Active travel improvements across Sheffield delayed by years, as inflation eats into funding

Multi-million pound schemes to improve walking and cycling infrastructure in Sheffield have been delayed by years, despite the funding for them already being in place, campaigners have warned.

Five major schemes to transform parts of the city under the 'Connecting Sheffield' banner should have been completed by March this year, but none have even started construction yet.

Central government initially suggested that the money awarded to Sheffield City Council (SCC) under its Transforming Cities Fund (TCF) had to be spent by March 2023 or it was at risk of being withheld or clawed back.

The Department for Transport (DfT) have confirmed to Now Then that the funding for these schemes has now been delivered to SCC, with the hard deadline possibly abandoned due to nationwide supply shortages.

But even though SCC have now received the full amount of funding originally awarded to them, it is worth significantly less than when they bid for it due to inflation.

Leeds, who were awarded TCF money at the same time as Sheffield, started construction on their similarly-ambitious projects in August 2022.

In an email the Council say they “remain committed” to the Connecting Sheffield project, but some active travel campaigners fear the projects have been delayed for political reasons relating to disagreements within the local Labour Party.

"Terry [Fox, Council Leader] doesn't like cycling because he thinks it's middle-class," a Labour source who wanted to remain anonymous told Now Then.

2021 statistics from the Department for Transport show that more workers in routine and manual occupations travel by bike (2.7%) than those in managerial or professional positions (2%). Those in the middle income brackets are also much more likely than those on lower incomes to travel by car.

Studies in London have shown that building better and safer cycling infrastructure, like that proposed in the Connecting Sheffield schemes, “diversifies and normalises” cycling for a wider range of people.

The delays have led to temporary infrastructure such as the busy Pinstone Street route, which is shared with pedestrians, being kept in place. This shared space has been described by some local cyclists as a “really bad idea”, but should already have been replaced by a permanent scheme with separate space for walking and cycling.

The council also recently announced that a separately-funded project to improve Fargate and High Street has been downscaled due to rising costs, with only the Fargate element of the scheme going ahead until extra funding is secured.

"It is clear that there are various reasons for the delays – Covid-19, Brexit, austerity,” Dexter Johnstone of CycleSheffield told Now Then. “However, it is also clear that active travel schemes are not seen as a priority by some senior politicians in Sheffield.

“Other cities in the UK, such as Leeds, have built their Transforming Cities Fund schemes. Sheffield has yet to start any of them.”

David Bocking, a local freelance writer interested in active travel and the outdoors, added that "the suspicion is that some local politicians in South Yorkshire still don’t get it, or are nervous about their voters not getting it."

"Poorly managed consultations don’t help, where it seems angry drivers get heard far more than worried mothers or the poorest communities where fewer people have access to a car.

"The city is trying to tackle bad air that kills and maims hundreds of people every year, a cost of living crisis where car and bus travel is costly and difficult, and a public health crisis due to inactivity, so it’s baffling why our city is not moving quicker when cheap and easy walking and cycling are an answer to all of these problems, and better for local economies too."

Below we look at the five main schemes and see where they’re up to.

City Centre

A council document from January 2021 says that this part of the scheme will be "delivered by March 2023". This would link up with the upcoming Clean Air Zone, which is due to go live on 27 February.

But according to an email sent to CycleSheffield from co-chair of the Transport Committee Mazher Iqbal, dated 22 December 2022 and seen by Now Then, the full business case for this scheme is now due to be submitted to the mayor's office in "June 2023." This means construction will start no earlier than November 2023 – eight months after it was due to be completed.

A small part of the city centre scheme – a bus gate outside the Novotel on Arundel Gate – is due to go live on an experimental basis on 27 February. SCC say that this part of the plan, which will stop cars travelling between Park Square roundabout and Furnival Square roundabout, is being “introduced ahead of the wider City Centre proposals to contribute to the Clean Air Zone.”

Nether Edge – City Centre

A council document from April 2021 says that this part of the scheme will be "delivered by March 2023".

But Cllr Iqbal's email states that the full business case for this scheme is now due to be submitted in "June 2023." This means construction will start no earlier than November 2023 – eight months after it was due to be completed.

Darnall – Attercliffe

A council document from April 2021 says that this part of the scheme will be "delivered by March 2023".

But Cllr Iqbal's email states that the full business case for this scheme is now due to be submitted in "September 2023." This means construction will start no earlier than February 2024 – almost a year after it was due to be completed.

Magna – Tinsley

A council document from March 2021 says that this part of the scheme will be "delivered by March 2023".

But Cllr Iqbal's email states that the full business case for this scheme is now due to be submitted in "July 2023." This means construction will start no earlier than December 2023 – and Iqbal also states that the council are “looking to split the scheme into two phases as some elements are simpler to deliver than others.”

Neepsend – Kelham Island – City Centre

A council document from March 2021 says that this part of the scheme will be "delivered by March 2023".

Cllr Iqbal's email states that the full business case for this scheme was due to be submitted in "December 2022." This means construction will start no earlier than May 2023 – two months after it was due to be completed.

Active travel commissioner

On 7 February South Yorkshire’s new Active Travel Commissioner – a post that has been vacant for nearly a year since Sarah Storey moved to a similar role in Manchester – was announced.

Olympic medal winner Ed Clancy said he would use his new platform to “break down the barriers that stop people choosing active travel” in South Yorkshire.

"We need Ed to publicly champion these schemes and advocate for more,” said Dexter Johnstone. “He will need to work with officials to overcome delays and obstructions.

“Ed and his project director (when appointed) will need to push the four local authorities to be as ambitious as possible when designing and bidding for schemes to avoid failures like South Yorkshire's Active Travel Funding 3 bid, where only 20% of funding was awarded."

At a meeting unveiling Clancy as the new commissioner, John Dowie, the mayor’s Executive Director of Infrastructure and Place, reportedly said that “the reason a lot of this is going slow” is because of reluctance from local politicians.

“Some politicians are absolutely pro this [active travel] agenda,” he said. “But a lot of politicians have, rightly or wrongly, got the message that their voters don’t buy this.”