Archived decisions

Contact: Alan Tilly, ext 6047 email: [email protected]

1. Summary

1.1 This report provides an update on the workplace and school travel planning programmes in the New Forest area. It also includes an update on the New Forest Safer Routes to School programme.

2. Workplace and Residential Travel Plans

2.1 A key aim over the last six months has been the updating of the Hampshire County Council draft guidance for developers on travel plans. This is aimed at raising the standard of travel plans submitted initially, thus saving council resources. After consultation with district councils it is envisaged that the guidance will go through a formal adoption process as a policy document.

2.2 As part of this process, the County Council organised a seminar for officers on 30 January involving all the districts councils. The aim is to enable District Councils and the County Council to:

a) work towards a faster, more efficient system for dealing with travel plans through the planning process both within local authorities and with applicants, bearing in mind the short, statutory 13 week planning deadlines;

b) produce a guidance document that suits everyone; and

c) clarify and decide upon correct legal approaches

2.3 Since the autumn 2005 round of Panels, most travel plans have come through the planning process and are at level one (initial work on travel plan started). An increasing number are for residential developments of over 100 dwellings.

2.4 The Travel Plan Partnership Fund invites businesses with travel plans to submit bids for the provision of `on-site' facilities, such as bicycle storage, to help reduce the amount of road traffic their business generates.

2.5 The provision of Travel Plan Partnership funding for 2006/07 will be reviewed as part of the ongoing development of the `Smarter Travel Choices' Strategy. The success and impact of the partnership to date will be evaluated to ensure value for money is being achieved and to identify the most appropriate way forward for this funding initiative.

3. School Travel Plan Programme

3.1 The School Travel Planning Team continue to work with schools to develop School Travel Plans. To date over 433 schools throughout Hampshire have developed or are in the process of developing School Travel Plans. This represents an increase of 28 schools over the last six months.

3.2 Schools with travel plans approved by the School Travel Planning Team are eligible for capital funding through the Safer Routes to School programme, as well as a one-off capital grant from the Department for Education and Skills (DfES). The latter is only available to state schools. In 2005 71 schools were put forward and received grants totalling £402,597 from the DfES.

3.3 Hampshire county Council submitted a provisional School Travel Strategy to the DfES and DfT in June 2005. This was successfully judged as falling into the top category (out of five) by the Travelling to School Initiative project board. The Board congratulated the Council for producing a `sound strategy' and encouraged the Travel Planning Team to `keep up the good work'. The strategy will be finalised once a review of the School Travel Planning service has been undertaken

3.4 The team is now engaged with 54 of the 76 schools in the New Forest area (69 maintained and 7 independent), compared with 50 schools as at September 2005. A summary of the current status of all School Travel Plans in the New Forest area is shown as a table below (more detail is shown in the appendix). Also shown below are the percentages of schools within each district with approved travel plans.

Travel Plan Level (New Forest District)	Number of schools
Level 0 - Interest shown	12
Level 1 - Initial work on travel plan started	17
Level 2 - Draft travel plan completed	6
Level 3 - Final travel plan submitted and approved	19
C- Contacted awaiting response	21

4. Safer Routes to School Programme

4.1 The Safer Routes to School programme links very closely with the development of the School Travel Plan programme. One of the objectives of a School Travel Plan is to encourage as many children as possible to be active and independent by walking, cycling or using public transport to get to and from school on a regular basis. The other objectives can be found in the `Smart Travel Choices' Appendix to the second Local Transport Plan. A number of issues may be identified through the School Travel Planning process that limit travel choice. Measures to resolve these can be a combination of physical works and/or behavioural initiatives. If physical works are identified within the approved School Travel Plan then the school can bid for funding from the Safer Routes to School programme. Behavioural initiatives could include road safety training or curriculum work.

4.2 On 18 January 2006 the Executive Member for Environment: South Hampshire and Resource Management agreed an indicative allocation of £1 million for schemes from the 2006/07 Capital Grant.

4.3 When producing a travel plan schools are given advice on the type and scale of highway improvements that are appropriate to their situation. Any physical measures that are included in the completed School Travel Plan will be assessed to determine the level of priority within the Safer Routes to School Programme. The current status of potential and actual schemes is shown in the Appendix.

5. Impact Assessments

5.1 Since no formal decisions are required as a result of this report no impact assessment is required.

Recommendation

That Members note the progress made with the delivery of the Workplace and School Travel Plans and Safer Routes to School programmes in the New Forest area.

787/AT

APPENDIX

New Forest Highway and Transport Advisory Panel

School Travel Plan levels as at January 2006

Key:

0 Interest shown

1 Initial work on travel plan started

2 Draft travel plan completed

3 Final travel plan submitted and approved

C Contacted, awaiting response

() School Travel Plan Level at time of last HTAP. No change to level if not shown.

NB Langdown Infant and Junior Schools in Hythe closed on 31 December 2004 and Waterside Primary School, Hythe opened on 1 January 2005