00:00Sports and health leaders say tackling some of the pressures facing the NHS means looking beyond hospitals and GP surgeries.
00:09One major cycling programme is now being highlighted as evidence that helping people stay active can improve health outcomes and reduce NHS demand.
00:18The programme itself had safe, inclusive and off-road facilities at its core.
00:25And what that investment has allowed us to do is it's allowed us to deliver over 150 community cycling facilities and opportunities across the country.
00:36And I use the word community there with a real emphasis because what it's allowed us to do,
00:43it's really allowed us to identify those areas of the country where we believe cycling can have a huge impact,
00:51not only on people's physical health, but also their emotional wellbeing and their social support networks as well.
00:59And this funding has allowed over half a million people to become more active in their local area.
01:07British Cycling says its Places to Ride scheme is Britain's largest ever investment in community cycling facilities.
01:15The first phase funded more than 150 projects across the UK, creating safe, accessible spaces for people of all ages and abilities to get active.
01:25I could be here for the next three days talking to you about the individual impacts that each of these projects has had on their local community.
01:35But in terms of the examples that we've got across the whole country, we've engaged with so many different audiences who perhaps previously have not necessarily thought that cycling was for them.
01:51And what we've been able to do with those facilities is create those safe spaces, create those supportive environments and create the conditions that allow young people, women and girls, people from low income backgrounds, people with disabilities and people with long term health conditions to become the best versions of themselves.
02:14Data shows the programme supported tens of thousands living with long term conditions, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, stroke, dementia and depression.
02:25British Cycling says it contributed to savings of £13.1 million to the NHS through reduced GP appointments and fewer attendances at A&E departments.
02:36This funding has allowed us to demonstrate through evidence that by getting more people on a bike, we've managed to save the NHS £13.1 million.
02:48And we've had some amazing support by organisations such as Diabetes UK and by getting people on a bike or considering getting on their bike in some cases for the very, very first time, what we've been able to do is we've been able to allow them to move their bodies more in a way that suits them.
03:13British Cycling is now calling on the government to double its investments, urging a £30 million commitment to a second phase of places to ride.
03:21The UK government has previously linked investment in walking and cycling to improved physical and mental health, with ministers backing community cycling and active travel schemes in the past.
03:31What the second phase of the funding will do is it will allow us to deliver 250 new projects in communities where cycling is not currently an accessible opportunity.
03:49So through the additional investment, we want to amplify those health outcomes of helping people move their bodies more by getting on a bike.
04:02Debate over NHS pressures goes on, but schemes like this show that getting more people on bikes can make a real difference, helping prevent illness before it ever reaches the doctor's door.
