Dr. Sarah Rock:

Local area plans are a foundation of our local democratic process. They are real opportunities to engage the public on establishing a vision for an area. This vision can include many things, one of which may be active travel. There is a much greater opportunity to work very collaboratively with the public quite early and establish a much greater long-term vision for the area. Collaborative planning is a very resource intensive task but is absolutely essential and critical to the success of schemes and projects. It is very important to emphasise resources for it so that when it comes to delivering projects such as active travel they meet less resistance than they otherwise might.

There is an understanding that this is a vision that the local community has bought into as part of an holistic package. It is not just about active travel; it is about understanding the many benefits and multifaceted elements of urban regeneration. There are many facets to it and active travel is one but it is very important to the overall vision.