Active Travel England makes top level appointments, Boardman now permanent

The Department for Transport has announced top-level hires at Active Travel England, including the advancement of Chris Boardman’s interim role as head of the department to a permanent position as Active Travel Commissioner.

Appointed alongside, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Danny Williams and Chief Operating Officer (COO) Louise Wilkinson make up a team of five to begin with, with further help pitched in from the Department for Transport as Active Travel England finds its feet.

Danny Williams wrote yesterday: “I know it might sound like a cliché, but being appointed CEO of Active Travel England today is something of a dream come true for me professionally.”

A multi-decade advocate for safe streets, Williams has dedicated his spare time to forging change, something that he writes has become easier to make meaningful inroads with since the creation of things like national infrastructure design guidelines and a general shift in political will, notably including the current Government Gear Change strategy and its contents.

Writing on the day of an All Party Parliamentary Cycling and Walking Group meet that centred its theme on inclusivity and diversity, Williams added: “As a brand new Executive Agency we are clearly at a very early and, to be blunt, somewhat vulnerable stage in our journey. One thing that will help us on that journey is the calibre of our team. If you look at England’s roads, you’ll see four times as many men ride bikes as women, and minority groups are underrepresented. A lot of the discourse around walking, and around travel in general, is about end-to-end trips to work, for example. It is much less often about the sorts of multi-point trips that families make every day – trips to school, to the shops, to the dentist, the leisure centre, a youth group or a faith group and then back home again. Active Travel England has to represent the people making those sorts of trips too. And that starts by making our team look and feel like the country we are part of.”

Meanwhile, Louise Wilkinson, who most recently held the role in the Cabinet Office of Deputy Director of Finance, becomes COO. Alongside Danny, she joins in August.

Louise said: “I can’t wait to take on the role of COO at Active Travel England and be part of this exciting journey. This is something I really believe in and I am proud to be part of a team that will help transform active travel and deliver real change.

“I will be focusing on putting in place all the things we need to succeed and to ensure that councils and other delivery partners are supported every step of the way.”

Active Travel England also today announced Graham Grant as its Director of Planning and Development. Grant, currently Assistant Director of Transport at Newcastle City Council, is expected to take up his post in the autumn. He joins Brian Deegan, who was announced as Director of Inspections in May 2022.

Confirming the appointments, Cycling Minister Trudy Harrison said: “Today’s appointments are another great step for Active Travel England as it continues to make sure getting around our towns and cities on foot or by bike is an easy and attractive option.

“Chris, Danny, Louise and the rest of the incoming team are hugely respected experts in their field and are dedicated to making people-friendly streets a reality. I wish them every success and will do all I can to support them.”

Chris Boardman added: “I am thrilled to be announced as permanent National Active Travel Commissioner and to be given this incredible opportunity. To help change the travel culture of a nation is by far the most important thing I have ever, or will ever, be involved in.

“For cycling and walking to become the natural choice for shorter journeys, people must feel safe and the options must be easy.

“Active Travel England aims to help local authorities across the country deliver that environment, so that people can get to schools, shops and workplaces under their own steam. That’s the kind of place people want to live and the freedoms they want for their children.”