Action plan 2023

Context

Killearn is a village situated 17 miles northwest of Glasgow with a population of 1,900. It lies within the Stirling Council area. ‘Cycling Killearn’, launched in February 2023, is a Killearn Community Futures Company (KCFC) project. It aims to promote cycling for local journeys and leisure - benefiting health, wellbeing and the environment. It aligns with the Scottish Government’s vision that by 2030 walking, wheeling and cycling will be the most popular choice for short journeys.

Needs and opportunities

There were 168 responses to the survey (equivalent to 11% adult population) and 31 people enthusiastically participated in facilitated sessions. Although the sample self selected, as potentially early adopters for behaviour change the results are highly relevant.

Whilst 86% of respondents own a bike only 20% cycle more than once a month. However, a third stated that they would like to use bikes more to visit friends and go shopping, if they felt more confident and the infrastructure were improved. Interestingly, 68% stated they would use an ebike more often if they had access to one.

Key recommendations

• Use ‘Cycling Friendly Community’ award as framework for actions

• Use community involvement to develop bite-size projects

• Use community feedback to influence stakeholders in infrastructure investment Focus on active travel

• Promote leisure cycling through guided rides and route maps

• Educate on cycle maintenance & safety, offer Dr Bike checks

• Develop a sharing scheme - rent/share cycling gear

Resources and funding

Cycling Killearn is totally reliant on volunteers. The core team is fully committed to the project, with others encouraged to contribute time and talents to specific activities (e.g. ride leaders, event support). Volunteering opportunities will be advertised on social media and through email updates.

We will continue to seek to secure grants to help fund our activity. Previous funders include Energy Savings Trust (community ebikes), Cycling Scotland (Active Travel event and ride leader training), Stirling Council (3 cycling events). In addition, in-kind support will be sought from local businesses e.g. Country Cycles.

Targets and outcomes

The activities, targets and outcomes associated with delivering our priorities are summarised in the main document. Target dates relate to Killearn Community Futures Company’s financial year (to end July 2024). The plan will be reviewed and refreshed on an annual basis.

We aspire to achieve Cycling Scotland’s ‘Cycling Friendly Community’ silver award in 2024. This will be a moment of celebration and will also help build further momentum.

Community engagement

Cycling Killearn’s initial priority was to understand residents’ interest in cycling, their perceived barriers and how these might be overcome. Students studying Strathclyde University’s ‘Masters in Social Entrepreneurship’ course were engaged to undertake a research and consultation project. The results are summarised below and the full report is available on the KCFC website.

Barriers

The main barriers were identified as inadequate cycling infrastructure, cycling skills/confidence, maintenance knowledge/skills and cycle parking. Not feeling safe on the roads along with the lack of cycle paths were rated the greatest barriers. Others included geography, weather and journey time.

Priorities

Cycling Killearn seeks to encourage behavioral change. Emphasis is on Capability (knowledge, skills & abilities), Opportunity (external factors) and Motivation (internal processes) as a means of changing Behaviour (COM-B model). Read more about the priorities developed as a result of the research on our priorities page.

Partnerships and collaborations

In pursuing our priorities we will collaborate with other villages that have similar cycling initiatives to share knowledge and tackle shared challenges. These relationships may present opportunities for joint campaigns and initiatives. Read more on our partners page.

Communications

Communications will be designed to encourage people to take up, return to, or increase their frequency of cycling. They will promote the benefits of cycling (financial, health, social, environmental). In addition, comms plans will be created to promote specific activities (training, events, rides etc). We will continue to use a range of channels (social media, website, email, posters, flyers, village magazine, events, community organisations) to achieve wide reach within the village.