SOUTH YORKSHIRE’S MAYOR JOINS SCHOOL PUPILS TO SHARE NEW PLAN FOR WALKING, WHEELING AND CYCLING

Published 26 September 2025 at 4:16pm

Mayor Oliver Coppard has today launched an ambitious new plan for safer, healthier neighbourhoods, routes to opportunities, and better places to walk, wheel and cycle across South Yorkshire.

The Mayor was joined at the launch event by children from Coleridge Primary School in Rotherham and Active Lives Commissioner Ed Clancy OBE to hear first-hand how the region’s new Walking, Wheeling and Cycling Strategy will put schools at the heart of plans to make the region the best place for children to walk, wheel and cycle. 

Pupils shared their ideas about what would make the places in which they learn and play in feel healthier, happier and safer. And they took part in activities, including a neighbourhood design workshop and orienteering session. 

South Yorkshire’s Mayor, Oliver Coppard, said:

“Our new Walking, Wheeling and Cycling strategy puts people at its heart.  We’ve asked our communities to tell us what they need for physical activity to be both safer, easier and more welcoming.  And we’ve listened. 

It’s important because our children deserve the best start in life. They deserve to feel safe and confident, whether they’re getting to school, heading to the park on their scooter or just playing out. And parents deserve to know their children are safe.

I want South Yorkshire to be healthier, wealthier and happier, with safer streets, stronger communities places we’re proud to call home. Where we can all stay near, and go far.” 

The ambitious South Yorkshire Walking, Wheeling and Cycling Strategy is the first of its kind in the UK - underpinned by a strong focus on community engagement, it sets out a twin-track approach to build safer, healthier neighbourhoods and to connect every community to opportunities.

Priorities include:

• Helping to grow South Yorkshire's regional economy inclusively and sustainably by better connecting disadvantaged neighbourhoods.
• Making places better and safer - prioritising children’s safety with new crossings, School Streets, and traffic-free paths.
• Inclusive design and listening to those too often left out - children with disabilities, girls, and families from all backgrounds.
• Healthier communities - encouraging walking, wheeling and cycling to cut congestion, improve air quality, and help children build healthy habits for life.

Ed Clancy OBE, South Yorkshire’s Active Travel Commissioner, said:

“South Yorkshire is built on proud, resilient communities. We’re different from other places - and it quickly became apparent that we couldn’t ‘cut and paste’ a strategy from somewhere else. 

“I’ve spoken to hundreds of people who told me how, when they were kids, they walked to school, played out in their street, or went out on their bikes, just like I did. They want the same for their children and their grandchildren - safer streets, better connections, and more choice to walk, wheel and cycle.

“Our priority is the places with the biggest challenges, and connecting those neighbourhoods, alongside bus, tram and train projects, to better opportunities - to make sure no one is left behind. I’m excited to get cracking and help build a region where every journey starts with confidence and ends in opportunity.”

South Yorkshire’s Walking, Wheeling and Cycling Strategy was approved for delivery by Mayor Oliver Coppard and local leaders at the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority Board on 9 September.  

For more information visit our active travel webpage.