Active Travel Strategy
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accommodate housing principally within existing urban areas, planning for increased intensity of development for both housing and other uses at locations which are highly accessible by public transport, walking and cycling.
Local and regional development plans, spatial plans and transport plans will be subject to Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and it is key that health is actively considered in these assessments. SEA is an EU requirement enshrined in UK law by the Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes Regulations 2004. 5.9
LTPs require an SEA which needs to address the full range of potential health impacts and consider the significance of the plans for the health of the local population. Promoting active travel should be a key consideration in this assessment, and local authorities will need to ensure that local health partners are engaged in the SEA process. In parallel DH are commissioning a review of evidence of the impacts of transport on health for use in the next round of LTPs. This will inform the development of support and training materials in SEA. These and other related resources will be available from the HIA Gateway website, www.hiagateway.org.uk
5.10
Cycle and pedestrian facilities are a cost effective way of meeting sustainable travel and accessibility objectives of new developments, and should be a priority for local planning authorities when considering agreements with developers. Engagement between planners and developers at an early stage will make it easier and more cost effective to integrate walking and cycling into the design of new developments.
5.11
Effective planning of services which reflects the needs of those arriving on foot or bike can be important to increase accessibility and social inclusion, as well as encouraging more active travel and we believe that the public sector should lead on this. Our ambition is for cycle parking at or within easy reach of all public sector buildings. It is also important that people have somewhere safe to park their bike at home: The ‘Code for Sustainable Homes’ awards points for new homes which have somewhere secure to store a bike.
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