3.GUIDANCE; Sustrans and active travel guidance.

Sustrans

Sustrans is a national charity encouraging people to walk and cycle; connecting people and places, creating liveable neighbourhoods, transforming the school run and delivering a happier, healthier commute. They have compiled a collection of high-quality UK design guidance for walking and cycling infrastructure. National Route 42 of the National Cycle Network will run west from Gloucester through Cinderford to Chepstow and then north through Abergavenny to join National Route 8 at Glasbury with the option of passing through Hay-on-Wye. the planning of this national cycle route is influential in the location of the development. It would be beneficial to jointly design and integrate connectivity through Sustrans largely traffic free walking and cycling network. The Government sponsored Cycle to Work scheme points out that over 50% of people in the UK commute less than 5km to work by car. It describes a moderate cycle commute as being between 3 and 6 miles. Building safe and attractive active travel networks into the design of the settlement will greatly support health and wellbeing, the local economy and support a health environment. Pollution from cars is now the primary cause of air pollution in the UK and costs the health service an estimated 6 £billion a year in health damages.(Oxford University,2018)

LTN 1/20 Cycle Infrastructure Design, 2020.

This Local Transport Note provides guidance and good practice for the design of cycle infrastructure, in support of the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy. it is dedicated to the design aspect of cycle infrastructure and will be referred to in phase 2. It does influence the decision of location of the settlement as cyclability is an important factor in shortlisting process. The document out lines 5 core design principles which represent the essential requirements to achieve more people travelling by cycle or on foot, based on best practice both internationally and across the UK. Networks and routes should be Coherent; Direct · Safe Comfortable · and Attractive.

These core principles are expanded upon and supported by clear examples of best practice. The document echoes and expands on the principles outlined in the cycling and walking investment strategy. It states; “Our long-term goal up to 2040 is that walking and cycling should be a normal part of everyday life, and the natural choice for shorter journeys such as the commute to school, college, work or leisure trips. We want to create a nation where cycling and walking are the norm for all people whatever their background or characteristics.” (Department for Tranport,2016).

CD143 Designing for walking, cycling and horse-riding.

This document describes specific design principles for creating safe and inclusive streetscapes for cycling and walking.

In Local Cycling And Walking Infrastructure Plans, 2017 the principles are applied at a local planning level. Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans (LCWIPs) are set out in the Government’s Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy, they are a strategic approach to identifying cycling and walking improvements required at the local level. The Strategy supports the transformation of local areas: change which will tackle congestion and, it states, extend opportunity to improve physical and mental health, support local economies. (DfT,2017).

This guidance supports a strong emphasis in the design of the new settlement to promote active travel and in particular cycling and walking. This in turn is core to the sustainability of the site both economically and environmentally. This guidance will support the design of the connectivity and streetscape of the development in conjunction with other initiatives such as 20 Minute Neighbourhoods, Manual for Streets guidance, Garden Communities and Ecotown guidance. These are referred to in design phase 2 and in the following sections.

Arup .

Safe and clearly waymarked prioritised cycle tracks that separate cars van sand lorries from active travellers. ( Sustrans,2023) Photo. Sustrans 2023

Arup Cities Alive, Rethinking Green Infrastructure, describes how Green Infrastructure-led design approach can contribute positively to social, environmental and economic issues in our urban environments, whist also contributing to climate change resilience. (Arup,2014). In Cites Alive, towards a walking World the damage caused by infrastructures that prioritise the car to exclusion of other more sustainable modes of transport is explored.

“If you plan cities for cars and traffic, you get cars and traffic. If you plan for people and places, you get people and places.” Fred Kent, Project for Public Spaces.(2013)

The cities Alive series has many insights into creating public spaces that are sustainable and healthy spaces to be. It aspires to make streets a “supreme” place to be. Describes some of the mechanisms by which this could happen. For instance, In Towards a walking World(2014) it suggests the starting point for many developments will be to create a vision and strategy for walking, recognising it as a transport mode in its own right, as well as an important part of almost all trips, whether by car, bus, train or bicycle.(Arup,2014)

“Our current mind-set is that economic success requires increasing consumption instead we should be valuing processes that reduce consumption instead of focusing on GDP growth, we should place more value on improving health, education and quality of life.” Peter Head , “A New Approach to Resources” (2013)

The shortlisting for the site location will be using quality of life criteria to make the final choice.