TfL and London Marathon Foundation reopen Walking and Cycling Grants London programme that has supported 100,000 Londoners across 500+ projects since 2015
Community and not-for-profit organisations across London can now apply for grants of up to £10,000 to deliver walking and cycling projects in their local areas, as Transport for London and the London Marathon Foundation reopen the Walking and Cycling Grants London programme for another funding round.
Applications are open until 28 September 2026 through the programme’s official portal at wcgl.london. A separate Community Ideas Grant of up to £5,000 is also available for organisations looking to replicate successful projects already delivered in other parts of London.
What the Programme Has Achieved Since 2015
The Walking and Cycling Grants London programme has been running for a decade and has built a substantial record of community impact:
- More than 100,000 Londoners have built confidence in walking or cycling through funded projects
- More than 500 projects have been delivered across 32 London boroughs and the City of London
- 185 projects received funding in the most recent year alone
- Since 2020, the London Marathon Foundation’s contribution has supported more than 60,000 people specifically through the programme
These figures reflect a programme that has moved well beyond pilot scale — it now represents one of the most consistently active community active travel initiatives operating across the capital.
Who Has Been Funded and What They Delivered
Last year’s funding round supported a diverse range of organisations tackling different barriers to active travel across different parts of London:
London Cycling Campaign — one of the UK’s largest cycling advocacy organisations, using grant funding to extend community cycling support beyond its core membership base.
Your Bike Project — focused on making cycling accessible to people who cannot afford their own bicycles, combining refurbished bike provision with confidence-building programmes.
The Change Foundation — using sport and physical activity, including cycling, as tools for social integration and community cohesion.
Urban Flyers C.I.C — delivering active travel projects in Hammersmith and Fulham, working with residents who face specific barriers to cycling including cost, confidence, and lack of safe routes.
Intergenerational Music Making — running programmes in Brent that combine walking and community activity, using movement as a route into social connection for isolated residents.
CarryMe Bikes C.I.C — supporting participants from Hackney with accessible cycling options including cargo bikes and adapted cycles.
The range of organisations reflects the programme’s design philosophy: rather than delivering a single citywide programme, it funds locally tailored projects that respond to the specific barriers and demographics of individual communities.
Types of Projects the Grants Support
The Walking and Cycling Grants London programme funds activities across a wide spectrum of needs. Eligible project types include:
Cycling confidence and skills:
- Cycling lessons for adults who have never learned or have not cycled for years
- Adapted cycling sessions for people with physical disabilities
- Bike maintenance and repair classes that reduce the ongoing cost of cycling
- Children’s cycling programmes in schools and community settings
Walking and active travel:
- Walking groups that address social isolation among older residents
- Walking programmes supporting people with long-term health conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or obesity
- Mental health walking groups combining physical activity with peer support
- Community walks that introduce residents to local parks, green spaces, and active travel routes
Inclusive and accessible cycling:
- Sessions using adapted bikes, cargo bikes, and trikes for participants who cannot use standard bicycles
- Programmes for people from communities that are underrepresented among current cyclists — including women, older adults, disabled Londoners, and people from ethnic minority backgrounds
The Community Ideas Grant
Alongside the main £10,000 grant, a separate Community Ideas Grant of up to £5,000 is available for organisations wanting to bring a proven project model to their own community.
Rather than developing a new project from scratch, applicants can browse successful projects from elsewhere in London through the Community Ideas Hub at wcgl.london and apply to replicate the model locally with grant funding.
This pathway lowers the barrier for smaller or less established organisations that may lack the capacity to design a new programme but can implement a tested approach effectively with appropriate funding support.
Why Active Travel Matters for London’s Health
Walking and cycling are consistently identified by public health researchers as among the most effective population-level interventions for improving physical and mental health outcomes — because they integrate exercise into daily life rather than requiring additional time or cost for separate gym or sports participation.
For London specifically, the health case is acute. Physical inactivity is estimated to cost London’s NHS billions of pounds annually in treatment for preventable conditions including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and depression. Community-based programmes that help people overcome specific barriers — confidence, safety, cost, cultural factors — can reach populations that formal exercise provision does not.
The programme’s focus on underrepresented groups reflects evidence that the health benefits of active travel are least accessible to precisely those communities with the greatest health need. Targeted community projects address this gap in ways that infrastructure investment alone cannot.
How to Apply
Applications for both the main Walking and Cycling Grant and the Community Ideas Grant are open until 28 September 2026 at wcgl.london.
The programme is administered by Groundwork London, which provides support to applicants throughout the application process and to successful organisations during project delivery. This means community groups without extensive grant management experience can apply with confidence that practical guidance will be available.
Key eligibility requirements:
- Applicants must be community or not-for-profit organisations
- Projects must be deliverable within three years
- Projects should demonstrate a clear positive impact on walking or cycling participation in their local community
- Applications are assessed on how effectively the proposed project addresses local barriers and reaches people who are not currently active
