At the LCC AGM we gave our annual awards to the local groups, activists and indeed councillors who’ve done loads for cycling and walking in this last year. Everyone commended or who won is a superstar!
This first group is awards for our local groups and campaigners who have done amazing work (as you all have) this last year in tough and trying circumstances.
The group has built a huge coalition of support for the briefly part-installed cycle tracks on Kensington High Street. Major institutions across the borough came out in support of the scheme and group, against the council, including schools, the Royal Albert Hall and Imperial College. As a result, the council’s claims that residents and businesses on Kensington High Street opposed the scheme were strongly countered.
Highly commended:
Hackney Cycling Campaign – Vision; Haringey Cycling Campaign – Ride/Walk; Enfield Cycling Campaign – David Hilliard; Lambeth Cyclists; Barnet Cycling Campaign – A1000 campaign
The presentation of Better Streets for Kensington & Chelsea's award
Ealing campaigners, including those at ECC, have mounted a huge campaign over the last year to first win action on active travel, then to try and stop the borough dismantling its own schemes as a result of a change of council leadership. The campaign has brilliantly communicated to residents and councillors, and campaigners continue now schemes have been sadly removed, to fight for the council to find ways forward on active travel, climate, safe routes for children, and air quality.
Nick Moffitt and David Lomas collect the award for Ealing Cycling Campaign
It looks at long last as if this is the year that Haringey might start to deliver on active travel: the appearance of a new bold council deputy leader and portfolio holder on transport in post is in part due to the ongoing campaigning around active travel and the energy the local group has put in, and the coalition building it has been involved in with Haringey Living Streets and others.
Highly commended:
Get Sutton Cycling; Westminster Cycling Campaign; Cycle Islington
Hilary has been a buddy eight times now, buddying two or three simultaneously sometimes. She always keeps the local group well informed. She buddied during lockdown when she took on an NHS worker buddy and kept buddying her (as she had very little experience/confidence) until she moved out of the area. So for buddying above and beyond the call of duty!
Highly commended:
Ken McCosh (H&F Cycling); Bexley Cycling Campaign; David Hilliard (Enfield Cycling Campaign); Nigel Bassindale (Lambeth Cyclists); Glyn Alsworth (Croydon Cycling Campaign); James Sibley (Southwark Cyclists)
Hilary Newmark, Bromley Cyclists, receives her award
Just over two years ago, Justin was the only active LCC member in Kensington & Chelsea and there was no local group. He is now chair of a thriving group and its main spokesperson. Alongside his own full time job, he has worked tirelessly to reach out to others to build support for active travel in one of the most hostile boroughs in London, turning his charms on residents associations, businesses, institutions, local and national authorities – and Kensington and Chelsea officers and councillors, being positive and constructive, until the council’s actions made that relationship impossible.
Earlier this year, Justin led the work of launching a judicial review of Kensington & Chelsea’s decision to remove the protected cycle lanes on Kensington High Street seven weeks after they were installed. Alongside the Environmental Law Foundation, Justin has done a mountain of legal paperwork himself. Despite the council lawyers’ attempts to intimidate the group, Justin & colleagues have now been granted a court hearing. We applaud his hard work, persistence, skill and passion for making streets in his borough safe for anyone of any age or ability to ride a bike.
Highly commended:
Jon Crosby (Barnet Cycling Campaign) (posthumous); Sylvia Gautherau (Brent Cycling Campaign); Matt Stephen (Kingston Cycling Campaign); Jonathan Kelly (Kensington & Chelsea Cycling Campaign); Alex Raha (Lewisham Cyclists); Nick Moffitt (Ealing Cycling Campaign)
Robert has been a very clear and steady link between LCC and the cycling community in Bexley. Campaigning in Bexley is meagre – not much comes the group’s way; but the group has a strong rides culture that attracts people from beyond the borough boundaries and the cycle buddies scheme has got off to a good start there, perhaps because of that strong riding element. This is important as it demonstrates demand for cycling.
‘It is a most unexpected honour to receive this award, and I thank everyone who has joined in and made our small achievements possible. It’s also been about growing a local cycling community, trying to promote settings (including tarmac time) in which people enjoy riding together and develop confidence to ride independently, and share experiences and knowledge. Also developing quiet supportive relationship, where possible, with council staff and other local organisations who recognise the value of cycling.’ Robert Heyward, Bexley Cycling
Joint winners: Camden Council, City of London, Enfield Council, Hammersmith & Fulham Council and Lambeth Council
We want to see more work on inclusive design and inclusion in general, so we’re spotlighting borough councils that have begun to involve disabled people practically in improving infrastructure design.
There is an increasing amount of work in councils, at TfL and with campaigning groups in finding common ground to challenge the status quo, move schemes forward fast to tackle the climate crisis while also finding better ways of designing schemes that work for everyone. In the last year and a bit of temporary and trial schemes, we’ve seen rapid progress on cycling but also anger from some disabled people schemes have not worked that would have been improved through engagement. Balancing these issues, enabling everyone to be mobile, has to be a vital part of our campaigning and London’s work going forward.
We consulted Wheels for Wellbeing (Isabelle Clement MBE deserves particular praise for her work in this area) and Transport for All about nominees for this award. All of the boroughs who we’re awarding this year have taken active steps to design active travel schemes with disability in mind, with either professional audits or reference groups, co-production and other approaches – involving disabled voices from day one in scheme design. We very much hope next year this award might go to one of our borough groups for their work on inclusion on cycling and cycling schemes.
“At Camden Council we’re delighted to be recognised with this award and we thank LCC for doing so. Since the outset of the pandemic we have wanted local people to be part of our engagement across our Healthy Streets Projects. During the pandemic we worked with Camden Disability Action to create a group where local disabled people, Council Officers and decision makers regularly met to discuss accessibility issues on Camden’s Streets. The group offers all parties an opportunity to listen to each other and learn from each other. Sam Margolis, Strategic Lead Transport Planning, Camden Council
John Chamberlain, Camden Cycling Campaign, and Adrian Day, Enfield Cycling Campaign, collect awards on behalf of their councils
Casey Abarayone, Hammersmith & Fulham Cycling Campaign, collects the award for his council
Nominated groups have grown and diversified cycling in London, spreading the joy of cycling to folks who might not otherwise have got the bug, and challenging the idea that cycling is only for MAMILs.
Ozgur Korkmaz’s tale will be known to some followers from his presentation a few weeks ago at our campaigner’s conference session on ‘When everyone cycles’. Ozgur developed a passion for cycling on a long, solo road trip to Istanbul, returning with the dream of sharing the joy of riding a bike more widely. In the summer of 2019, he quickly found a space for a container, and people joined him to find, fix, and share bikes. Just over two Covid-disrupted years later, there are numerous rides and events week after week, and this is all done for and with the Turkish community in Enfield alongside his day job. Notably, many women are cycling, riding in from Enfield to Trafalgar Square for the international “Fancy Women” Bike Ride this summer celebrating women’s freedom to cycle. Every photo Ozgur brought to his conference presentation exuded joy, and we love what he is doing!
Highly commended:
Harrow Cycle Hub; Better Streets for Ealing; Black Unity Bike Ride; Velociposse; Fox Lane LTN; Walk Islington; Railton LTN; Lambeth Living Streets; Climate Doctors to COP26; Guy’s & St Thomas’ Healthy Streets Southwark
Ozgur Korkmaz speaks on receipt of the award for the Londra Bisiklet Kulübü
Ozgur Korkmaz and volunteers for the Londra Bisiklet Kulübü
Political will has become one of the most often-repeated phrases in campaigning. Everyone here knows the value of political will; but what do we mean by it? It is most visible in elected members of local government who are openly challenging the status quo of the last 50 years. That means championing schemes, bringing residents on a journey and even challenging members of your own party and council. We’d like to say a massive thank you to every councillor and every officer working for inclusive active travel. That would be a very long list indeed, but for now, here’s the shortlist.
Hounslow Councillor Hanif Khan is transport portfolio holder for a borough that has in recent times made huge strides on delivering on active travel, far more than some inner London boroughs. It is clearly harder for some outer London boroughs to shift away from car dominance towards better places for people – yet Cllr Khan’s actions as well as his officers, council leader and entire team, through the pandemic have shown real boldness and bravery in delivering despite opposition, as well as clarity and empathy in engaging with residents and building schemes for everyone. Cllr Khan rightly joins other outer London stars such as Cllr Clyde Loakes in Waltham Forest and Cllr Ian Barnes in Enfield in really delivering better streets for us all despite the barriers to doing so, making Hounslow a borough whose example others will follow.
Fatima Ahmed, Road Safety manager for Hounslow, and described by Hanif ‘in her own right a champion in supporting the borough’s efforts’, collected the award for Cllr Khan.
Enfield Councillor Ian Barnes has been a tireless champion for active travel schemes in a borough with very high car ownership levels, and has successfully delivered more and more schemes despite a vociferous opposition – including the previous portfolio holder. Enfield has for a few years been one of the London boroughs with the highest proportion of roads with cycle tracks on, but during the pandemic also begun a bold roll-out of low traffic neighbourhoods in areas blighted for years by horrific levels of through traffic. This has been anything but easy, but Cllr Barnes has clearly articulated the need to deliver and moved residents and council with him. As a result of his work, Enfield stands as another beacon of outer London active travel.
Highly commended:
Cllrs Claire Holland (Lambeth council); Clyde Loakes (Waltham Forest council); Jo Rigby (Wandsworth council); Mete Coban MBE (Hackney council); Philip Glanville (Hackney council); Rachel Tripp (Newham council); and Rowena Champion (Islington council)
Jon Burke (ex-Cllr, Hackney council); Jon Little (Bespoke Transport Consulting/Beta Streets); Dr Will Norman (City Hall/TfL)
Fatima Ahmed, Hounslow Council, receiveing the award for Hanif Shah
Adrian Day, Enfield Cycling Campaign, collects Ian Barnes' award
This category is where we look beyond cycling and the LCC, to people who share our values and have made a real difference on active travel in the broadest sense.
Carla Francome led residents in Haringey who escorted children on their way to school through angry drivers locked nose to tail in petrol queues. Eilidh Murray, helped create a campaign for parklets in Islington, and has blown it London-wide. Leo Murray at WeArePossible has been focussed on climate for over 15 years now and has campaigned in his personal life as well as with his campaigns to create low-car cities fit for active travel. Sarah Berry has been telling the world about her journey into cycling from the warmest human angle.
Winner: Dr Mark Hayden (Great Ormond Street Hospital and Climate Doctors to COP26)
For more on the amazing work Dr Hayden is doing, see our standalone blog here.
Highly commended:
Cat Kenyon; Carla Francome; Eilidh Murray; Sarah Berry; Leo Murray
Dr Mark Hayden, Active Travel Campaigner of the Year