Agenda item

To receive the presentation of Dean Sargeant (Director: Neighbourhood & Enforcement Services).

Members received a summary presentation on the Active Travel Update report by the Service Delivery Manager: Strategic Transport & Highway Network and the Active Travel Delivery Specialist.

Members heard that in 2019/20 it was recognised that the Council's Sustainable Travel work, which included the Active Travel Strategy, needed to be prioritised. With no significant national funding available, further local investment was required. It was explained that the government had since reacted to the issue with two significant policy documents, Gear Change, LTN 1/20 and creating Active Travel England.

The Committee was informed that, in 2021 the team had expanded to meet growing pressures with the creation of the following posts; a dedicated Active Travel Delivery Specialist and a Bike Hub Manager. This was to expand upon development to encourage people to take up more active forms of transport, such as cycling and walking and improve local infrastructure. An Active Travel Survey was launched to find out more about residents’ needs and demands to which there were over 500 responses received regarding cycling and walking.

The Service Delivery Manager continued, discussing the Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP).This was a working plan that would be developed to provide a structure of what was going to be provided for the Borough. The plan took a long term view of plans of development whilst also looking to review and update the local strategy that sits beside the LCWIP which was developed in 2016 and needs a refresh. The LCWIP looked at key areas such as wards and towns in the Borough for development and improvement, through measures such as connecting corridors that did not previously exist and improving those that do.

The LCWIP was data oriented in its planning, especially in terms of walking and cycling zones. In the case of Walking Zones, it was stated that data showed that on average people are willing to walk around two miles a day and this data helped with the design of the plan to encourage more walking. Zones would be based around the Borough’s towns and their connectivity. Data collection had helped to determine priorities both long and short term around infrastructure for active travel.

Members heard about the funding for Active Travel; through the Travel Telford Sustainable Transport Fund there was £2.6m over four years in active and sustainable travel. Additionally, there was £305K from the Department for Transport (DfT) Active Travel Fund and £181K in DfT Revenue funding for capability funding. A bid had been submitted for £1.8m for improvements on the Silkin Way and, at the time of the meeting, the Council was awaiting a decision. It was stated that for government funding an LCWIP plan was needed to support future funding bids.

The Committee heard that the Silkin Way Investment Plan was developed in 2021 and covered the whole 14 mile route which runs from Bratton to Coalport. To ensure the best allocation of resources and future evaluation, a survey was undertaken to establish the priorities of residents. From this, the improvements that will be made to the area were identified, these were: Surfacing; Signing; Crossing Points; Street Furniture, such as bins and benches; CCTV; and, Lighting. Route-wide maintenance had commenced in late 2021 to improve accessibility in the short term.

Members heard about other projects that constituted the Active Travel strategy. The first concerned the A518, which had a new 1.25 miles of shared use footway/cycle way, segregating active travel modes from traffic. The second project was on-road sweeper developments, dedicated sweepers for local walking and cycling routes had been introduced. The last project discussed were cycle stands. There was the potential for 200 to 300 cycle parking stands across the borough. At the time of the meeting, 176 stands had been provided to local communities.

Following the presentation, Members posed questions.

Following from a recent accident on the A518, is there possibility of extending the route further to interconnected routes for safety?

There was the potential for future development but there were issues over property and land ownership.

There are some regions of development and areas that have good routes for Active Travel that are not on the maps in the report. Is there a way of promoting these and utilising good routes for development?

The reason why some routes were not on the map was due to early demand analysis. However, the team were working with the communications team to develop signage and publicity for good active travel routes, as well as engaging with the public to illustrate what was around them and to promote active travel.

After these questions, the committee considered the recommendations in the report. Following a vote it was:

RESOLVED - that the Committee

i)             Endorse the approach to Active Travel and progress that had been made to date.

ii)            Consider the approach to develop a Local Cycling & Walking Investment Plan (LCWIP) and associated strategy refresh and whether there were any interventions that could be brought forward.