Local transport plans - Transport Policy and Planning in Great Britain - page 335

helpful for LTPs to include a description of how the role of statutory bodies in
environmental assessment and LTP development has improved the LTP, although
this is not a mandatory requirement .
(DfT 2004c Part 5 para 15; emphasis added)
As far as the substantive content of local transport programmes is concernedp
the 'integrated transport' block will include a large number of small-scale schemes.
Typically these are developed in a range of programme areas which involve different
types of intervention addressing different modes, often utilising particular technical
expertise. Examples would be road safety schemes, provision for walking and cycling,
environmental improvement, facilities for public transport users, traffic management
and minor road or junction improvements and so on. Alternatively programmes may
be compiled for particular areas (e.g. sub-divisions of a shire county) and/or in relation
to plan objectives.
However programmes are structured, difficulty arises in seeking to identify the
overall mix which would best fulfil an authority's aspirations. With larger schemes
the detailed impacts of a proposal may be investigated and an economic cost-benefit
assessment undertaken which will place different kinds of scheme on a common footing
and provide information to help decision-makers choose between them. Usually this
is not practicable with small-scale schemes and in any case would not warrant the
professional time involved given their relatively low cost.
To overcome this problem and to help manage the reconciliation of claims between
different interest groups a systematic process of prioritising schemes is recommended
(Atkins Transport Planning 2008). This report reviews a range of approaches to
prioritisation adopted by different authorities. However it does not recommend (and
the Department has chosen not to specify) a particular methodology. In part this
reflects differences in the circumstances of individual authorities and recognition that
a 'one size fits all' approach would not be appropriate.
20.6 Objectives and priorities
For LTP1 an authority's objectives had to be consistent with the Government's
overarching objectives for transport developed from the 1998 White Paper which
formed the basis of the new approach to appraisal (11.4).
For LTP2 a more focused approach was introduced, reflecting the Government's
concern to make a more demonstrable impact on improving local services. In 2002
the Government had agreed with the LGA a set of seven 'shared priorities' for local
government generally and within this a subset of four priorities for transport:
• tackling congestion
• delivering accessibility
• safer roads
• better air quality.
In its LTP2 Guidance, DfT said that it would look for evidence that 'the aim of
delivering the shared priorities is at the heart of all local transport strategies and
LTPs' and gave details of how it expected local authorities to plan for each of them.
Authorities were recommended to structure their documents so that the contribution
of particular modes was reflected in objective-related sections, not in separate modal