Oldham has the lowest rate of cycling in England, according to new figures.

The Active Lives Survey from Sport England is used to assess how much exercise people are getting across the country.

Figures from the survey, compiled by the Department for Transport, show 4.4 per cent of people in Oldham were cycling at least once a month in the year to November 2022 – the lowest rate in the country.

This was a fall from 6.5 per cent in 2019, before the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

Across England, 16.1 per cent of people said they cycled once a month in 2019 – which has since fallen to 13.1 per cent.

Numbers also fell in Greater Manchester, with 9.7 per cent cycling at least once a month – a fall from 12.7 per cent in 2019.

It comes just weeks after new research showed Oldham is one of the most dangerous areas for pedestrians in the country.

Council plans for an ‘active neighbourhood’ in Chadderton, which aimed to increase active travel, were scrapped earlier this year following some backlash.

However, the council has now implemented a ‘school street’ scheme at one Oldham school, which designed to encourage children to walk or cycle to school. A second is planned to be installed later this month.

Cazz Ward, from active travel campaign group Walk Ride Greater Manchester, said: “We welcome the work that is going into the expansion of the Greater Manchester Bee Network in Oldham, as well as Oldham Council's support for School Streets.

“However, there needs to be more done to proactively disincentivise driving for short journeys, whilst increasing, not reducing, investment in active travel to make it easier and safer for people to walk, wheel and cycle, if we want to see an increase in numbers.”

According to census data, 27.6 per cent of Oldham’s households have no cars or vans, making it the third-most carless borough in Greater Manchester, behind Manchester and Salford.

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Cycling UK, which campaigns for better access to cycling across the country, called the figures disheartening, especially given a spike at the height of the pandemic when fewer cars were on the road.

Duncan Dollimore, head of campaigns at the charity, said: “This should be a wake-up call for a government that's slashed dedicated funding for cycling and walking by more than two thirds, and has been told in crystal clear terms by the National Audit Office that it can’t meet its own targets to increase levels of cycling without substantially increasing investment.”

Provisional data from the Department for Transport – taken from traffic counts – shows 5 per cent fewer bikes on the road in June 2023 than a year before.

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Mr Dollimore continued: “Multiple government policies recognise the carbon reduction, public health, air pollution and economic benefits which flow from more people cycling and walking, particularly for short journeys.

“It’s imperative that the Government reflects on these figures and urgently reverses the cuts in the Autumn Statement.”

According to the Active Lives Survey, much of the dip in cycling across England has come from fewer people cycling for leisure – 13.1 per cent did so at least once a month in 2019, compared to 9.2 per cent last year.

Oldham saw a drop over the same period, from 5.9 per cent to 3.5 per cent.

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “Overall, the numbers of people choosing to walk or cycle increasing over the past year has returned to pre-pandemic levels and we are well on the way to half of all short journeys in towns and cities being walked or cycled by 2030.

“This has been supported by our investment of over £3 billion into walking and cycling to 2025,” they added.

Council leader weighs in

Councillor Arooj Shah, leader of Oldham Council, said: “Cycling is a fun way to keep active and it helps keep our air cleaner as people use their cars less for daily activities and short journeys.

“While we understand some journeys aren’t always practical to cycle given how hilly some areas of Oldham are, we are supporting a number of projects across our borough to encourage residents to cycle and use public transport more.

“This includes our involvement in the Bee Network which will see new and upgraded walking and cycling crossing facilities created on our busiest roads.

“We’ve also recently completed our Accessible Oldham project to transform streets and public areas across the town centre which has made our town centre nicer and will make it easier and safer to travel around the town centre for cyclists and pedestrians.

“Our borough recently hosted the opening stage of the 2023 Tour of Britain, the UK’s most prestigious cycle race, and we hope this helps to inspire more people to cycle on our roads and cycle routes in the future.”