Gareth Hooper
@garethhooper.bsky.social
Impact Evaluation Manager at The Strategy Unit. Advocate for active travel and clean air. Cyclist. Rower. Runner.
🌐 Birmingham
🌐 Birmingham
The public is rightly outraged that private water companies pollute rivers and streams they can usually avoid drinking or swimming in
The public is ambivalent to privately owned vehicles that pollute the air they cannot avoid breathing in. Or their children or elderly parents.
The public is ambivalent to privately owned vehicles that pollute the air they cannot avoid breathing in. Or their children or elderly parents.
November 10, 2025 at 3:21 PM
The public is rightly outraged that private water companies pollute rivers and streams they can usually avoid drinking or swimming in
The public is ambivalent to privately owned vehicles that pollute the air they cannot avoid breathing in. Or their children or elderly parents.
The public is ambivalent to privately owned vehicles that pollute the air they cannot avoid breathing in. Or their children or elderly parents.
Reposted by Gareth Hooper
This is a great summary of what's going on in particular sections of the news media. It's obvious that the only real issue that the tabloid media has with Zack Polanski's mouth is that he uses it to say that we should lift up people who are struggling instead of the rich.
Every personal attack.
Every attempt to distract or to divide.
It energises, strengthens and empowers our movement.
Lower bills. Tax billionaires. Join us.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Every attempt to distract or to divide.
It energises, strengthens and empowers our movement.
Lower bills. Tax billionaires. Join us.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The right can mock my teeth all it wants – it shows the Greens have struck a nerve | Zack Polanski
As a politician, I expect opposition and debate. But when it centres on personal insults, not policies, something else is going on, says the leader of the Green party, Zack Polanski
www.theguardian.com
November 10, 2025 at 11:02 AM
This is a great summary of what's going on in particular sections of the news media. It's obvious that the only real issue that the tabloid media has with Zack Polanski's mouth is that he uses it to say that we should lift up people who are struggling instead of the rich.
Reposted by Gareth Hooper
This morning, the region's Transport Delivery Overview and Scrutiny Committee meets. This month, there are updates on the Local Transport Plan, Ring and Ride and 2027-32 transport funding (currently £484.5m is unallocated). Papers: governance.wmca.org.uk/ieLi...
November 10, 2025 at 9:30 AM
This morning, the region's Transport Delivery Overview and Scrutiny Committee meets. This month, there are updates on the Local Transport Plan, Ring and Ride and 2027-32 transport funding (currently £484.5m is unallocated). Papers: governance.wmca.org.uk/ieLi...
My walk to work today.
If we want to live in safe communities with clean air, we all have to walk+ cycle more/drive less. But there's no incentive on offer to walk so the status quo continues...
@livingstreets.bsky.social
@tahiralimp.bsky.social
If we want to live in safe communities with clean air, we all have to walk+ cycle more/drive less. But there's no incentive on offer to walk so the status quo continues...
@livingstreets.bsky.social
@tahiralimp.bsky.social
November 10, 2025 at 9:31 AM
My walk to work today.
If we want to live in safe communities with clean air, we all have to walk+ cycle more/drive less. But there's no incentive on offer to walk so the status quo continues...
@livingstreets.bsky.social
@tahiralimp.bsky.social
If we want to live in safe communities with clean air, we all have to walk+ cycle more/drive less. But there's no incentive on offer to walk so the status quo continues...
@livingstreets.bsky.social
@tahiralimp.bsky.social
Reposted by Gareth Hooper
You’re absolutely right. It’s time to clear pavements for people who rely on them.
betterstreetsforbirmingham.org/our-campaign...
betterstreetsforbirmingham.org/our-campaign...
November 10, 2025 at 9:21 AM
You’re absolutely right. It’s time to clear pavements for people who rely on them.
betterstreetsforbirmingham.org/our-campaign...
betterstreetsforbirmingham.org/our-campaign...
The pedestrians in this photo had to move to the right so the cars could drive along the footpath to drop their kids off. Birmingham is an extraordinary place where people will fight for the right fit for a car dominated city 🤯
@betterstreetsforbirmingham.org @livingstreets.bsky.social
@betterstreetsforbirmingham.org @livingstreets.bsky.social
November 10, 2025 at 8:27 AM
The pedestrians in this photo had to move to the right so the cars could drive along the footpath to drop their kids off. Birmingham is an extraordinary place where people will fight for the right fit for a car dominated city 🤯
@betterstreetsforbirmingham.org @livingstreets.bsky.social
@betterstreetsforbirmingham.org @livingstreets.bsky.social
This is what it looks like when Councils want us to walk more but do nothing to facilitate it
@livingstreets.bsky.social @tahiralimp.bsky.social @betterstreetsforbirmingham.org
@livingstreets.bsky.social @tahiralimp.bsky.social @betterstreetsforbirmingham.org
November 10, 2025 at 8:18 AM
This is what it looks like when Councils want us to walk more but do nothing to facilitate it
@livingstreets.bsky.social @tahiralimp.bsky.social @betterstreetsforbirmingham.org
@livingstreets.bsky.social @tahiralimp.bsky.social @betterstreetsforbirmingham.org
Reposted by Gareth Hooper
Not here to be disappointed.
Not here to be concerned.
Here to replace them - and then take on Reform.
Join.greenparty.org.uk
Not here to be concerned.
Here to replace them - and then take on Reform.
Join.greenparty.org.uk
November 9, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Not here to be disappointed.
Not here to be concerned.
Here to replace them - and then take on Reform.
Join.greenparty.org.uk
Not here to be concerned.
Here to replace them - and then take on Reform.
Join.greenparty.org.uk
When we're told there's no new money, we must spend what we have more wisely. Nearly 12x ROI
A new UK report shows free bike programmes give £11.80 return for every £1 spent. Over 12,000 bikes provided so far, improving health, mental wellbeing, access to jobs and community ties - especially in disadvantaged areas.
Is it time to think bigger than cheap buses?
theaws.co.uk/wp-content/u...
Is it time to think bigger than cheap buses?
theaws.co.uk/wp-content/u...
theaws.co.uk
November 9, 2025 at 6:16 PM
When we're told there's no new money, we must spend what we have more wisely. Nearly 12x ROI
Reposted by Gareth Hooper
Nice one Birmingham City Council!
It’s good to see Brum leading the way on raising awareness about fireworks and air quality. Let’s celebrate without polluting our city 🎆💨 #ClearTheAir #FunWithoutFireworks #BrumBreathes
It’s good to see Brum leading the way on raising awareness about fireworks and air quality. Let’s celebrate without polluting our city 🎆💨 #ClearTheAir #FunWithoutFireworks #BrumBreathes
November 5, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Nice one Birmingham City Council!
It’s good to see Brum leading the way on raising awareness about fireworks and air quality. Let’s celebrate without polluting our city 🎆💨 #ClearTheAir #FunWithoutFireworks #BrumBreathes
It’s good to see Brum leading the way on raising awareness about fireworks and air quality. Let’s celebrate without polluting our city 🎆💨 #ClearTheAir #FunWithoutFireworks #BrumBreathes
Reposted by Gareth Hooper
Shout out to my wayward councillor (I understand rejected for selection by all parties) for trying to weaponise the cycle route but being materially incorrect in stating that nobody wants it. 🤷🏻♂️
🚲 What's the threshold for a cycle lane not being controversial? Is it 51%? 🚲
55.88% - Support
4.24% - Neutral
39.41% - Don't support
0.47% - Don't know
55.88% - Support
4.24% - Neutral
39.41% - Don't support
0.47% - Don't know
November 4, 2025 at 7:25 PM
Shout out to my wayward councillor (I understand rejected for selection by all parties) for trying to weaponise the cycle route but being materially incorrect in stating that nobody wants it. 🤷🏻♂️
Reposted by Gareth Hooper
Obsessed with this live "bus tracker" map. Filtered for Oxford Bus Company but other companies and individual bus stops also available.
bustimes.org/operators/ox...
bustimes.org/operators/ox...
November 4, 2025 at 12:14 PM
Obsessed with this live "bus tracker" map. Filtered for Oxford Bus Company but other companies and individual bus stops also available.
bustimes.org/operators/ox...
bustimes.org/operators/ox...
Reposted by Gareth Hooper
Cars the U.K are up to 55% larger today than they were in the 1970s and there are twice the number of motors on our roads as there were 30 years ago, but anti-Low Traffic Neighbourhood and anti-cycle lane campaigners keep claiming they 'cause congestion'.
Okay.
Okay.
November 4, 2025 at 9:34 AM
Cars the U.K are up to 55% larger today than they were in the 1970s and there are twice the number of motors on our roads as there were 30 years ago, but anti-Low Traffic Neighbourhood and anti-cycle lane campaigners keep claiming they 'cause congestion'.
Okay.
Okay.
I'm keen to establish cold water swimming in Birmingham.
I know there's places nearby, but I want to get it going in Birmingham
Trying to guage interest if others feel the same.
Likely to be next winter at the earliest
I know there's places nearby, but I want to get it going in Birmingham
Trying to guage interest if others feel the same.
Likely to be next winter at the earliest
November 4, 2025 at 9:07 AM
I'm keen to establish cold water swimming in Birmingham.
I know there's places nearby, but I want to get it going in Birmingham
Trying to guage interest if others feel the same.
Likely to be next winter at the earliest
I know there's places nearby, but I want to get it going in Birmingham
Trying to guage interest if others feel the same.
Likely to be next winter at the earliest
Reposted by Gareth Hooper
Glasgow is one of the few British cities taking on #UKCarCulture, and here is the result.
This could be your city too, if people with power weren't preventing it from happening.
This could be your city too, if people with power weren't preventing it from happening.
“In May 2025, Scotland’s largest city [Glasgow] reached a milestone that would make any transportation planner in Portland or Montreal do a double take: during the morning rush hour, there were more bicycles than cars traveling along Victoria Road, a major artery…” Via @momentummag.bsky.social
When Bikes Outnumber Cars: What Scotland’s Cycling Surge Can Teach North America
Scotland’s largest city reached a milestone that would make any transportation planner in Portland, or Montreal do a double take.
momentummag.com
November 4, 2025 at 8:43 AM
Glasgow is one of the few British cities taking on #UKCarCulture, and here is the result.
This could be your city too, if people with power weren't preventing it from happening.
This could be your city too, if people with power weren't preventing it from happening.
Reposted by Gareth Hooper
So let’s get this straight, they won’t cut taxes, they want to lower the minimum wage, cut environmental protections, won’t do anything to make life cheaper or better, so what does that leave… flags and deportations? That’s it!
November 4, 2025 at 8:31 AM
So let’s get this straight, they won’t cut taxes, they want to lower the minimum wage, cut environmental protections, won’t do anything to make life cheaper or better, so what does that leave… flags and deportations? That’s it!
Being a pedestrian is grim.
I'm being active.
Not producing any pollution.
Yet I have to lobby day in, day out for this to become much better
@livingstreets.bsky.social @tahiralimp.bsky.social
I'm being active.
Not producing any pollution.
Yet I have to lobby day in, day out for this to become much better
@livingstreets.bsky.social @tahiralimp.bsky.social
November 3, 2025 at 8:25 PM
Being a pedestrian is grim.
I'm being active.
Not producing any pollution.
Yet I have to lobby day in, day out for this to become much better
@livingstreets.bsky.social @tahiralimp.bsky.social
I'm being active.
Not producing any pollution.
Yet I have to lobby day in, day out for this to become much better
@livingstreets.bsky.social @tahiralimp.bsky.social
Reposted by Gareth Hooper
Another tragic week on our streets. Five pedestrians hit by drivers in just seven days.
No one should risk their life just going about their usual business. We need safer streets, slower speeds, and a shift in priorities: people first, not traffic flow.
www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midland...
No one should risk their life just going about their usual business. We need safer streets, slower speeds, and a shift in priorities: people first, not traffic flow.
www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midland...
Road safety crisis continues as five pedestrians hit by vehicles on our streets
A man was hit by a car on Bristol Road in Edgbaston in the latest incident on our streets
www.birminghammail.co.uk
November 2, 2025 at 8:25 PM
Another tragic week on our streets. Five pedestrians hit by drivers in just seven days.
No one should risk their life just going about their usual business. We need safer streets, slower speeds, and a shift in priorities: people first, not traffic flow.
www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midland...
No one should risk their life just going about their usual business. We need safer streets, slower speeds, and a shift in priorities: people first, not traffic flow.
www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midland...
The same government that chose not to implement graduated driving licences also chose not to give free bus travel to under-22s.
Evidence-based policies being overlooked for, I'm guessing here, lobbying from automotive sector etc
Dreadful stuff that costs lives.
Evidence-based policies being overlooked for, I'm guessing here, lobbying from automotive sector etc
Dreadful stuff that costs lives.
No free buses for under-22s in England, “too expensive”
But wealth, subsidies, and perks keep flowing upward
Sustainable, fair societies invest in youth: affordable transport, education, and greener travel
www.bbc.com/news/article...
But wealth, subsidies, and perks keep flowing upward
Sustainable, fair societies invest in youth: affordable transport, education, and greener travel
www.bbc.com/news/article...
No free bus passes for under 22s, says goverment - BBC News
The Commons Transport Committee recommended scrapping bus fares for young people in August.
www.bbc.com
November 2, 2025 at 12:16 PM
The same government that chose not to implement graduated driving licences also chose not to give free bus travel to under-22s.
Evidence-based policies being overlooked for, I'm guessing here, lobbying from automotive sector etc
Dreadful stuff that costs lives.
Evidence-based policies being overlooked for, I'm guessing here, lobbying from automotive sector etc
Dreadful stuff that costs lives.
Reposted by Gareth Hooper
Should have posted this sooner but didn’t
Birmingham and HS2. Both hopeless, supposedly. And yet they’re both obviously not
on.ft.com/47wTRmD
Birmingham and HS2. Both hopeless, supposedly. And yet they’re both obviously not
on.ft.com/47wTRmD
Birmingham eyes ‘Zone 5’ status with long-awaited HS2
[FREE TO READ] Civic leaders and investors believe rail link is key to renaissance of UK’s second-largest city
on.ft.com
November 1, 2025 at 10:40 PM
Should have posted this sooner but didn’t
Birmingham and HS2. Both hopeless, supposedly. And yet they’re both obviously not
on.ft.com/47wTRmD
Birmingham and HS2. Both hopeless, supposedly. And yet they’re both obviously not
on.ft.com/47wTRmD
Reposted by Gareth Hooper
Hs2 will be built. And when it is, it will reach Birmingham. Which is in the doldrums currently, but it doesn’t always have to be that way, have a modicum of imagination
November 1, 2025 at 10:42 PM
Hs2 will be built. And when it is, it will reach Birmingham. Which is in the doldrums currently, but it doesn’t always have to be that way, have a modicum of imagination
The Birmingham City Council bankruptcy story is an utter shambles.
Not knowing whether your organisation is bankrupt or not is simply unbelievable.
No wonder Central Government is staying away from it.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Not knowing whether your organisation is bankrupt or not is simply unbelievable.
No wonder Central Government is staying away from it.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Birmingham was never bankrupt, say finance experts
In a letter to the government, signatories claim figures used were
www.bbc.co.uk
November 1, 2025 at 5:52 PM
The Birmingham City Council bankruptcy story is an utter shambles.
Not knowing whether your organisation is bankrupt or not is simply unbelievable.
No wonder Central Government is staying away from it.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Not knowing whether your organisation is bankrupt or not is simply unbelievable.
No wonder Central Government is staying away from it.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
I cycle because it's cheaper than driving AND saves me the cost of a gym membership.
In Birmingham I see very few other cyclists. Mainly people driving cars.
50% of Birmingham is in poverty and burdened with poor health.
It's a policy failure of epic proportions that people are forced to drive
In Birmingham I see very few other cyclists. Mainly people driving cars.
50% of Birmingham is in poverty and burdened with poor health.
It's a policy failure of epic proportions that people are forced to drive
October 28, 2025 at 7:34 PM
I cycle because it's cheaper than driving AND saves me the cost of a gym membership.
In Birmingham I see very few other cyclists. Mainly people driving cars.
50% of Birmingham is in poverty and burdened with poor health.
It's a policy failure of epic proportions that people are forced to drive
In Birmingham I see very few other cyclists. Mainly people driving cars.
50% of Birmingham is in poverty and burdened with poor health.
It's a policy failure of epic proportions that people are forced to drive
Reposted by Gareth Hooper
I attended the first meeting of Friends of Bradford St community forum tonight. It made me think this must be how some of the groups in Moseley began years ago. It’s great to see residents & businesses coming together to support and shape their area rather than leaving it to faceless corporations.
October 27, 2025 at 9:34 PM
I attended the first meeting of Friends of Bradford St community forum tonight. It made me think this must be how some of the groups in Moseley began years ago. It’s great to see residents & businesses coming together to support and shape their area rather than leaving it to faceless corporations.
@birminghamdispatch.bsky.social can WMCA decide whether Birmingham should be like London or not?
Ed Cox suggested we didn't back in August, but Richard Parker thinks we should in October. 12 weeks is a long time in regional politics!!
Ed Cox suggested we didn't back in August, but Richard Parker thinks we should in October. 12 weeks is a long time in regional politics!!
October 27, 2025 at 3:09 PM
@birminghamdispatch.bsky.social can WMCA decide whether Birmingham should be like London or not?
Ed Cox suggested we didn't back in August, but Richard Parker thinks we should in October. 12 weeks is a long time in regional politics!!
Ed Cox suggested we didn't back in August, but Richard Parker thinks we should in October. 12 weeks is a long time in regional politics!!