Decision details

Purpose of Report

To receive an updated on Lincolnshire County Council’s Local Transport Plan (LTP5) Consultation Draft, as detailed at Appendix A of the report, and to recommend a response on behalf of the Council. 

Decision

1.           That broad support for the Draft Local Transport Plan be endorsed.

2.           That authority be delegated to the Director of Major Developments and Assistant Director of Planning for detailed comments to be made on the Draft Local Transport Plan prior to the submission deadline of 1 December 2021.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected

Making no response or objection to the LTP would jeopardise the Council’s ability to shape and influence the development of the LTP which would be detrimental to future transport plans for Lincoln.

Reasons for the Decision

On 20 October 2021, Lincolnshire County Council had released the LTP 5 for public consultation with a closing date for responses due by Wednesday 1 December 2021.  The LTP was produced every ten years by the County Council covering the short, medium, and longer-term time horizons for transport and highways for the whole county.

This LTP had been produced under a period of rapid change in the transport sector.  With the key driver being the mitigation of climate change coupled with the impact of Covid-19.  Changes in technology, lifestyles, working patterns and environmental concerns meant that the LTP needed to reflect these concerns and how transport could address these issues over the short, medium, and long term. 

Since the last LTP (4) was produced in 2013, significant changes had taken place in relation to local transport.  The Government’s announcement to ban the sale of both new petrol and diesel cars by 2030, and the steps in tackling climate change with the commitment to be net-zero carbon by 2050, would have a significant bearing on what happened to transport during the time-scale of this next LTP.  Growth in the form of new housing (Central Lincolnshire Draft Local Plan anticipated the need for 29,000 new homes up to 2040) and new employment provision (15,000 new jobs across Central Lincolnshire) would increase the pressure on the existing transport infrastructure.

A number of transport-focused schemes had been completed locally since the last LTP, most notably the completion of the Lincoln Eastern Bypass and the new Lincoln Central bus station.  Improvements to rail services (including frequency to London) and funding to support active travel (cycling and walking) had assisted in encouraging people to use sustainable modes of transport but clearly there was a lot more to be done.

The impact caused by the Covid-19 pandemic on transport and movement had been genuinely seismic and in the introduction to the LTP it stated ‘it seems likely that flexible working from home will remain to some extent for many people, and so there will likely be changes to commuting times going forward. Access to education will return to something approaching normal, but access to health and shopping activities have altered in ways that seem irreversible, at least in part. Travelling less and for different reasons will require reassessment of transport programmes, with a likely growth in leisure travel expected’.

The Draft LTP was framed under the challenges outlined above and set out the current context in which the document had been prepared as follows:

‘Lincolnshire’s fifth Local Transport Plan has been produced under highly unusual circumstances – a period of rapid change and upheaval that is presenting us with significant challenges but also exciting opportunities. To be ready for the future we need to clearly identify the challenges we face, so we can respond to them intelligently, effectively and flexibly. But we also need to take advantage of changes in technologies and lifestyles, influenced by factors including the recent pandemic and growing environmental awareness. By doing so we can create a better, more sustainable transport system that will contribute to the health, prosperity and wellbeing of everyone in Lincolnshire’.

The full detailed structure of the Draft LTP was outlined within paragraph 4 of the report.