One of the reasons for the lack of government consultation may be due to the upheaval in Government from the change in First Minister and also the double change in Transport Minister. Sadly, Kevin Stewart resigned due to ill health and we wish him well with his recovery. Fiona Hyslop was very recently appointed as Transport Minister.

Government published a ‘policy prospectus’ in April outlining it’s new priorities including a section on Net Zero and Just Transition which includes statements on active travel and transport.

This time we delve into guidance on local living and 20 minute neighbourhoods. I hope you find it helpful.

Section 1: Current Consultations

(in date order for responses)

1.1: Scottish Government – Local living and 20 minute neighbourhoods – planning guidance

The Scottish Government is seeking views on draft guidance for local authorities on local living and developing plans for 20 minute neighbourhoods (20MN). 20MNs was a key theme within the 4th National Planning Framework but until now details were sketchy regarding how government expected councils to roll these out.

This draft guidance sets out more of the thinking behind 20MNs, the overall local living theme and the process that government wants councils to take in communities to understand the context, collaborate with communities, plan, design, implement and review.

The guidance is on the whole useful and the local living diagram on p19 helpfully shows the multiple elements which must be addressed in developing a 20MN (see Fig 1, below).

Previously I felt that government messaging on 20MN focused too heavily on planning and the need for councils to ensure local services are brought closer to people. Our concerns at Cycling UK was that not enough emphasis was on the need to improve local roads and create safe active travel infrastructure so that people could access those services by cycling, walking or wheeling.

The guidance does at least now show that how people move through the 20MN and the type of public space within the 20MN all need attention from the start.

If you are to write a response I suggest commenting on the following:

• Question 3 – In the Movement section key considerations to add in the ‘moving around’ section include – junctions, secure cycle storage on residential streets (bike hangars), public bike share schemes, joined-up cycle networks, speed restrictions e.g. 20mph zones, school streets and play streets.
• Question 4 – The structured approach is a positive inclusion in the guidance, however in understanding the context more guidance is needed on helping councils, stakeholders and members of the community to envision a positive future rather than dwell on solving current problems. For example, the transformation to 20MNs will take many years and therefore decisionmakers and members of the community should be guided to understand that the context in the future will be different to now and the plans need to match with that future reality rather than the current norms.
• Question 5 – The same need to ‘sell a vision of the future’ is especially important in the collection of qualitative data and therefore the guidance should provide more detail on how to facilitate discussions around a vision of the future rather than just slight improvements to current norms.
• Question 6 – The guidance needs more detail in some places. In planning and designing 20MNs the guidance needs to point to all the relevant guidance and how it must be followed, for example Cycling By Design.
• Question 8 – The case studies are helpful but it should be noted that these are early examples and the scope what can be achieved in 20MNs will grow as the concept becomes embedded in planning and the way councils work. The Stewarton case study highlights the challenge of retrofitting into existing communities and this includes, in many places, fitting safe cycling infrastructure into existing road networks. The Drymen case study helpfully shows that councils should treat ’20 minutes as a guide time rather than an absolute’.

This final point raised in the Drymen case study gets to the heart of the issue with 20MN in Scotland. Local living and developing 20MNs should be a process rather than an end point. Councils must make every effort to enable to live active lifestyles and live locally now rather than in ‘x’ years to come when every element of the guidance has been met.

The point of 20MNs must be to enable and facilitate local living. We want people in communities feel encouraged and enabled by the process to transform their way of living and travelling as soon as possible and for their lifestyles to improve as the efforts to develop local 20MNs grow too. However, this may take some flexibility in the interpretation and application of the 20MN concept and guidance. The 20min round trip concept is applicable to walking but many people who can ride a bike will be able to travel much further in a 20 minute round trip and have a larger/wider area within their idea of what is local and accessible by active transport.

Being flexible in the application of the concept would allow councils and people in communities to feel that local living is possible in the short term rather than thinking it will take a long time to be realised.

Closes 20 July 2023

1.2: Transport Scotland – Scotland’s Pavement Parking Prohibitions – Consultation on Enforcement Regulations for Local Authorities

Pavement parking is a scourge on our streets and is hazard and frustration for pedestrians and disabled people using pavements. But it’s also dangerous for anyone cycling as often this selfish activity narrows the space on the road or places an obstacle to negotiate. And don’t get me started on parking across a cycle lane!!

This consultation asks for opinions on fines and the technicalities of how enforcement will work.

Closes 28 July 2023

1.3: Scottish Government – Just Transition Discussion Papers

Just Transition for Transport

Just Transition for the Built Environment

The Scottish Government has published three sectoral discussion papers about how to deliver a just transition to a more sustainable future.

The Transport paper will clearly be important to respond to but I also recommend looking at the Built Environment document and provide opinions on how we create safe space in the places where we live and work for getting about sustainably.

There’s no deadline for responses and instructions to reply via an email address. I will try to provide a guide to responses in a forthcoming digest.

No deadline set

Section 2: Forthcoming Consultations

None

Section 3: Consultation Feedback

None

Section 1: Current Consultations

(in date order for responses)

1.1: Scottish Government – Review of permitted development rights – phase 2 consultation

This review of permitted development rights (PDRs) covers two areas you may be interested in providing your views on to government:

• Electric vehicle charging infrastructure – making it easier to install EV chargers in our communities.
• Changes of use in centres and other locations – making it easier to change building use which could have benefit in creating 20-minute neighbourhoods.

The biggest issue in this consultation is that we want more EV charging points and they should be easier to install. But (and its a big BUT) EV chargers must not be located in places which block pavements or cycle lanes. Sounds obvious, but there are plenty of examples of bad practice. For example, see my response to this tweet.

Question 15 is the key question to respond to on this. It asks ‘What conditions and limitations would need to be placed on any additional PDR for EV charging infrastructure in roads? Please explain your answer’. Here are a few points I suggest you make:

• More EV charging infrastructure on Scotland’s roads as one of the solutions to decarbonising transport.
• Limitations must be set so that EV chargers are not located on footways, footpaths or cycle ways.
• EV chargers for cars, vans and other EV vehicles should be in the carriageway or take space from the carriageway. For example, through a build out of the footway into the carriageway. (There may be some exceptions where a footway/pavement is wide enough to accommodate chargers.)
• EV charging points on footpaths and footways often leave insufficient space for pedestrians to safely pass. Furthermore, they can be hazardous for blind, partially sighted and disabled people.
• EV charging points should not be installed where their cables could obstruct future cycle tracks, since charging points cannot be relocated easily.
• PDRs should extend to EV charging for e-bikes so that councils and other bodies can install e-bike charging facilities at new or future cycle parking infrastructure.

Closes 3 August 2022.

Section 2: Forthcoming Consultations

Transport Scotland is developing a new Cycling Framework and Delivery Plan for Active Travel which is the follow up to the Cycling Action Plan. This will be very important for driving forward action on cycling so will be a highlight of a digest sometime in the autumn.

Section 3: Consultation Feedback

None this month

The machinery of government has been churning out the consultations at a frightening rate but thankfully, when viewed as a whole, they all hang together well and are, in general, moving Scotland in a positive direction. Much of what we see in the consultations on NPF4, STPR2 and the new Route Map are all driving (pardon the pun) towards meeting climate targets and enabling cycling and active travel.

These consultations package up many of the same policies and commitments, which, when developed, could enable and encourage people to cycle, walk or wheel rather than jumping in the car. These positive motivators to change the nation’s behaviour, or ‘carrots’, are plentiful but they need to be developed by government and grown by local councils.

As we gear up to the local elections we should bear in mind that many councils aren’t as bought into this agenda as they need to be. The pre-election period is therefore a huge opportunity to tell councils, Councillors, parties and candidates that the future is one with low-carbon transport and that they need to get behind the government initiatives. Councils are the ones who will deliver much of this at the local level so its time for them to step up.

This week we also had news of Minister for Transport Graeme Dey’s resignation because of ill health. We wish him well and a speedy recovery. Jenny Gilruth MSP has been moved within the Scottish Government to take up this important post. Congratulations to her.

One of the jobs for the new Transport Minister will be to get her head around all the live consultations – just like the rest of us!

Section 1: Current Consultations

(in date order for responses)

1.1: Scottish Government – NHS Scotland climate emergency and sustainability strategy 2022 to 2026 – draft

The Scottish Government and NHS Assure have developed a draft Climate Emergency and Sustainability Strategy 2022 to 2026 for NHS Scotland.

I haven’t looked through this yet but there must be opportunities to suggest how active travel can be part of this strategy. Comments should be returned on the template in the supporting documents by email.

Closes 10 February 2022

1.2: Scottish Government – Investing in Scotland’s Future: Resource Spending Review Framework

I will look at this consultation in more detail next month. However, whilst the recent budget announcement of £150m for active travel this year is a substantial increase it was below what was hoped for. Therefore, we need to argue for a big boost to funding in the next budget at the end of this year – £235m would be appropriate in order to get Scotland on a straight line trajectory to £320m in 2024/25. I’m not sure how far ahead the Spending Review looks but obviously, we don’t want funding to plateau at £320m – we need to argue for growth to continue.

Closes 27 March 2022

1.3: Scottish Government – Draft National Planning Framework 4

The NPF4 is a major document setting out the direction for national planning policy and national developments for the next decades. The fourth NPF is focussed on meeting the net-zero target and supporting the nature restoration and recovery – good progress from NPF3.

Overall its a positive document aiming to drive planning and national developments towards addressing the climate emergency.

The big news for cycling is the inclusion of a National Cycling, Walking and Wheeling Network as a National Development, important because this designation as a national development gives it high status. There’s also more detail on creating 20 minute neighbourhoods.

Also relevant to Glasgow is a ‘Clyde Mission’ national development. However, there’s not a great deal of detail on these proposed policies.

I will look into this consultation and provide more suggestions for responses next month

Closes 31 March 2022

1.4: Transport Scotland – 20% Reduction in Car Km Route Map 

The long-awaited Route Map has been published setting out Government’s plans to achieve the target from the updated Climate Change Plan which committed Scotland to reduce car kilometres by 20% by 2030.

Its a first time in the UK that a government has targeted demand management in this way. Wales has set up a review of its road building programme in light of the Climate Emergency – many argue that Transport Scotland should also put a halt to road building, such as increasing capacity on the A9 and A96.

The Route Map includes more than 30 interventions aiming to achieve the target but all of these are recycled policies – there’s nothing new.

In my blog post for Cycling UK I also argue that there need to be more ‘sticks’ to directly disincentivise driving. There are lots of positive ‘carrots’ providing alternatives to driving but they all need developing. There’s also analysis in this twitter thread.

Closes 6 April 2022

1.5: Transport Scotland – Strategic Transport Projects Review – STPR2

Hot on the heels of the Route Map came the STPR2 consultation. This is the 2nd part of the STPR2 consultation with Part 1, which featured in National Digest 5, outlining some of the policies already being developed, e.g. Active Freeways.

As with NPF4, STPR2 is focussed at creating infrastructure for the coming decades which will help Scotland to decarbonise transport and meet climate emission reduction targets. This is positive and a change from the first STPR which was notable for locking in high carbon infrastructure such as motorway building and the Queensferry Bridge.

However, STPR2 still has big projects – creating a network of cycle lanes is a big job – but different in that they will be delivered by multiple actors.

Closes 15 April 2022

Section 2: Forthcoming Consultations

I’m not aware of any more consultations to come. There have been so many recently I’m hoping for time to work on the ones above!

Section 3: Consultation Feedback

None this month