The majority of local authorities in England wish to prioritise access to walking infrastructure, but only half feel that developers share this view.
A new report from the Local Government Information Unit (LGiU) and the walking charity Ramblers found 89% of 118 council officers surveyed said walking access was a key consideration for their authority when undertaking new developments.
The report, entitled Building Connected Communities, also reveals 94% of these officers have a Local Plan in place that encourages walking and active travel.
However, many felt developers did not feel the same. Around 49% of the officers said they thought developers did not have the same priorities. This figure increased to 50% in the North West.
The figure dropped in the North East and in the South West with 40% and 25%, respectively, warning that developers were not prioritising walking access.
The report also found four out of 10 councils are experiencing difficulty meeting their walking and active travel priorities when delivering large developments due to pressure to deliver housing.
Eight out of 10 councils surveyed for the report felt viability assessments make it difficult to meet priorities, while seven out of 10 felt influencing developers was a challenge.
The lack of resources in planning departments was also highlighted as a barrier by half of respondents.
‘With all the emphasis on the Government’s plans to deliver a rebirth of house building, it is increasingly important that we have a conversation about the places that we build not just the numbers of homes we deliver,’ said LGiU chief executive Jonathan Carr-West.
‘We need to ensure good connectivity, not just a large quantity of buildings. We need places for people to live healthy, happy, active lives.
‘This means they need to be well connected, with good access to walking, cycling and green infrastructure.
‘It is clear from the research that we carried out with the Ramblers that local authorities want to build places that encourage walking and active travel.
‘However, developers do not always share these priorities in the rush to build new homes, and many councils feel the mismatch is a challenge in achieving their goals.’
Adrian Harvey, policy and advocacy manager at the Ramblers, said: ‘We know that walkable places are better places, they are healthier, greener and much more pleasant to live and work in.
‘This research is encouraging – it highlights the fact that local authorities are working hard to make sure that new commercial and residential developments deliver those benefits, enhancing people’s connectivity with the area they live in and giving more back to communities.
‘In many cases they are achieving it, but there’s still much more we could do. The Ramblers wants to work with councils and developers to help remove some of the barriers, so that we can make walking the easy choice for everyone, everywhere.’
