The Brownfield Land Release Fund
To what extent does this early initiative of the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities deliver on the ‘levelling up’ agenda? Lawrence Turner reports.
Cabinet backs 20-20 vision for Oxfordshire
20/10/2021 Councillors in Oxfordshire have backed plans for widespread 20mph limits as part of an ‘ambitious and innovative’ new transport plan that aims to create a ‘healthier, better digitally connected, more active’ county. |
MPs call for metrics and monitoring to prevent white elephants
30/09/2021 The levelling up agenda ‘needs to move beyond rhetoric and on to delivery, requiring targets and metrics to enable Parliament and public to identify success’, MPs have said. |
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. |
Sunderland’s e-scooter trial will continue into 2022
17/09/2021 Sunderland’s e-scooter trial will continue into 2022 so that more data on their use can be gathered. |
Wales seeks 'hearts and minds' over 20mph move
09/07/2021 The Welsh Government has confirmed plans to reduce the national default speed limit from 30mph to 20mph on residential roads and busy pedestrian streets as one of its legislative priorities for the year. |
Council prosecutes firm over traffic jams
23/06/2021 Thames Water has been prosecuted by a London borough after creating what the council said were unnecessary traffic jams three times in less than a fortnight. |
Burnham's Clean Air zone accused of having 'blind' spot towards air pollution
22/06/2021 Greater Manchester (GM) mayor Andy Burnham has ‘put local taxi drivers first’ by adding them to a list of vehicle operators who will initially be exempt from the region’s Clean Air Zone (CAZ), despite claims that it will ‘kick-start the city region's green revolution’. |
Councils can issue traffic fines from December
15/06/2021 Powers to enforce moving traffic offences will not be extended to local authorities in England outside London until the end of the year, a Department for Transport (DfT) minister has said. |
Councils fighting to keep on top of rights of way maintenance
10/06/2021 Councils fight to keep on top of the maintenance needs of rights of way alongside a backdrop of increased public expectations, place directors have said. |
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. |
Charges for Birmingham's Clean Air Zone delayed for two weeks
02/06/2021 Birmingham’s Clean Air Zone (CAZ) finally went live on Monday, but with a two-week ‘soft launch period’ where no charges will be levied. |
London repairs backlog hits 'staggering' £1bn
19/05/2021 The cost of the road maintenance backlog on London’s roads has now passed £1bn, according to the fourth annual ‘State of the City’ report from the London Technical Advisers Group (LoTAG). |
Highways England steps in to improve toxic air in Dorset village
12/05/2021 Highways England is to impose a permanent 30mph speed limit in a village suffering high air pollution after a trial achieved an improvement. |
Pollution fears rise as traffic surges in Scottish cities
06/05/2021 New data shows that traffic levels in Edinburgh and Glasgow have exceeded pre-pandemic levels, adding to fears about air quality following delays to Scotland’s planned Low Emission Zones (LEZs). |
Pothole figures 'a watershed moment'
20/04/2021 Drivers are having to use roads that often ‘resemble the surface of the Moon’, the RAC has said after revealing a 37% year-on-year rise in pothole-related breakdowns in the first three months of 2021. |
Councils urged to bid for £15m traffic signals cash
09/04/2021 The Department for Transport (DfT) is urging English local authorities outside London to submit expressions of interest for a share of £15m of new funding to repair and upgrade their traffic signals. |
Cost to fix pothole-ridden local roads £10.24bn
31/03/2021 The estimated one-time cost to get local roads in England and Wales back into a ‘reasonable, steady state’ is £10.24bn, according to this year’s ALARM survey. |
Get aboard zero-emission bus scheme, DfT says
30/03/2021 The Government has launched its £120m fund scheme to help local transport authorities in England roll out zero-emission buses. |
Burnham takes back control with bus franchising
26/03/2021 Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has confirmed that he plans to implement bus franchising in the city region ‘as part of plans for a joined-up and truly passenger-focused transport network’. |
Welsh councils get £12m to improve local roads
24/03/2021 The Welsh Government has announced an extra £12m for local authorities to 'fix potholes and improve roads, pavements and active travel routes' across the country. |
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.
