A campaign has been launched to encourage more cycling in the Sid Valley, to reduce car journeys and their environmental impact. 

The Vision Group for Sidmouth wants to find out what is needed locally to get more people using their bikes, and increase the number of journeys made by bicycle. 

It has set up a new group, the Sidmouth Cycling Campaign (SCC), which is inviting local residents to complete a questionnaire, the results of which will indicate what could be done. 

SCC steering group member Roy Russell said: “For example, we'd like to know if people in Sidmouth want more safe cycle routes and where these should go." 

The questionnaire asks which journeys people would like to make by bike; for example, to school, work, to Sidmouth town centre or seafront. 

The SCC is a revival of the Sidmouth Cycling Action Group, led by a small team with experience in working for better cycling facilities in Devon, as well as other parts of the country.   

The former group had not been active for several years up to 2020 because of a lack of supporters, but has recently welcomed new and enthusiastic members who have helped relaunch the cycling project. 

It has strong working links with Sustrans, the leading body promoting cycling and sustainable transport in the UK, the Sid Valley Cycling Group, the Exeter Cycling Campaign and Cycling UK. 

It aims to ‘press for a convenient and connected cycle infrastructure, making cycling the safe, natural choice for a large proportion of everyday journeys’. 

Membership of the SCC is open and local residents are encouraged to get involved. 

The group believes the town, district and county councils are all keen to encourage cycling, and it will be working with them to bring about improvements.  

Anyone with any concerns about cycling in the Sid Valley and/or any ideas for improvements can share them by filling in the questionnaire. It will be online from Saturday, November 12, and there will be paper copies at Sidmouth Library and the Tourist Information Centre. Any further questions or suggestions can be emailed to sidmouthcyclingcampaign@gmail.com 

The information-gathering exercise will be open until December 31, and the results will be published early in the new year.