Residents of Leicestershire will soon be asked to share their views on a major transport blueprint for the area, aiming to boost greener travel and improve connectivity across the county.
The Local Transport Plan (LTP) emphasises the importance of transport in encouraging cleaner, greener and healthier communities. The report will be discussed by Leicestershire County Council’s Cabinet next week (24 May).
The plan covers key themes such as cutting carbon, promoting health and wellbeing, strengthening the local economy as well as creating better-connected places which encourage a range of transport choices.
The themes are proposed for the fourth version of the plan, which will cover the period until 2040, and responds to long-term transport opportunities and challenges facing Leicestershire and the UK.
A lot has changed since we last wrote our Local Transport Plan. Many people’s travel habits have altered since the pandemic, particularly changes to the rush-hour peak, so it’s important we hear from residents to take this into account.
Our previous plans have been around transport and managing it, now the emphasis is on meeting the needs of the community and building a new approach which reflects their needs and aspirations.Person:Councillor Ozzy O’Shea, cabinet member for highways and transport
In the plan, there is also an acknowledgment that the population of Leicestershire is growing at a faster rate than the national and East Midlands average – projected to rise from 713,000 to 830,000 by 2043 – with the largest age group by then being the over 65s.
Mr O’Shea added: “We’ll need to recognise an ageing population which has differing needs and a greater reliance on public transport. We need to achieve a change in travel behaviour, so people choose to travel by other modes for journeys that don’t need to be made by car.
“But it’s clear from the background work that has been done, there are greater challenges now than on previous LTPs – there are more vehicles on the road which means less capacity and we know that poor air quality is linked to poor health. There’s a need to look after the environment and reduce our carbon footprint.”
The LTP report also acknowledges that a £7.63m funding award to the county council through Bus Service Improvement Plan Plus and Network North programmes will help better connect towns and villages with more detailed plans now being developed.
Feedback from the consultation, once agreed, will be collated, and inform the production of the draft local transport plan. There will be further consultation on more of the detailed work planned later.
