New proposals to help cut car use and reduce its environmental and health impacts in Bath and North East Somerset, including encouraging more walking and cycling, are to go out to consultation.
Bath & North East Somerset Council has taken the upcoming update of the Local Plan – the blueprint for the area’s future – to look at new transport options as it aims to hit its target of achieving carbon neutrality by 2030.
Transport accounts for 29% of the area’s carbon emissions and the council wants to reduce vehicle mileage by 25% per person, while encouraging a shift to 76% ULEV (ultra-low emission vehicles) and 14% hybrid vehicles, with just 10% of vehicles on the area’s roads powered by petrol or diesel.
In March the council launched the UK’s first charging clean air zone (CAZ) outside London to urgently tackle harmful levels of air pollution caused mostly by polluting taxis, vans, buses and larger commercial vehicles. But it believes more must be done to reduce the number of cars on the area’s roads.
Key issues in the draft Transport and Development Supplementary Planning Document will include:
- Walking and cycling – including design requirements for accessibility, safety and security, comfort, and legibility.
- Parking – with information on how developments should accommodate different types of car and cycle parking.
- Vehicle charging – providing infrastructure for new residential and business developments.
The draft document will aims to support changes to key transport policies set out in the updated Local Plan and, if approved, would be used by the council to assess development plans, proposals and requirements, where planning permission is sought.
Council cabinet member for planning and licensing, Tim Ball, said: “This draft Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) has a key role in supporting the council’s commitment to providing the leadership to enable Bath and North East Somerset to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030.
“The transport policies set out within the Local Plan Partial Update have been strengthened and this draft SPD builds on those policies, providing guidance and setting standards and expectations for delivering sustainable development within Bath & North East Somerset.
“It provides clarity for ‘what good looks like’ to Bath & North East Somerset Council, drawing on best practice.”
Cabinet member for transport, Cllr Manda Rigby, added: “Business as usual is no longer an option, and we need to act to achieve a major shift to mass transport, walking and cycling to reduce transport emissions. Enabling a reduction in vehicle usage will provide an opportunity to reallocate road space to sustainable transport infrastructure and green infrastructure.”
The six-week public consultation ends on October 8. For more information visit: https://democracy.bathnes.gov.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?Id=1591
