SWINDON BOROUGH COUNCIL'S SECOND LOCAL TRANSPORT PLAN (2006 TO 2011)

You may by now have heard that the Council has begun to develop its second five-year Local Transport Plan (2006 to 2011).  This is a statutory requirement for every local authority with a responsibility for transport.

The Local Transport Plan must set out the transport objectives which the Council wants to achieve over the next five years, and the types of schemes which the Council would like to implement.  It must also set out the targets by which the Council will be monitoring and reporting its progress each year.

In December 2004, the Government will tell the Council how much money it can have for transport measures, and then we will have to develop strategies and action plans to fit the budget.  This work has to be submitted to the Department for Transport in July 2005.

The Department for Transport has set all local authorities four priority areas and one over-arching objective:

-to improve access to jobs and services, particularly for those most in need, in ways that are sustainable: (this means) improved public transport, (and) reduced problems of congestion, pollution and safety.

In July 2002 the Government and Local Government Association (LGA) agreed a set of seven shared priorities for local government.  These priorities, which include raising the standards across schools, transforming the local environment and meeting local transport needs more effectively, are a focus for the efforts of Government and councils for improving public services.  The shared priorities for transport are:

• accessibility
• congestion
• pollution/air quality
• road safety

The Department for Transport will look for evidence that the aim of delivering the shared priorities is at the heart of all local transport strategies and the second Local Transport Plan, although it is for authorities to decide the relative importance of each of the shared priority themes in their area.  The shared priorities also inform the Audit Commission's work in developing the Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) of Council's for 2005 and beyond.

The guidance * has also specified that we need to focus on issues of accessibility; can individuals with particular needs - be they young or old, physically less able, culturally prohibited from certain aspects of travel, or living in areas which are high on the Government's index of multiple deprivation - can these individuals gain access to employment, education, healthcare and healthy food?

*(footnote) a full copy of the most up-to-date guidance document on all aspects of the second Local Transport Plan (2006 to 2011) can be found on the Department for Transport web-site:  
Please click on this link to be taken to the guidance document

The Council needs to show that its second five-year Local Transport Plan (2006 to 2011) is set in an environment of the longer term aims and objectives of the area.  The strategies and action plans must be shown to be in support of not only the Council's corporate aims, but also to be working in partnership with our service providers, such as Police, fire services and ambulance, and to have taken into account the needs of both residents, businesses and visitors to the Borough.

The Department for Transport guidance majors on the principal of value for money, of combining forces, and working together using joint funding and efforts to produce mutually supportive strategies and action plans.

"The Council's strategies must be planned to help improve everyone's quality of life and the liveability of the Borough of Swindon.  We would like to offer real alternatives to driving for those who want it, and remove the barriers that can currently exist to active travel.  We want to help facilitate access to the countryside and encourage a culture of activity as well as ensuring that the funds we are allocated in December are put to work in the areas where they can have the most impact on tackling the issues of social exclusion that are related to transport."

To comment please e-mail: Transport Planning@Swindon.gov.uk or visit the Council's web-site at Swindon.gov.uk