Croydon Council recently launched a consultation regarding its health and wellbeing strategy for the next 5 years. You can read it in full here. Most of the goals in this strategy would be easier to meet if cycling played a more significant role in the transport strategy, but cycling doesn’t manage to get a single mention in this document. I have sent the below response to the consultation team in the hope they will correct this mistake.
Dear Sir/Madam,
I would like to draw your attention to what I see as a great oversight in the health and wellbeing strategy. In the entire document, there is no mention of the promotion of cycling and only a single mention of walking. I’m sure you appreciate that every aspect of life in Croydon has an impact on overall health. As such, any strategy for improving health of Croydon’s residents must be co-ordinated with these other aspects, and in particular the transport strategy for Croydon.
Putting resources into making Croydon a safe and pleasant place for walking and cycling will help you with the problems you identified in your consultation document, including:
- Child and adult obesity – Can be greatly reduced if more people walked/cycled.
- Respiratory diseases – More walking/cycling means less journeys made by car, which helps improve Croydon’s air quality. Adolescents who cycle are less likely to take up smoking.
- Mental health conditions – Regular exercise improves mental health
- Diabetes – Regular exercise can prevent the onset of type II diabetes or help manage it
More studies into health benefits of cycling here
The document also highlights the correlation between poverty and poor health. Cycling and walking are cheap ways of travelling, so the benefits can be realised by the poorest who will also benefit most from the savings.
I hope this has been enough to encourage you to consider including active travel a key part of your health and wellbeing strategy. We at the Croydon Cycling Campaign would be delighted if you would be keen to engage with us further to develop your ideas on active travel.
Thanks for drawing our attention to this.
What’s missing from the analysis is the extent to which our health is being endangered by air pollution, caused mainly by vehicles.
There is an acknowledgement that increasing numbers of people in Croydon are overweight or obese.
And yet a simple means of reducing both problems – cycling – is indeed overlooked.
We have plenty of time to discuss this and lobby for change – the consultation runs from until 7 September 2012.
The consultation document can be found via http://www.croydon.gov.uk/contents/departments/democracy/pdf/949725/health-wellbeing.pdf while you can respond online via http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/S6F7JTC
Haven’t got the mail to them yet as their e-mail address for responding to this consultation is invalid. Very poor show.
I sent the e-mail below to Councillor Margaret Mead (Conservative Member for Heathfield Ward and Cabinet Member for Adult Services & Health), Councillor Toni Letts (Labour Member for Selhurst Ward and Shadow Cabinet Member for Economic Development) and Kate Woollcombe (Acting Joint Director of Public Health for Croydon NHS)
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: austen.croydoncyclists@gmail.com
Date: 19 July 2012 13:57
Subject: More cycling will cut obesity and pollution in Croydon
To: margaret.mead@croydon.gov.uk
Cc: toni.letts@croydon.gov.uk, Kate.Woollcombe@croydonpct.nhs.uk
Dear Cllr Mead,
I read with interest the article on the Croydon Advertiser website about the risk that by 2050, 90% of Croydon residents will be overweight and/or obese.
It quoted you as saying, amongst other things, that there is perhaps more we can do. At Croydon Cycling Campaign, we agree.
Earlier this week The Lancet published reports drawn up by international researchers which found that a third of adults globally and four out of five adolescents are doing so little they put themselves at significantly greater risk of disease. Doing nothing is now the fourth biggest cause of death across the planet. The UK has one of the most inactive populations with 63 per cent of adults failing to do enough. Experts therefore recommend we do about 2½ hours of moderate exercise each week, such as cycling.
A few days later, the British Medical Association published a report “Healthy transport = Healthy lives”. It has a lot to say about cycling, including taking a strategic approach to transport policy and the urban environment and setting ambitious growth targets for walking and cycling.
As well as the benefits of exercise, more cycling would reduce congestion and cut air pollution. The Policy Exchange have today published a report which finds that air pollution is comparable to obesity and alcohol and second only to smoking as a public health problem. The London Air Quality website shows that the Croydon George Street monitoring system has found the 2012 target for Nitrogen Dioxide emissions has already been breached – that’s not good news.
Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, in his Cycling Revolution report, said that he is “determined to turn London into a cyclised city – a civilised city where people can ride their bikes safely and easily in a pleasant environment. Cycling, with all its social, environmental, health and financial benefits, has an important role to play in the future of the Capital.” Boris says he wants to see 5% of all journeys in London being made by bike. Right now in Croydon, it’s a lot lower – only just above 1%. He recently endorsed the Love London Go Dutch initiative run by our parent organisation, the London Cycling Campaign.
It would be great if you could help improve matters and reap the benefits by using your influence and power to help make Croydon “Go Dutch” and become a borough where cycling is as safe and inviting for cycling as it is in Holland. In 2009 I went on a bike ride around central Croydon with your husband, Cllr Dudley Mead, and we discussed options for improvement. We now need widespread commitment and public support to make things happen, hence this e-mail.
Croydon Cycling Campaign, the local branch of the London Cycling Campaign, will be participating in the health and wellbeing strategy consultation exercise and would love to help the Council and local NHS improve public health by enabling more people to choose to cycle. The opportunity to meet with you to discuss proposals and benefits would be particularly helpful.
Thanks for your time in reading this – I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely,
Austen Cooper
Co-ordinator, Croydon Cycling Campaign
Had some success myself. Please see below 3 emails from exchange with Steve Morton
On 19/07/2012 06:53, Morton, Steve wrote:
We’re holding an event on 1 August with members of the health and wellbeing board present. You’d be very welcome to attend. Fiona can send you details. We should have preliminary feedback on consultation findings up to that point.
Steve
Steve Morton
Head of health and wellbeing
steve.morton@croydon.gov.uk or
stevemorton@nhs.net
020 8760 5773
07825 725592
________________________________
From: Kristian Gregory
To: Morton, Steve
Sent: Wed Jul 18 22:16:59 2012
Subject: Re: Health and wellbeing strategy priorities consultation
Hi Steve,
I would be keen to hear any response to my suggestions ahead of the publication of the result so I could help follow up with any concerns before the door is closed on further engagement.
Thanks and Regards,
Kristian Gregory
On 18/07/2012 14:35, Morton, Steve wrote:
Dear Mr Gregory, thank you for your response to the consultation on priorities for Croydon’s joint health and wellbeing strategy. The consultation will close on Friday 7 September 2012. We expect that the strategy will be published late autumn 2012 and we will be preparing a consultation summary document to accompany it. We will make sure that you receive a copy of both documents.
We very much appreciate your feedback.
Regards,
Steve
The biggest barrier I figured we would see when trying to interact with the council over their health and well-being strategy, is that they would see transport strategy is exclusively another area.
It is very timely then that the BMA (British Medical Association) has released its latest report titled “healthy transport = healthy lives”. This is a fantastic endorsement of our belief that transport policy and health policy are inexplicably linked and will be a great boost to our efforts to influence the council on this issue.
Regarding the health dangers of air pollution there is good evidence that the benefit of cycling far outweighs the risks of air pollution, so this is no longer an excuse.
connie