Menu

Kent Active Travel Business Grants

We are offering Active Travel grants of up to £5,000 to qualifying businesses. This funding will help to install active travel facilities to encourage staff and customers to walk, wheel, or cycle to access business premises in Kent.

About the grant

The maximum funding award for this grant is £5,000. We will consider grants for smaller amounts. This is a scheme with limited funding available for the 2026 to 2027 budget year only. The Active Travel grants are funded by UK Government.

What the grant can be used for

You can use the funding from the grant for:

  • safe and secure cycle parking facilities and storage that meet minimum design standards for accessibility
  • lockers and showers for staff
  • pool bikes for staff
  • electric hook-ups for e-bike charging
  • innovative projects or facilities to support staff and customers to walk, wheel, or cycle to access the business.

Application guidance

Who can apply

Your business must qualify as a:

  • small business
  • not-for-profit organisation
  • NHS community facility such as a doctor’s surgery (not hospital sites).

Your business must have a site in Kent (not Medway) and employ at least 2 members of staff.

Assessment of application

We will rank applications based on the current support provided by the employer for customers and staff to access the premises by walking, wheeling, or cycling. As well as the distance of the business to the highway network to support travel on foot or by bike.

Applications that include innovative behaviour change measures and match funding will be ranked more highly.

Essential criteria

As the applicant, you:

  • must install any new facilities on land you own as an applicant, or with permission from the landowner
  • cannot use the grant for associated costs such as lighting, planning permission or legal costs
  • are responsible for all ongoing maintenance

Apply

Apply for an Active Travel business grant

Applications opened at midday on the 14 September 2026. We expect to close the applications at midnight on the 16 October 2026.

If a sufficient number of high qualify applications are submitted before the closing date, we may close the application window earlier.

Email activetravel@kent.gov.uk if you have any questions about your application.

After you apply

We will assess your bid against:

  • how well it meets the criteria
  • our strategic priorities
  • how effectively it will increase the proportion of walking, wheeling, and cycling active travel journeys linked to your Kent business location.

We will let you know the outcome of your bid by the 30 October 2026. The latest date those offered grants must accept (or decline) is 13th November 2026.

Payment of your grant award will be made following the submission of a work invoice by the 7 December 2026.

You must submit your final invoice and your first progress report to us by 11 January 2027.

Successful grant applicants stories

In the last round of funding, 11 applicants received a grant. Together, they shared £44,030 to help their business or organisation grow and succeed.

Some of the businesses or organisations that received grants in the first Active Travel scheme included:

  • catering companies
  • health and wellbeing groups
  • medical organisations
  • arts centres.

Read stories from successful applicants, about how our grants helped their business or organisation: