Mr. Paul Hogan:

Permeability is the technical planning term for the concept. We really championed it in recent years. If one wants to create shorter, safer routes for walking or cycling, it is always better to do it from the beginning. It needs to be coded into the design and into the negotiation with the planning authority from the outset. It is always easier to plan from the beginning. There are, however, cases, with which I am familiar from a local authority context, of recognising where such routes are still used but where people may have to jump over a fence or a wall. The Senator may have seen the shopping trolley upturned or the pallet up against the wall. Retrofitting is often possible in such circumstances where there is willingness to recognise the route, thus allowing choices to be made. There is a lot of opposition where these things are not recognised from the outset. All the policy documents we have issued and all the guidance we give suggest this must be much more to the fore in the consideration of the planning and design of new residential and work areas.