What does local government hope to get from the Spending Review?
From a a multi-year funding settlement to fixing the social care crisis, William Eichler explores what local government is hoping to hear on Wednesday.
Cycle lane court challenge takes new turn
24/09/2021 Cycling UK has won the right to challenge council’s decision to remove a popular cycle lane after High Court ruling refusing permission for review overturned. |
Hackney Council closes street to polluting through-traffic
11/08/2021 A funding bid by Hackney Council to close Stoke Newington Church Street to polluting through-traffic during the daytime has been approved. |
Multi-million pound boost to cycling and walking budget
30/07/2021 The Government has announced a £338m funding package to build more cycle lanes and deliver walking schemes to help boost active travel. |
High court rejects challenge of council's low traffic neighbourhoods
29/06/2021 A legal challenge against Lambeth Council's low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) has been rejected by the high court. |
Change pothole cash rules to protect riders
09/06/2021 A local government insurer has called for council pothole funding to give greater focus to cycle paths and footways to protect cyclists and e-scooter riders. |
Study reveals over 25,000 modal filters in UK enabling access to cyclists
18/05/2021 New research has revealed there are at least 25,000 modal filters in the UK restricting motor vehicles and enabling access to cyclists and pedestrians. |
Harrow Council to remove two Streetspace schemes
04/05/2021 Harrow Council’s cabinet has decided to remove two of three Transport for London (TfL) Streetspace schemes designed to support people to socially distance and encourage active travel during lockdown. |
Shapps announces £18m cycle training fund
09/04/2021 Local authorities will be able to offer bespoke Bikeability Family training sessions to help people feel more confident cycling. |
Council votes against reinstating Kensington cycle lane
19/03/2021 Kensington and Chelsea Council has voted to not re-install the Kensington High Street temporary cycle lane scheme, which caused controversy last year after being introduced in October only to be abandoned seven weeks later. |
Council faces legal action over cycle lane removal
25/02/2021 A cycling charity is taking legal action against a council’s decision to scrap a cycle lane introduced during lockdown. |
Campaigners call on councils to help reduce car use
19/01/2021 Environmental campaigners have called on local authorities to cancel spending on road building and to redirect funds to boost public transport and active travel. |
Coalition publishes new vision for planning reforms
15/01/2021 The Government has been urged to rethink its ‘damaging’ reforms to the planning system and put people, climate and nature at its heart by a coalition of 18 organisations. |
Are the UK Government’s cycling plans genuine?
15/12/2020 Are Conservative led local authorities hindering the Government's bid to encourage cycling? Dr Seamus Allison and Aoife Allison investigate. |
Tories relying on Labour councils to boost cycling
08/12/2020 Labour-controlled unitary authorities in England are more likely to implement conservative Government policy supporting cycling, new research has found. |
Big Issue eBikes: Biking for good!
01/12/2020 Lord John Bird explains why The Big Issue has launched 'Biking for Good' with ShareBike to boost employment in the UK. |
DfT warns of conditions on £175m active travel cash
13/11/2020 Transport secretary Grant Shapps has announced councils' allocations for the £175m second tranche of the Active Travel Fund. |
Councils urged to keep active travel schemes to avoid 'traffic gridlock'
02/11/2020 Councils have been forced to scrap emergency active travel schemes due to a small but vocal number of objections, Cycling UK has warned. |
Government announces £2m to encourage children to cycle and walk
28/09/2020 The Government has announced it will be making £2m available to help encourage children to walk or cycle to school. |
Councils welcome £2bn active transport 'revolution'
28/07/2020 Thousands of miles of new cycle routes will be built in towns and cities as part of the Prime Minister’s £2bn ‘cycling and walking revolution’. |
New design toolkit to create 'healthy housing'
24/07/2020 New design guidance to ensure housing developments create healthier communities has been launched. |
Seize the transport moment, says new report
07/07/2020 Campaigners have called on ministers to accelerate the shift to sustainable transport by introducing new charges for drivers and improving public transport, walking and cycling. |
Councils get new powers to tackle misuse of cycle lanes
10/06/2020 Local authorities will be given the power to use CCTV to fine drivers who misuse mandatory cycle lanes, the Government has announced. |
Councils on deadline to secure first tranche of active travel cash
04/06/2020 Local authorities are on their last chance to secure a slice of the first tranche from the £225m emergency active travel fund, with the deadline for completing the form tomorrow. |
Councils urged to create ‘school streets’
29/05/2020 Councils have been urged to close roads to cars during school pick up and drop off times to make journeys safer and manage social distancing at the school gates by ten NGOs. |
Government announces £250m emergency active travel fund
11/05/2020 The Government has announced the largest ever funding boost to create a ‘new era’ for cycling and walking. |
Councils urged to make cycling and walking safer during lockdown
24/04/2020 Councils have been urged to implement new measures to make it easier for cyclists to abide by social distancing rules during lockdown by Cycling UK. |
Public is ‘supportive’ of plans to invest in cycling, study shows
04/03/2020 Over half of residents in major urban areas across the UK support more investment in cycling, new research reveals. |
Councils spend average of £2 per head on cycling infrastructure, study reveals
26/02/2020 Local authorities have spent on average just £2 per head of population per year on cycling infrastructure over the last ten years, new research reveals. |
Cycling key to stopping plastic polluting the ocean, charity says
10/12/2019 A charity has called on the next Government to invest more into the promotion of cycling and walking as part of the effort to prevent plastic polluting the ocean. |
Sturgeon announces £27m to promote walking and cycling
16/10/2019 More than 200 ‘active travel’ projects across Scotland are set to receive a multi-million pound investment, Scotland’s first minister has announced. |
Cyclists demand access to rural footpaths
20/08/2019 British cyclists are calling for a reform of England’s rights of way legislation to allow bikes onto country footpaths – a call resisted by walkers. |
City of London publishes UK’s ‘first’ wind microclimate guidelines
20/08/2019 The City of London has published the UK’s first wind microclimate guidelines for new development proposals in the Square Mile in an effort to keep cyclists safe. |
Government welcomes plans to create West Midlands national park
08/08/2019 Whitehall has welcomed proposals to create a new West Midlands urban national park that would span more than seven cities and open up hundreds of miles of green space. |
MPs call for dedicated funding for active travel
23/07/2019 MPs have criticised the Government for inadequate and ‘piecemeal’ active travel investment and called for a dedicated funding stream for local walking and cycling. |
Millions 'wasted' on painted cycle lanes, ambassadors warn
17/06/2019 Cycling and walking ambassadors have called on the Government to provide councils with greater powers and more money to make key changes in cities. |
Calls to make cycling more inclusive for women, older and disabled people
06/06/2019 Women, older and disabled people are neglected in provision of resources to support cycling, according to a report. |
Gov to fall short on national cycling target
28/05/2019 The Government is set to fall way short of its target of doubling the number of cycling journeys by 2025. |
Councils paying out £8,800 per cyclist in pothole compensation
04/03/2019 Councils are paying out an average of £8,800 per cyclist in pothole compensation claims, a new investigation has revealed. |
Investment in cycling could prevent 34,000 life-threatening illnesses, report finds
28/01/2019 Thousands of life-threatening illnesses could be prevented if major cities increased cycling rates to those seen in London since the turn of the millennium. |
London cycle routes face rebrand
18/12/2018 London mayor Sadiq Khan has unveiled a new Cycling Action Plan that aims to create a London-wide cycle network while doubling cycling journeys in six years. |
Council spends £12,000 on four speed signs
13/11/2018 Bournemouth council has spent thousands of pounds installing speed signs along the promenade in an attempt to slow cyclists down. |
Charity calls for overhaul of cycling network with ‘historic problems’
12/11/2018 A cycling charity has called for an ‘overhaul’ of the UK’s cycle network, a move they argue could help add nearly £8bn to the economy. |
West Midlands to invest £43m in ‘congestion busting projects’
07/11/2018 Local leaders in the West Midlands will this Friday consider plans to invest £43m in projects designed to tackle the region’s congestion problems. |
Campaigners criticise dangerous cycling offence proposals
13/08/2018 Cycling advocates have accused the Government of ‘tinkering around the edges’ with a proposal to introduce a death by dangerous cycling offence. |
Six councils win share of £6.5m cycling fund
12/06/2018 Six councils have bid successfully for a share of a £6.5m fund aimed at making cycling ‘the natural choice’ of transport. |
Work begins on Birmingham's 'cycle revolution'
10/04/2018 Amey has begun work on a £5.4m project in Birmingham to deliver a 4km two-way, fully segregated cycle route linking Selly Oak and the University of Birmingham with the city centre. |
Councils spend £43m on pothole claims in five years
26/03/2018 Councils across the UK have paid out at least £43m on compensation claims from potholes over the last five years, according to a cycling charity. |
Potholes kill or injure hundreds of cyclists, figures reveal
08/03/2018 Nearly 400 cyclists have been killed or maimed over the last decade due to poorly maintained local roads, new figures reveal. |
Eight chosen to bid for £7m cycling safety funding
19/02/2018 Ministers are inviting eight English cities to bid for a share of £6.5m to improve safety for cyclists as part of the Government’s controversial cycle safety review. |
District relaxes ban on 'anti-social cycling'
14/02/2018 Mansfield's District Council has relaxed its 24-hour ban on cycling in the town centre, which it said was introduced ‘to tackle anti-social cycling at busy times’. |
Mayor Khan putting ‘cars before people’, Assembly members warn
04/12/2017 Members of the London Assembly have accused mayor Sadiq Khan of putting cars before people and failing to make sure his 'healthy streets' policy is successful. |
Failure to meet air pollution targets kills 13,000, charity says
04/12/2017 Premature deaths from air pollution could have been dramatically cut if official targets to get more people to walk and cycle had been met, campaigners claim. |
Survey reveals support for protected bike routes in cities
14/11/2017 Most people think more space should be given to cyclists on roads even when it means less room for other traffic, according to a survey. |
BT and See.Sense light the way for safe cycling in Manchester
09/08/2017 BT has announced the launch of a new project with See.Sense to provide sensor-enabled and connected bike lights to up to 180 cyclists across Manchester as part of CityVerve, the UK’s smart city demonstrator. |
Investment in cycling stimulates increase in bike journeys, charity finds
20/07/2017 A new study shows trips by bike have increased in 18 cities and towns in England following an investment programme to encourage cycling. |
Research published into cycle collisions hotspots
23/05/2017 The majority of cycle collisions occur within 20 meters of a junction, new research into accident ‘hotspots’ has revealed. |
Active travel projects get £15m funding boost
22/05/2017 Active travel charity Sustrans Scotland has awarded more than £15m in Scottish Government funding for the creation of walking and cycling infrastructure in the country over the next year. |
Green Party pledges £2bn boost for ‘walking and cycling revolution’
08/05/2017 The Green Party has pledged to create a ‘walking and cycling revolution’ if elected in the upcoming General Election. |
Record £770m to be spent on cycling in London
05/12/2016 The mayor of London today announced a record £154m per year will be spent on developing cycling infrastructure over the next five years. |
Council fits buses with technology to detect cyclists
09/09/2016 A London borough has become the first the first local authority to install new technology on its buses to help drivers detect passing cyclists. |
Councils urged to bid for £60m sustainable travel fund
06/07/2016 Councils in England are being urged to bid for a share of £60m to develop sustainable transport initiative. |
This issue of Public Property examines how how flexible workspaces can lead the way in regeneration for local authorities, Why local authority intervention is key to successful urban regeneration schemes and if the Government’s challenge of embracing beauty is an opportunity for communities.
The March issue also takes a closer look at Blackburn with Darwen Council's first digital health hub to help people gain control over health and care services.
