Planning and delivery guidance is now available for English councils planning transit projects.
Transport Decarbonisation: Local Authority Toolkit covers nine different interventions that are available to local authorities looking to cut emissions from public transport systems. These include active travel, car clubs, deliveries and freight, and demand responsible solutions.
Crucially, the free-to-access resource, published by the Energy Saving Trust, makes a distinction between rural and urban constituencies, which have very different needs but similar targets — an overall drop in carbon dioxide output.
The guide has arrived months ahead of the Department for Transport’s forthcoming guidance on Local Transport Plans [LTPs], which will set out how quantifiable reductions must be included in forthcoming Plan publications. Local authorities will not be able to access various funding routes and comply with planning requirements without this level of disclosure.
You can access to the toolkit here.
The Transport Decarbonisation Plan was published by the Conservative government in summer 2021, essentially laying out a blueprint for removing carbon emissions from Britain’s transport networks — no single strategy is identified, and instead a combination of solutions are advocated. However, the idea of a ‘place-based’ approach is consistent throughout, emphasising the importance of tacking the issue with a vested understanding of, and interest in, local infrastructure and opportunities
‘Solutions need to be local and respond to the needs of residents, to help them use less carbon intensive forms of transport. Across the country, each place will have its own role to play and its own suite of appropriate solutions to ensure we can achieve net zero by 2050,’ read a statement from Energy Saving Trust. ‘To reach net zero, we need strong local leadership from local organisations, who are often best placed to make the right decisions and to deliver the appropriate changes for their area.’
Image: Ant Rozetsky / Unsplash
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