It’s with mixed emotions that we announce the news that Brian Deegan, our Technical Director for Walking + Cycling, is leaving Urban Movement. If you know Brian well, you may be thinking (with a wry smile) that the reason for our mixed feelings is that he has a tendency sometimes to be almost too much a force of nature. However, the simple facts are that, while we’re very sad he has to leave our family (and, yes, it really does feel a bit like that), we’re equally glad that the reason he’s going is so that he can take up the permanent post of Director of Inspection at Active Travel England. That’s a key role at what we consider to be a vital agency, and we can do little better than to quote Chris Boardman, the ATE Commissioner:

“Delivering active travel change takes ingenuity, vision and courage. Brian has those traits in spades, and so I’m delighted he’ll be leading a new ATE team that’ll help local authorities get the job done!”

So, while there may be a tear in our collective eye, we congratulate Brian and wish him very well indeed with all that lies ahead in his new role. We also wish to make it clear to him that, when we have his leaving do, he’s buying!