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Cycling England chairman Phillip Darnton fears that the organisation’s abolition could mean a loss of momentum, continuity and expertise for the movement for cycling.
Speaking to BikeBiz, Darnton said the end of Cycling England in itself was overshadowed by that potential loss of experience and also by the imminent changes in funding available to cycling projects.
He said: "Clearly the news that Cycling England is coming to an end is disappointing, though I don’t think it is the big story. There are only four of us here at Cycling England and there are lots more people who are having to deal with losing their jobs.
"What is a real pity is the lack of continuity of funding for cycling and also the inevitable loss of people’s experience and expertise. It takes so much time to build a team up and I fear this lack of continuity will mean there’s a loss of momentum in the movement for cycling."
The Cycling England chairman also praised previous Government involvement in cycling: "The news of the Local Sustainable Transport Fund is good in theory, but whether any of it will be spent on cycling remains to be seen.
"We’ve had a great period where the Government has spent money on and promoted cycling, but this is now being handed over to local areas. Whether Local Authorities will see cycling as important, or something they want to spend money on, is a moot point."
There’s more on the topic here.
