Mayor’s Active Travel Fund

The Mayor seeks to work with a range of organisations including public sector organisations, businesses and community groups to increase active travel participation in the York and North Yorkshire region.

The fund will  be split into two to ensure that both larger scale schemes and smaller scale schemes can be considered and successfully delivered.

This prospectus is for public bodies only.

The fund seeks to increase active travel participation in the York and North Yorkshire region and provides additional funding to deliver more schemes currently funded via other government transport grants such as the national Active Travel Fund and the Local Transport Grant.

It is envisaged that the fund will enable smaller-scale infrastructure or capital projects as well as behavioural change initiatives. The fund may also support the delivery of feasibility studies for larger projects to be delivered in the future potentially using an alternative funding source.

Total value: £2.4 million

Delivery window: June 2026 – January 2028 (20 months)

Administered by: York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority

Grant type: Capital and revenue available

Grant range: £100,000 – £500,000 per project

Ring-fenced to public bodies (for example Local Authorities, National Parks, Canals and Rivers Trust).

The fund will be looking for projects that are wholly deliverable by January 2028.

Must be able to demonstrate that all key stakeholders involved in the delivering the proposal must be fully engaged and supportive. This is especially important where measures are proposed on highways land or land under private ownership, and with schemes that require regulatory approval to be implemented, this fund will only be able to support schemes that have the consent of the relevant landowner. Any project on council land or needing highways approval would need the support of the affected local authority.

Projects to be located in York and North Yorkshire.

Must agree to data sharing protocols in accordance with GDPR and the Combined Authority’s data governance procedures.

Subsidy control  – As a rule, public funding for infrastructure that delivers a general public benefit and which is not intended to be used primarily to carry out an economic activity will not fall within the scope of the Act. Where infrastructure in the form of roads, bridges, tunnels and inland waterways is not intended to be commercially exploited and is made available to the public to use for free, the provision of access to this infrastructure will not be considered to constitute an economic activity and public funding for this infrastructure will not fall within the scope of the Act.

Take part in evaluation activities, proportionate to the size and scope of the project. For larger projects, this may include contributing case studies, conducting surveys, and providing assessments of value for money, in addition to standard reporting requirements.

Engage in networking sessions with other successful applicants to share learning and help demonstrate the overall impact of the fund.

Demonstrate that all necessary conditions and approvals have been met, such as undertaking consultations, securing planning permission or obtaining highway authority consent, where applicable.

Match funding is a requirement for this fund. We expect to see the following minimum levels of match funding:

• Infrastructure projects: 10%
• Behaviour change/development projects: 10%

For example, a project seeking a grant of £100,000 would be expected to contribute 10% of this value i.e. £10,000 in addition to the grant.

Match funding is acceptable in the following forms:

• Funding from other sources e.g. central government funding or lottery funds (but not other Y&NY Mayoral Investment Funds)
• Internal Funding

• New or upgraded walking and cycling routes such as footway widening, off road paths, light segregated cycle lanes, landscaping etc that are in line with current design standards, including LTN 1/20 and Manual for Streets, as well as any relevant guidance from Active Travel England
• Provision for cycle parking, cycle hubs and cycle hangers that meet best practice standards (as above) for modern designs
• Enhanced junctions or crossings for active modes
• Traffic calming and management measures such as 20mph zones, modal filters, school streets
• Improved access to public transport through active travel connections
• Safer and more inclusive environments for underrepresented groups
• Behaviour change initiatives such as cycle training, social prescribing and community bike schemes, walking groups, marketing campaigns and travel plans
• Behaviour change initiatives linked to physical infrastructure

Below costs will be considered as ineligible funding:

• Costs related already running/funded projects (Business as Usual or already planned to be introduced in 2025-2028)
• Costs related to other works outside of the project being funded (including in kind contributions)
• Purchase of equipment not related to this fund
• Routine or already planned maintenance
• Funding of projects required or agreed through the planning process and planning agreements with developments (for example an AT junction improvement that is required as part of the permission to build a new housing development)
• We do not anticipate awarding individual grants in excess of £500,000, however bids in excess of this value will be considered and grants may be awarded above this value in exceptional circumstances and where there is a strong case made across all aspects of the application.

The project seeking the funding is expected to deliver direct outputs as well as a wider regional outcomes.

Outputs: Projects must deliver direct improvements in the walking, wheeling, or cycling environment.

Projects should clearly outline how they will contribute to:

• Number of people actively engaging in active travel uptake
• Number of people participating in behavioural change initiatives
• Number of accessibility improvements to improve safety
• Number of infrastructure improvements to enhance local connectivity and reduce emissions.

Outcomes:  Beyond site-specific benefits, projects should demonstrate potential to catalyse wider regional change in the promotion and delivery of active travel. This could include:

• Sharing learning with other localities across York and North Yorkshire
• Piloting innovative or underused design approaches, delivery models, or community engagement methods
• Supporting data collection and monitoring to inform future investment decisions
• Creating replicable approaches that enable future scheme development elsewhere in the region
• Strengthen the ability of communities, businesses and other organisations to take up active travel initiatives.

All eligible applications submitted will be assessed against a consistent appraisal framework. Approval of grants is delegated to the Director of Economy at York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority.  

For the appraisal of applications, HM Treasury’s 5 Case methodology will be followed to ensure that applications demonstrate the strategic, economic, financial, commercial and management case for investment. This will require applicants to:

ØExplain and evidence the Need for the project

ØExplain and evidence the Strategic Fit with the programme objectives

ØExplain and evidence the positive Impact the project will have and explain how measurable outputs and outcomes will be achieved.  Any added value the project will achieve to maximise the public benefit from the grant funding should be described too

ØProvide an accurate and reasonable breakdown of Project Costs

ØExplain how the project will be Deliverable in full within the timeframe

ØExplain who will be Managing the project and track record of delivery.

Application window opens: 12 December 2025

Deadline for application submissions: 27 February 2026 (11.59pm)

Appraisal and decision making: February – March 2026

Notification and contracting: April – May 2026

Delivery period: June 2026 – January 2028

Monitoring: June 2026 onwards

Evaluation reporting: January 2028 onwards

To apply, please use the following link:  https://ynyca.jotform.com/253372543537056

The Application window will be open from the 12 December 2025 and will close on the 27 February 2026 (11.59pm).

Applicants should:

Read the guidance in full

Complete and submit the application form and any additional documents or supporting information before the deadline

Next steps:

1.Once the application window closes, applications will be checked for eligibility

2.Eligible applications will be appraised

3.Appraisal scoring and applications will be submitted to a panel for recommendation

4.Recommendations will be submitted to the Director of Economy at the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority for approval

5.Decisions will be communicated to applicants

6.If applicants are successful, the contracting process to create a grant funding agreement will begin

7.Once funding agreements have been finalised and signed, project delivery can begin.

8.Please note that decisions cannot be appealed.

GOV.UK – UK subsidy control regime: statutory guidance – GOV.UK

HM Treasury – Guide to Developing the Project Business Case

York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority – Economic Framework

York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority – Mayor’s Vision