Evaluation of the Second Round Local Transport Plans – environmental and recreation objectives – Joint research by the Countryside Agency and English Nature
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Evaluation of the Second Round Local Transport Plans – environmental and recreation objectives

The Countryside Agency and English Nature (two of Natural England's founding bodies) released a report looking at the treatment of landscape, biodiversity, access and recreation in sixteen provisional Local Transport Plans (LTPs).  

Background 
The provisional LTPs were submitted to DfT in July 2005, and must be finalised by March 2006. English Nature and the Countryside Agency took this opportunity to evaluate the treatment of landscape, biodiversity, access and recreation in a sample of provisional LTPs. The evaluation enables us to respond in detail to sixteen of the LTPs, and to highlight examples of good practice, identify weaknesses in the provisional LTPs and suggest ways in which these weaknesses might be improved in the final LTPs.  

Findings 
 LTPs can provide sustainable transport solutions that enhance and conserve landscape and biodiversity, and improve opportunities for recreation and access.   The LTP process has evolved since the previous round of LTPs in 2000.    The second round of LTPs has seen the introduction of:

  • Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEAs);
  • Accessibility Strategies; 
  • Rights of Way Improvement Plans (RoWIPs) – required in 2007;
  • The shared priorities agreed with DfT of accessibility, congestion, safety and air quality.      

The evaluation recognises that overall, local authorities have responded well to the new demands of LTP2.   
It identifies some examples of good practice where environmental and recreation objectives are concerned, including:

  • The use of the Landscape Character Assessment for the County to provide a landscape context for its LTP policies (Herefordshire);
  • The inclusion of specific aims for conserving and improving biodiversity (Shropshire);
  • The identification of protected species present in the LTP area (Isle of Wight);
  • The recognition of the importance of access to the countryside in terms of tourism and the local economy (Cumbria);
  • The establishment of a Sustainable Tourism Strategy which seeks to promote the tourism industry in a way that minimises its impact on the environment (North Yorkshire);
  • The inclusion of area strategies for designated landscapes to actively encourage sustainable tourism within them (Norfolk)
  • Clear reference to the Strategic Environmental Assessment of the LTP within the LTP itself, and evidence that the SEA has informed the LTP (Lancashire).     

However, it also identifies areas where LTPs could improve their delivery of environmental and recreation objectives, specifically: 

  • The need to clearly acknowledge specifically designated areas and to consider avoidance or mitigation measures relating to the likely impacts of the LTP;
  • The need to ensure that the findings from the SEA are fed clearly into the final LTP;
  • The need to ensure that the RoWIPs and Accessibility Strategies are integrated so that the policies and focus of each are fed into the policies and actions in the main LTP.
  • A tendency for LTPs to focus on the key services, e.g. employment, education and health, with the benefits of sustainable access to the countryside being largely overlooked.      

Who did the research?
The research was carried out by JMP Consulting between October and December 2005.

What LTPs were reviewed?
The 16 Local Authorities’ LTPs were:

North West
Cumbria, Lancashire
North East
Durham, Northumberland
Yorkshire and Humber
West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire
East Midlands
Derbyshire, Lincolnshire
West Midlands
Shropshire, Herefordshire
East of England
Norfolk, Bedfordshire
South East 
 Kent, Isle of Wight
South West
Dorset, Wiltshire