Cycling UK’s chief executive stands down

Cycling UK Chief Executive, Paul Tuohy, is stepping down after five years in the job. The charity credited him with transforming it into, “a progressive, fearless campaigner for cyclists’ rights,” during his spell in charge.

Tuohy was described by a spokesperson as a “driving force” behind the organisation’s rebrand from CTC to Cycling UK in 2016, four years after it became a charity.

The name change was intended to reflect the organisation’s wider work, inspiring more people to cycle and campaigning to make cycling safer for everyone.

Speaking at the time, Tuohy said he was confident the change would help, “magnify the great work that we do to inspire people into cycling, campaign to protect the gift of cycling, and help people to overcome personal barriers to cycling.”

During his tenure, the charity has launched a number of award-winning campaigns. These include Trails for Wales, a campaign for more of the rights of way network to be opened to cyclists; Teach the Reach, which raised awareness of the Dutch Reach method of opening car doors; and perhaps most famously of all, the close pass campaign, Too Close for Comfort.

Inspired by the pioneering work of West Midlands Police and their use of plain clothes officers on bikes to identify dangerous passes, Cycling UK delivered close pass mats for driver education to police forces throughout the country.

It later raised over £17,000 through a crowdfunding campaign which allowed it to provide all 45 police forces operating the UK with a virtual reality headset for roadside education.

Tuohy’s spell also saw the launch of the Great North Trail, an 800-mile off-road route from the Pennines to the northerly tips of mainland Scotland.

“It’s been a tremendous honour to lead Cycling UK through such exciting times,” said Tuohy. “But time is right to hand over the baton, or water bottle, and to make way for someone new to drive forward our ambitious five-year strategy to inspire millions more people to cycle.”

Chair of the Board of Trustees, Dan Howard commented: “I’d like to thank Paul for his work and leadership over the last five years. During that time Paul has worked to support the modernisation of the organisation, fostered new relationships with Government and supported more people to enjoy the joy of cycling through programmes such Big Bike Revival.

“It’s an exciting time for Cycling UK as we look to deliver our five-year strategy and help get millions more people to cycle. The Board will start their search for the next CEO shortly.”

The board will soon appoint an interim CEO while they conduct a search for a permanent replacement.