One in three young women are deterred from walking locally due to safety concerns, research has found.

A YouGov poll has revealed that nearly 90% of women have not felt safe while walking at night, with a further 71% reporting that they have adjusted their route during winter so they do not have to walk in the dark.

The results of the poll accompany the Government’s announcement about new plans that will be released this year, which aim to help local authorities create safer streets for women and girls.

As part of the Active Travel England (ATE) project, guidance and training sessions will be provided for councils, with a focus on improving street design and introducing better street lighting, walking routes, CCTV, and surface crossings.

The survey found that antisocial behaviour, insufficient lighting, poorly maintained routes, and safety fears were listed as the main obstacles for women and girls when walking in their local areas.

To address these issues, National Active Travel Commissioner, Chris Boardman, said that the Government will strive to assist councils in ‘listening to and acting on lived experiences’ of women and girls.

The plans will also draw on interventions that have been used across the globe to improve street safety, such as the rollout of night bus request stops in Vigo, Spain.

Mr Boardman said: ‘That almost nine out of 10 women say they feel unsafe walking after dark is an appalling finding we should be ashamed of. For too long, we have designed streets that don’t work for women and girls.’

‘It’s a terrible thing that women and girls don’t feel they have the same freedoms to simply walk in their neighbourhood as men and boys. Everyone should feel safe getting around, and our job is to help make that happen’, he added.

ATE said that the new guidance will advance the Government’s efforts to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, with street safety improvements having already been made by local authorities such as Nottinghamshire County Council and Milton Keynes City Council, as well as in Liverpool and the North East of England.

Local Transport Minister, Lilian Greenwood, said: ‘This programme is turning conversations into real change by working directly with the councils who design our streets to ensure women and girls in our communities feel safe to walk, wheel and cycle whenever they want to.’