Gateshead Council gets £1.4m to help socially prescribed bike schemes
Gateshead Council has received £1.4m from the Department of Transport to help encourage cycling and walking.
The money will go towards developing “active travel hubs” staffed by volunteers. These hubs will offer bikes for hire, or on prescription, and organise a “full calendar” of cycling events and challenges.
Council officers explained these hubs would focus on encouraging residents with mobility issues to take up cycling with mobility aids.
In addition, people with mental health problems can engage in group events as a form of social prescribing.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends group exercise for people suffering mild to moderate depression. NICE states exercise should take place more than once a week.
With regard to physical health, the NHS recommends 150 minutes of exercise for adults aged 19-64 over four to five days a week. Regular exercise can reduce the chances of premature death by 30%.
A report on the cycling initiative also pointed out the environmental benefits including reducing residents’ carbon footprints. The first three months of the programme will review which areas in Gateshead to prioritise.
Councillor and cabinet member for health and wellbeing Bernadette Oliphant said: “We need safe places for cycling. This will be good for people who are capable of cycling to help their depression and other parts of their health.”
Councillor John McElroy, cabinet member for environment and transport said: “I hope there will be some emphasis on young people as well. There has been a tendency, particularly over the last two years, for young people to not be as active as they would be.
“This seems like an opportune moment to prevent some of the cases of inaction in younger people.”
Currently, on a national scale, the NHS estimates one in four adults and one in five children are classed as obese.