Cornwall is one of 13 areas in England supported by Active Travel England to pilot active travel social prescribing. Public Health and Healthy Cornwall are working with Transport and Active Cornwall to deliver the ATSP Pilot. The Pilot will run until Summer 2025.
We have chosen to focus the Pilot on:
- Bodmin
- St Austell and the China Clay Areas
- Penzance (including Newlyn, Heamoor and Gulval)
This is because these areas have entrenched health inequalities and poor health outcomes. They also have different levels of existing active travel infrastructure and social prescribing schemes.
The ATSP Pilot looks to reduce health inequality and make active lifestyles more attractive and achievable. We are hoping to change behaviours by supporting adults to make the shift to active travel. By ‘Active Travel’ we mean getting from A to B in a more physically active way, like walking, cycling and wheeling.
- Over two-thirds of the trips we make are less than 5 miles.
- 59% of Cornwall’s population regularly walk for leisure (compared to 55.1% of the South West and 47.6% of England)
- Only 17.9% of Cornwall’s population walk for travel (compared to 23.5% of the South West and 24.3% of England)
Our three Health Improvement Practitioners (HIPs) in Healthy Cornwall support adults to identify and overcome their barriers to active travel. Our ATSP Fund supports new provision in the community that ‘fills the gaps’ in existing support.
How you can get involved
Interested in the learning and insight from the pilot
You will be able to access reports and case-studies on this page when they are available.
Professional working with clients in one of our pilot area
You can refer into our one-to-one HIP support by using the professional referral form on the Healthy Cornwall website. (Select ‘Healthy Weight’ and then sub-programme ‘Active Travel Social Prescribing’).
Organisation looking for funding to support active travel
You can apply to the Active Travel Social Prescribing Fund. The application window is open from Thursday 1 February 2024 to midnight on Sunday 17 March 2024. The ATSP Fund will remain open until it is fully committed or Sunday 17 March 2024, whichever is the sooner. We encourage early applications.
