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1 Jul 2024

ACT member e-Velo is to open a new store in the Royal Arcade in Norwich in July, selling a range of e-bikes from some of Europe's top brands.

1 Jul 2024

Bicycle manufacturers say they are optimistic about the bike industry’s growth prospects, anticipating a boost in sales – supported by a ‘positive impulse’ from the...

1 Jul 2024

Although London has some of the best cycling infrastructure in the UK it continues to lag behind European cities including The Hague and Paris, according to a new global survey.

1 Jul 2024

ACT partner V12 Retail Finance has been announced as the sponsor for the Retailers Category at the BikeBiz Awards 2024, in association with Push.

1 Jul 2024

Consumer confidence is up in the UK for the third month in a row, according to GfK’s long-running Consumer Confidence Index.

24 Jun 2024

A cycle shop owner has criticised the police’s “abject apathy” towards bike theft after thieves attempted to break into his store for the second time in a year, on the same...

19 Jun 2024

Cytech-partner Activate Cycle Academy, which has specialist cycle maintenance training centres in Oxford, Guildford, Stafford and Darlington, will be exhibiting at this weekend’s York...

19 Jun 2024

Better Bike Social, a festival of cycling that will include a range of talks, workshops, and weekend rides, is coming to Brighton next month.

17 Jun 2024

Cycling enthusiasts in Shrewsbury and Warrington being treated to new cycle shops.

17 Jun 2024

Sustrans has released a manifesto in the lead-up to the General Election that lays out steps the future government needs to make to remove barriers to cycling and other forms of active travel.

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GPs to prescribe cycling to help improve mental & physical health

Posted on in Cycles News , Outdoor News

The Department for Transport has announced a £12.7m trial to begin later this year, in which GPs in England will be able to prescribe walking or cycling as a way of improving mental and physical health and easing the burden on the NHS.

Initially 11 places will receive funding for doctors are to start "social prescription" pilots. The plan aims to reduce GP appointments and people's reliance on medication. The pilots run until 2025 in Bradford, Leeds, Doncaster, Cumbria, Gateshead, Nottingham, Staffordshire, Suffolk, Plymouth, Cornwall, Bath and NE Somerset.

The new Gear Change Plan pilots would be "hugely beneficial" to overall mental and physical health, said the DfT. The pilots will include adult cycle training for all abilities, plus more walking groups for exercise and mental health. Free bike loans will be offered.

Walking and cycling minister Trudy Harrison said more cycling and walking would "ease the burden on our NHS" as well as "improving air quality and reducing congestion".

The government said the authorities must also improve infrastructure, so people felt safe walking and cycling.

"We need healthier, cheaper and more pleasant ways to get around for everyday trips," he said cyclist Chris Boardman, commissioner of National Active Travel, a government agency set up to improve the UK's cycling and walking infrastructure.

"Moving more will lead to a healthier nation, a reduced burden on the NHS, less cancer, heart disease and diabetes, and huge cost savings."

However, while GPs agree the pilot funding is "great news", with obesity a risk factor for Type-2 diabetes, cancers, liver and respiratory disease, some say overstretched surgeries cannot take on even more work created by the pilots.

"Should GPs refer people to these schemes, or should they look after sick people?" asked Doncaster GP Dr Dean Eggitt.  "We don't have capacity for both."

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