Nearly 9,000 schoolchildren in Devon to get Bikeability training

It comes after the Devon County Council successfully placed a bid for £272,000 from the Department for Transport to deliver the training in the county.

The training includes Bikeability Balance and Bikeability Learn to Ride places for younger children and a further £10,000 will also go towards cycle training for up to 250 adults in the county.

Devon is among the top six authorities in the country for delivering Bikeability training.

Cllr Stuart Hughes, Devon County Council’s Cabinet Member with responsibility for cycling, said: “Schoolchildren who take part in Bikeability training gain essential skills and road safety awareness to cycle safely and confidently on their local roads to make short journeys, such as cycling to school.

“In Devon, child cycle casualties have decreased by 63 per cent since 2007. We believe the delivery of Bikeability to 60,000 children in Devon has been a major contributory factor in achieving this.

“We have a great track record of delivering Bikeability cycle training in the county and with the recent announcement of The Tour of Britain returning to Devon later this year, hopefully we’ll be inspiring the next generation of cyclists.”

In order to meet the demand for Level 2 Bikeability training, Devon County Council is also providing additional funding on top of the DfT grant.

Last year Devon County Council celebrated a milestone by training its 50,000th Bikeability trainee in the county. Over the past 10 years it has successfully bid for nearly £2.5 million to deliver cycle training in Devon.