Scottish Borders Community Cycling Fund launched to help deliver lasting legacy from 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships

Community Cycling Fund launched to help deliver lasting legacy from 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships

A Scottish Borders Community Cycling Fund worth £125,000 will open to applications later this week as part of a national initiative to create a lasting benefit from the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships.

The Scottish Borders is a proud host of the Championships, which are being held in Glasgow and across Scotland in August. Some of the world’s best mountain bike riders will tackle Glentress Forest’s famous terrain when the Tweed Valley hosts the Mountain Bike Cross-country and Mountain Bike Cross-country Marathon.

The new grant scheme aims to support the delivery of local community cycling events and activities which encourage and inspire new and existing cyclists, reach and engage new audiences to participate in cycling activity, and encourage cycling within under-represented groups, including children and young people, girls and women.

In addition, the fund can be used to connect and add value to existing cycling initiatives, programmes, events and infrastructure to promote and celebrate the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships and the power of the bike.

Grants of between £3,000 and £15,000 will be available to community groups, organisations and event businesses.

Councillor Euan Jardine, Leader of Scottish Borders Council, said: “The 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships is more than just an event for the Scottish Borders and its impact will be far reaching, as we work with a range of partners to deliver on the recently launched South of Scotland Cycling Strategy and current investments such as the Mountain Bike Innovation Centre and Kirkpatrick C2C (Coast to Coast) route.

“This new grant scheme can not only help celebrate us hosting the World Championships but inspire and encourage the next generation and new cyclists to get in the saddle and experience all the benefits that cycling can bring.

“The vision of the South of Scotland Cycling Strategy is that by 2032 cycling is the most popular choice for shorter everyday journeys, and is embedded into the daily fabric of the lives of residents and experiences of our visitors. This fund can help us take some of the early pedal strokes on that journey.”

Whilst the fund will not be open to application submissions until 1 April, potential applicants are encouraged to start planning now and can request an application form by emailing

communitycyclingscheme@scotborders.gov.uk

More information can be found at www.scotborders.gov.uk/cyclingfund

The Community Cycling Fund is a joint initiative between the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships, EventScotland and sportscotland.

It has been developed to create a national celebration of cycling across all of Scotland’s 32 Local Authority areas in the build up to the UCI Cycling World Championships in August 2023 in order to create a lasting benefit for communities across the country from the event.

The fund is made up of two separate funding opportunities to help deliver new and additional cycling opportunities, engaging and encouraging local communities to get more people riding bikes.

The first opportunity is the Development strand and is being administered by sportscotland.

The second opportunity is the Events strand which is being administered by EventScotland and will support Local Authorities and other organisations who are planning to deliver cycling activity and events in the build up to the Championships. Non-Local Authority organisers can only apply with the endorsement of their Local Authority.

Applicants to the Events strand can apply for awards between £5,000 and £15,000 for events taking place from 1 April 2023 to the 2 August 2023.