Procurement of a Sustainable Travel Strategy by Lancaster City Council to inform the Development Strategy for the Lancaster District Local Plan Review

Description

When preparing a new Local Plan, the City Council is keen to ensure that the spatial distribution of new development and the delivery of growth to meet the district’s housing and employment needs are achieved in a way that emphasises the benefits of supporting and expanding the role of sustainable travel. In the context of Lancaster District, sustainable travel should be defined as a mixture of cycling, walking and public transport (which includes both bus and rail services). To achieve this objective the City Council wishes to advance a development strategy to guide the choice of development locations identified by the new Local Plan that; - Focuses development at locations that take advantage of opportunities offered by existing sustainable travel corridors and transport nodes, in so doing, enabling the enhancement of the quality, safety, reliability, and affordability of these existing assets, and, if additional development opportunities are needed, - Focuses development at locations where new sustainable travel corridors can connect to and enhance the functionality of the existing network of sustainable travel corridors and transport nodes, thereby providing further, and integrated, sustainable travel opportunities for existing and future residents and businesses. To help achieve these ambitions for prioritising sustainable travel the City Council (as local planning authority) is seeking consultancy support for the preparation of a Sustainable Travel Strategy to inform and shape the local plan’s development strategy. The Sustainable Travel Strategy should advise how sustainable travel opportunities can be maximised through the spatial distribution of development within the district. Keywords: Transport brief, Local Plan Evidence