Cycling must now be considered for large planning applications, by law

Fresh legislation, with effect from the start of this month (June 2023) will see Active Travel England become a statutory consultee for all large planning applications.

Active Travel England (ATE) has been tasked with helping deliver walking, wheeling and cycling infrastructure on all future large developments (equal or exceeding 150 housing units, 7,500m2 of floorspace or an area of 5 hectares). That equates to around 3,100 applications a year – 60% of new homes.

This landmark move will be a relief to those cycle advocates who have long campaigned for government departments to work together to boost active travel, rather than view cycling as a purely transport issue, for example. The press statement explicitly noted the health, green and travel benefits of active travel.

While the ATE will not have any statutory powers to direct the outcome of planning applications, the move will no doubt be broadly welcomed. ATE has been working with the Department for Levelling UP, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) to ensure its thresholds as a statutory consultee “are set at an appropriate level”.

ATE’s new role will see it help planning authorities to implement good active travel design, for example “ensuring developments include walking, wheeling and cycling connectivity to schools and local amenities”.

Should the ATE make good on this promise, that would be a huge step forward, as much of the country is seeing new estates developing to catch up with the housing crisis, where housing stock has not been replaced over the decades. Not far from CyclingIndustry.News Towers, the town of Stevenage was built in the years following world war two with significant cycle infrastructure, connecting the town and facilities with its then housing estates through properly segregated cycle paths. Over the years, as the town has expanded, developments have watered that down considerably. New housing estates have included poor or negligible cycle provision, for example the housing estate of Great Ashby, built from 1990s to early 2000s, which has cycle paths that are, in practice, simply pavements with white lines painted in the middle of them – a far cry from the segregated-from-motor-traffic-and-pedestrian-paths built in the town decades earlier.

Active Travel Commissioner Chris Boardman said: “Active travel is essential to improving public health, reducing emissions and tackling the cost of living crisis. That’s why we’re working to ensure millions more people have the opportunity to walk, wheel or cycle from their doorstep to where they need to be.

“Designing activity back into our neighbourhoods and creating places where children have transport independence is achievable – it just needs smart planning.

“As a statutory consultee ATE will work with planning authorities and developers to help them ensure new estates give people what they need to get fresh air and exercise, save money on petrol and help fight climate change.”

The establishment of ATE’s statutory consultee status follows a pilot project, which saw ATE work with 30 local authorities to assess more than 60 developments over the 9 months up until November 2022. Feedback from a survey at the start of the pilot saw 80% of respondents agree ATE should have a role in the planning system.