Grants are available to businesses in Crewe and Nantwich to help staff to walk and cycle to work or use the bus or train.
Local firms can use the grants to ease pressure on workplace car parks and cut congestion.
Cheshire East Council has secured funding from the Department of Transport to pay for the grants programme and is inviting businesses to apply.
Grants could be used to build secure bike shelters, lockers or showers to encourage staff to cycle to work. Improvements to signs, footpaths and lighting on business premises could also be funded. Employers could also apply for funding to set up a car sharing scheme or to subsidise bus travel.
Funding has come from the Department of Transport’s Sustainable Travel Transition Year (STTY) initiative. The fund aims to promote walking, cycling and public transport use – with a focus on helping people access skills, training and employment opportunities.
It’s also hoped that reducing car use will improve quality of life and the environment across Cheshire East – and improve residents’ health and wellbeing. A new website –travelcheshire.co.uk– is also helping to promote healthier and greener forms of transport across the county.
The grants programme follows an earlier scheme, launched in October, which was set up to help town and parish councils, charities and voluntary organisations.
Councillor David Brown, Cheshire East Council cabinet member for highways and Infrastructure, said: "These grants will be welcome news to our local businesses, which are looking to cut the number of journeys their employees make by car. Reducing congestion around business premises and easing pressure on car parking spaces is a ‘win-win’ for companies.
"It can help improve staff health and wellbeing, resulting in reduced sickness absence, have a positive impact on recruitment and retention rates and boost productivity. Reducing car use will also help our firms to create a more welcoming environment for visitors and customers.”
Crewe and Nantwich businesses can also benefit from travel planning advice sessions run by the Travel Cheshire team. Staff can get personal journey plans to find the best option for getting to and from work and employers can access advice on how to promote other forms of transport in the workplace. Visit travelcheshire.co.uk for details.
Applications are welcome from any business in Crewe or Nantwich. Applicants must demonstrate how they will address transport issues faced by their business. Measures need to show how they will encourage staff to walk, cycle, use public transport or car share when accessing employment, skills or training. They must also be in line with the assessment criteria as set out in the Policy for the Allocation of Transport & accessibility Grants.
The closing date for applications is to January 19, 2017.