Organisations that produce travel plans are eligible to apply for grants to help fund facilities which make it easier for staff to travel to work sustainably - this might be cycle parking, staff showers or even bus stops.
Examples of organisations that have taken advantage of these grants include:-
Cummins - covered cycle parking provision was increased so there is now capacity for 70 bikes.
Surestart McNay Street - installed showers for staff cycling or walking to work.
Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College - installed a secure, covered cycle shed for 80 bikes.
Darlington College - installed secure bike boxes for more than 30 bikes.
With the help of a grant Ken Burgess, Director of Exis Technologies, a computer software company based on Faverdale Industrial Estate is to install showers and changing facilities for the 15 staff he employs.
Ken Burgess, a keen cyclist himself, will be regularly cycling to work and he thinks that the installation of a shower will allow him and some of his staff to be fresher at the start of the working day.
"Local Motion's help in funding the installation of the shower will be a huge benefit to the staff who will be more likely to cycle to work as a result, rather than drive. Our new office is in an ideal location for cycling to work and there are a good number of segregated cycle routes linking Faverdale with other parts of the town”.
Anyone wanting further information on the travel plan grants should contact Greg McDougall on 01325 388721.