Balfour Beatty appoints UK Director of Sustainability

Contractor Balfour Beatty has announced the appointment of Jo Gilroy as UK Director of Sustainability. Ms Gilroy, who joins the company this week, will be responsible for supporting and guiding the business in driving forward Balfour Beatty’s sustainability strategy across the UK, as well as reporting the Group’s performance against the bold targets and ambitions […]
Cork works up masterplan for active travel to create first 20-minute neighbourhood

Nearly €6m is to be spent to build a 5.5km network of bike lanes and pedestrian walkways to create Cork’s first 20-minute neighbourhood in Mahon. It is hoped the network will encourage people to ditch the car in favour of cycling and walking in an area that is home to three schools, a massive shopping […]
5p cut in fuel duty represents three times the current active travel spend, says new report

A 5p cut in fuel duty represents three times the current spending on active travel in the UK, according to a new report, which suggests that the financial relief would be better invested in active travel. The ‘Spending £2.4bn Better’ technical report concludes that the fuel duty cut – applied by the government in response to […]
Private e-scooters could soon be legal on public roads

Private e-scooters could soon be legal to ride on public roads, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has suggested. According to the Press Association, Mr Shapps is keen for the legislation to be included in the Queen’s Speech on May 10. Currently, e-scooters can only be legally used on England’s roads if they are part of trials […]
Majority of UK schools exceed safe air pollution levels, according to latest #LetSchoolsBreath project

A high number (97%)of UK schools monitored by Airly in the #LetSchoolsBreathe project experienced levels of PM2.5 that exceeded the safe norms set out by the World Health Organization (WHO). The research found that 35 out of 36 schools experienced unsafe levels of PM2.5, while the safe annual norm for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) was exceeded […]
School Streets road safety and healthy travel trial in Norfolk moves to next stage

Trials of the School Streets initiative at a number of Norfolk schools are set to move to the next stage over coming weeks. The scheme which was announced earlier this year is designed to make hundreds of pupils’ daily journeys safer and healthier. For the first time road closures at the start and end of […]
Nottinghamshire County Council to trial buses on demand with no fixed route

County Councillors are meeting next week to discuss proposals to launch Demand Responsive Transport services in Nottinghamshire. Members of the Transport and Environment Committee will also receive an update on the announcement of further Government funding to support the bus sector, including indicative Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) funding. Following its successful bid for £1.5 […]
Norfolk County Council working on ‘alternative’ road materials to help cut emissions

Norfolk County Council is working with the company that maintains its road network to produce some ‘environmentally-friendly alternatives to asphalt and similar materials, as part of plans to cut the county’s carbon emissions. Experts are looking to come up with new materials to use in highway maintenance. Norse Highways manage and maintain about 6,000 miles of […]
Over 27,000 potholes repaired in Shropshire in past 12 months

Shropshire Council has reported that it has repaired more than 27,000 potholes on the county’s roads in the year from March 2021 to March 2022. In total, 27,109 were treated – an increase of 16% on the previous year – with the number of outstanding potholes falling from 8,415 to 4,599 in the same period. […]
Kier Highways Solutions wins surface dressing contract with West Sussex County Council

Kier Highways Solutions, the surface treatments and bituminous product manufacturing business which is part of Kier Highways, has been awarded a £1.7m, year-long contract with West Sussex County Council for surface dressing. Kier will deliver c.500,000sqm of surface dressing across West Sussex using 750t of surface dressing emulsion, which will be manufactured at the Kier-owned […]