In this post, we celebrate a recent project which Deeper Green’s founder, Ian McKay has been involved with at a local campaigning organisation called Cycle Lewes.

In 2026 Ian, and a few like-minded colleagues within Cycle Lewes, decided to produce a series of posters advocating the health and well-being benefits of ‘active travel’ (walking, cycling and wheeling). With compelling statistics and engaging illustrations, the case is made for exploiting wider economic benefits through investment in active travel infrastructure and why a healthier and less sedate community can help us reduce pressures on our overstretched health and social care sectors.

These posters have been shared among partner organisations and displayed in a number of high profile spaces around Lewes. The message is not only aimed at members of the community but also for policy-makers, particularly in the fields of health and transport.

HEALTH

Active lifestyles help you live longer. Based on the Chief Medical Officer’s Annual Report 2023: *Health in an Ageing Society*
Image credit: Deeper Green

Feel great

Regular cycling can make you feel and look younger

• Cyclists are often as fit as someone 10 years younger

• Cycling strengthens your heart and lungs

• Better blood circulation helps your body function and live longer

• Exercise from cycling reduces the risk of dementia, depression and diabetes by 30%*

• Cycling helps with weight management

*Source: Academy of Medical Royal Colleges. Exercise: The miracle cure and the role of the doctor in promoting it. 2015. [online]. Available from: https://www.aomrc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Exercise_the_Miracle_Cure_0215.pdf [Accessed: 26 May 2026].

Release stress

Cycling offers a peaceful escape from daily stress, whether commuting or leisure riding

• Cycling releases brain chemicals, including endorphins and serotonin, so cyclists feel happier and more relaxed after a ride

• Cycle commuters have lower rates of absenteeism

• Spending time outdoors in nature reduces stress

Commuting by bike =

40% lower risk of dying from cancer

52% lower risk of dying from heart disease

46% lower risk of developing heart disease

45% lower risk of developing cancer

Source: WHO. Walking and cycling: latest evidence to support policy-making and practice. 3 June 2022 [online]. Available from: https://www.who.int/europe/publications/i/item/9789289057882 [Accessed 7 May 2026].

What the World Health Organization says...

'Walking and cycling are good for our health, good for communities and good for the planet'

Source: World Health Organization, 2025, Promoting walking and cycling: A toolkit of policy options, [online], Available from: https://iris.who.int/server/api/core/bitstreams/a66e049b-c6b3-497f-b315-d17787b80210/content, Accessed 23 April 2026. Pg. 18 & Pg. 20

LIFESTYLE

Cycling and walking are easier to fit into the daily routine than most forms of exercise because they double up as transport to and from school, shops, work etc. – and it’s much cheaper than going to the gym!
Image credit: Deeper Green

Health in an ageing society

The UK is an ‘aging society’. In future years there will be proportionally fewer working age people to pay for healthcare and social care services.

By integrating cycling and walking (active travel) into our daily activities:

We reduce our years of poor health
We reduce our dependency on health services

It's often possible to walk or cycle...

30%

of trips in UK urban areas are less than 1.5 miles

and yet only 1%

of these are by cycling and walking.

Source: Pucher, J., & Buehler, R. (2008). . Transport Reviews, 28, 495-528.

ECONOMICS

Physical inactivity is associated with 1 in 6 deaths in the UK.
Source: Image credit: Deeper Green

It is estimated that physical inactivity costs the UK

£7.4 billion annually including £0.9 billion to the NHS alone.

Source: The Public Health Team, Physical activity: applying All Our Health, updated 10 March 2022, [online], Available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/physical-activity-applying-all-our-health/physical-activity-applying-all-our-health, Accessed: 23 April 2026

**Costs and returns of infrastructure**
Studies have shown that investment in road building generates less return to the wider economy than do cycling and walking schemes.
Source: Sustrans (2019). *Common Misconceptions of Active Travel Investment.* [online] Available from: https://www.sustrans.org.uk/media/4472/4472.pdf . [Accessed: 5 May 2026]
Image credit: Deeper Green

A more productive workforce

Car commuters are at least 13% more likely to report being under strain or unable to concentrate, compared to those walking or cycling.

Evidence suggests that those who walk or cycle to work have better work performance than public transport and car commuters.

The Adult Social Care Time Bomb

Between 2016 and 2026, the proportion of Total Revenue Budget allocated to Adult Social Care in East Sussex increased from

29% to 49%

Much of the need for social care is preventable with regular exercise.

Source: McNally S. Exercise can do wonders for social care. BMJ 2022;379 [online]. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.o2538 [Accessed: 26 May 2026]

LET’S MAKE ROADS SAFER

People cycle when it feels safe to do so

In London cycle journeys have more than doubled since 2012, to 1.33 million per day (1). This is because London has invested in safe cycling routes.

Then consider that the UK government projects road traffic to increase by 55% by 2040 (vs 2017) (2). This means more congestion and slower roads for all drivers

– unless we more fully support healthy forms of travel.

1 Cycling UK. Seven years of cycling progress reduces barriers for men, but not women. 2025. [online]. Available from: https://www.cyclinguk.org/news/seven-years-cycling-progress-reduces-barriers-men-not-women [Accessed: 26 May 2026]

2 Source: Department of Transport. National Road Traffic Projections 2022. 2022. [online]. Available from: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6698c4f90808eaf43b50d193/national-road-traffic-projections-2022.pdf [Accessed: 26 May 2026]

"We can't afford not to"

– Professor Scarlett McNally OBE

NHS surgeon and advocate for healthy forms of travel

To get a healthier community and minimise our reliance on health services through healthier forms of travel requires significant investment in active travel infrastructure.

In 2025 many health experts signed the Bristol Declaration calling for a step change in funding from around £10 per capita to £35.

The benefits will be far greater than the costs.

Source: Faculty of Public Health, Royal Society for Public Health and Transport and Health Science Group. The Bristol Declaration. January 2026. [online]. Available from: https://www.fph.org.uk/media/24zg1t1q/the-bristol-declaration-110326.pdf [Accessed: 26 May 2026]

What safer roads means for school children

In the Netherlands 58% of children walk or cycle to school because the infrastructure makes it safe to do so (1). In the UK only 1-3% of children cycle to school, even though the mean school journey is under three miles (about 15-20 minutes) (2).

1 Source: Cycling UK, Cycling to school or college, 2017. [online]. Available from: https://www.cyclinguk.org/sites/default/files/document/2017/12/schools-and-colleges_7c_brf.pdf [Accessed: 17 May 2026]

2 Source: Veldman, Sanne L.C. et al. Understanding cycling to school behaviour in Dutch primary school-aged children (2026). [online]. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590198226001636 [Accessed: 17 May 2026]

Save lives and reduce serious injuries

The change from 30 to 20mph default speed limits on Welsh roads has reduced injuries by

24%

Source: [online] Available from: https://research.senedd.wales/research-articles/what-impact-has-20mph-had-on-road-safety-in-wales [Accessed: 5 May 2026]

Find out more about Cycle Lewes here

Download the Cycle Lewes Health and Well-Being posters here

Sustainababble

Let’s get moving!