PRESS RELEASE

TAN founder to leave for new adventures

Transport Action Network’s founder and director, Chris Todd, is to step down this year in search of new adventures. TAN is now seeking a new CEO to lead the organisation.

Chris set up the organisation in 2019, after working at Campaign for Better Transport, to support local communities seeking better and greener transport solutions and opposing damaging developments.

During his time at TAN, the organisation has grown to six part-time staff, and set up the Low Traffic Future alliance¹. TAN has taken numerous legal challenges against government decisions, often on nature and climate grounds, and put road building back under the spotlight. In 2025, it successfully challenged the unlawful cuts to active travel funding made by Rishi Sunak².

After many years supporting local communities fighting damaging road schemes, in 2024 it saw many of them cancelled by Labour, saving UK taxpayers £5.5 billion and 10 million tonnes of carbon, including safeguarding Stonehenge World Heritage Site, part of the South Downs National Park, and Rimrose Valley Country Park in Liverpool³.

As well as its grassroots support, TAN has also been active at a national level, with thought leadership and has twice been called to give oral evidence to the House of Commons Transport Committee⁴ . It is continuing to highlight the folly of building the £16bn Lower Thames Crossing ‘smart’ motorway and produced a better, cheaper and more inclusive alternative⁵.

TAN is now actively looking to recruit a new CEO. You can find out more details on TAN’s website⁶.

Chris Todd, founder and director of TAN said:

“It has been a privilege to work with so many fine people in my time at TAN. Together we have achieved a great deal and seeing Stonehenge World Heritage Site saved for future generations and winning the active travel legal challenge are probably the cherries on the top.

“I’m looking forward to some new challenges and won’t be sad not to be sat behind a desk all day.

“I hope people will apply. It’s a great opportunity and an area where there is a real need for leadership as well as change.”

– ENDS –

Notes for editors

1. For more information about TAN see: https://transportactionnetwork.org.uk/about-us/ ↩︎
2. For more information on TAN’s legal challenges sit its website: https://transportactionnetwork.org.uk/campaign/legal-action/ ↩︎
3. The road schemes cancelled by Labour in July and October 2024 and June 2025 would have cost over £5.5bn to build and resulted in an increase of 10 million tonnes of CO2. They include:
   – A1 Morpeth to Ellingham
   – A12 Chelmsford to A120
   – A27 Arundel Bypass
   – A27 Worthing & Lancing
   – A47 Great Yarmouth Vauxhall Roundabout
   – A47 Wansford to Sutton
   – A303 Stonehenge
   – A358 Taunton to Southfields
   – A5036 Port of Liverpool Access Road
   – M27 J8 Southampton ↩︎
4. Ralph Smyth gave oral evidence to the Transport Committee on behalf of TAN on 1 March 2023 (Strategic road investment) and 28 June 2023 (National Networks National Policy Statement) ↩︎
5. For more information on the Lower Thames Crossing ‘smart’ motorway, which will only provide 5 years of relief at Dartford while causing 7 years of construction chaos, see TAN’s dedicated webpage: https://transportactionnetwork.org.uk/campaign/lower-thames-crossing/ ↩︎
6. See TAN’s website for details of the job. Details can also be found on CharityJob and EnvironmentJob ↩︎

See NPPF glossary.