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New Plans For 'Active Travel' Festival to Take Place in Chester City Centre.

New Plans For ‘Active Travel’ Festival to Take Place in Chester City Centre.


In the most recent meeting of the ‘Integrated Sustainable Transport Taskforce’ (ISTT) of Cheshire West and Chester Council, council members proposed exciting new plans for an active travel festival (ATfest) to be held in Chester city centre.


The meeting held on Tuesday 29th of March 2022 saw a member of the ISTT, Vanessa Bond, showcasing the plans for the event. Vanessa Bond explained “Hopefully this will become a regular event, it's only a pilot but let's see where it goes. Then hopefully it could become a part of the Chester calendar, whether that be annually or quarterly.”


ATfest is to take place Sunday 25th September 2022 and is to be a pilot event in Chester showcasing and reimagining the city centre for the promotion of everyday active travel. 


The idea came about as a response to the Cheshire West and Chester Council’s (CWaC) declaration of a climate emergency in May 2019 and as a part of its subsequent four-year response plan aimed for a 25% reduction of car travel by 2025.


It will aim to focus on:

  • Promoting physical activity and a healthy lifestyle.

  • Raising awareness of environmental concerns.

  • Promoting walking and cycling tourism in the local and wider region.


And will host activities such as:

  • Highway code workshops hosted by Cheshire police and the CWaC road safety team for both children and adults.

  • A closed-off area with activities for children such as supervised ‘learn to ride’ sessions.

  • Educational workshops and organised gatherings where information on everyday cycling and specialised classes is provided.

  • A skills training area where various age groups can receive specialist training such as BMX lessons.

  • Walking tours to a park picnic in Grosvenor Park.

  • Pop-up shops from various retailers.


Steve Perry, a member of the Chester Cycling Campaign who was present at the meeting said  “I think Vanessa has painted a very exciting and challenging menu of all the things we could do.” 


“This thing grew out of a conversation between us, the Chester Cycling Campaign and Tony Barcroft and it’s evolved. [The plans] they're very draft, they're very ambitious but in the sense that they may happen if we get lots of people working together.”


The ATfest council meeting can be viewed on the CWaC YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOWYJCejCvw

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