer 2022 with around 100 members of staff. The first National Commissioner was announced in January as Chris Boardman (right), Olympic gold medallist and former Transport Commissioner for Greater Manchester. Brian Deegan has since been confirmed as Interim Head of Inspection. Active Travel England will be responsible for the government's £2 billion active travel budget and will rate local authorities on how well they implement walking and cycling infrastructure. The authorities behind schemes which are not delivered on time, or to the required standard, may be asked to return funds. Importantly, an assessment of an authority’s performance with respect to sustainable travel outcomes, particularly cycling and walking, will also be taken into account when considering funding allocations for other local transport schemes, including road-building. Boardman has emphasised that the aim is to enable more cycling and encourage more people to switch from driving once safe infrastructure is in place. He says ‘The message is: this is for people doing normal things in normal clothes, just having the choice of not having to do it in a car’