Access Fund for Sustainable Travel Revenue Competition: Application Form

September 2016

Access Fund for Sustainable Travel Revenue Competition - Application Form

Applicant Information Local transport authority name: Suffolk County Council Bid Manager Name and position: Sharon Payne | Road Safety & Smarter Choices Manager Contact telephone number: 01473 265090 Email address: Sharon.Payne@suffolk.gov.uk Postal address: Strategic Development Suffolk County Council Endeavour House Russell Road Ipswich IP1 2BX Website address for published bid: www.suffolk.gov.uk/locallinks When authorities submit a bid for funding to the Department, as part of the Government’s commitment to greater openness in the public sector under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004, they must also publish a version excluding any commercially sensitive information on their own website within two working days of submitting the final bid to the Department. The Department reserves the right to deem the business case as non-compliant if this is not adhered to.

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SECTION A - Project description and funding profile

A1. Project name: Local Links Anglia

A2. Headline description: Local Links Anglia will support economic growth by improving access to employment, education and training. It will improve public health by helping new and existing communities to adopt more active forms of travel. Local Links Anglia will build on and expand the successful Local Links project, and capitalise on recent, current and planned investment. Local Links Anglia will operate across local authority boundaries, delivering improvements in both Suffolk and Norfolk, and through strategic work with Cambridgeshire. The programme will tackle travel behaviours and barriers to change in three rapidly growing towns: Bury St Edmunds, Thetford and Haverhill.

A3. Type of bid a) This bid is:

Revenue only, and I confirm we have made provisions for a minimum additional 10% matched contribution

Revenue & Capital, and I confirm we have sourced the capital funding locally and have made provisions for a minimum additional 10% matched contribution. This bid is for Revenue funding only, however, Local Growth Deal funding and funds from Suffolk County Council’s Local Transport Plan allocation will deliver capital improvement schemes in the three towns. The Local Links Anglia programme will support, and benefit from the planned capital investment but this bid is not reliant on existing or future capital scheme funding.

A4. Total package cost (£m): The total cost of the Local Links Anglia programme is £1.544m

A5. Total DfT revenue funding contribution sought (£m): The total revenue funding contribution sought for the programme is £1.318m

A6. Local contribution (£m): A local contribution to the value of £0.226m (15%) is committed to the programme:

£50,000 from Community Action Suffolk

£2,000 from SCC Road Safety Team to support Cycle Safety

£101,500 from SCC Transport Strategy

£60,000 from SCC Bury Local Links programme

£12,500 from Green Bike project

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A7. Equality Analysis Has any Equality Analysis been undertaken in line with the Equality Duty?

Yes No

A8. Partnership bodies: Partnership working and co-operation between different teams and partners will be a critical element of the programme’s success as it builds on existing projects and initiatives across Suffolk and Norfolk. A culture of partnership working already exists across Suffolk and the New Anglia area, and a number of organisations have committed to work in partnership with the County Council to deliver the programme. These partners and their roles are summarised below, with letters of support attached in Appendix A.

New Anglia LEP will provide input via the Steering Group and promotion to LEP members

Jo Churchill MP will help to champion the programme

Cllr Sarah Stamp will continue to champion the programme

Norfolk County Council will assist in the delivery of sustainable transport initiatives across local authority boundaries

St Edmundsbury Council will provide local knowledge, support business engagement and input to the project via the Working Groups

Breckland Council will provide local knowledge, support business engagement and input to the project via the Working Groups

Bury St Edmunds Town Council will provide local knowledge, support business engagement and input to the project via the Working Groups

Haverhill Town Council will provide local knowledge, support business engagement and input to the project via the Working Groups.

Department for Work & Pensions will help to deliver measures for job seekers

Suffolk Chamber of Commerce will help to engage local businesses

Havebury Housing will help to promote the scheme and engage job seekers

Bury St Edmunds Business Improvement District will champion the Local Links programme and promote cycling to employers, employees and local residents

West Suffolk Clinical Commissioning Group will help to raise profile of the project and respond to local issues associated with poor health

West Suffolk Hospital will act as a case study for other large employers

Community Action Suffolk will help to deliver the Wheels 2 Work project

Suffolk Sport will actively promote the project via its many digital and social media platforms, particularly to local businesses via Suffolk Workplace Challenge Scheme.

University of Suffolk will support the programme journey advice to students

West Suffolk College will support the programme journey advice to students and help promote the scheme

Green Bike Project will establish one or two new workshops in West Suffolk where unwanted bikes from surrounding areas are collected, refurbished and then sold

Sustrans will help to promote the scheme through their work with local partners

Liftshare will share knowledge and support promotion of SuffolkCarShare.com

Love to Ride will help to deliver an enhanced programme of active travel challenges

Abbeycroft Leisure will provide support to employees for Personal Travel Planning

Stephensons of Essex will provide input to the project via the Working Groups

HC Chambers & Sons will provide input to the project via the Working Groups

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SECTION B – The Business Case

B1. Project Summary The Local Links Anglia programme is focussed on three East Anglian towns: Bury St Edmunds, Thetford and Haverhill, each identified as a Growth Location by the New Anglia LEP. They lie within a ‘triangle of growth’ created by the East Anglian economic centres of Ipswich, Cambridge and Norwich and have been selected because of their role as commuting hubs; the levels of planned growth; and the opportunities created by future capital investment. The programme responds to a clear need for intervention to address existing issues and ensure these issues are not exacerbated by future growth whilst also capitalising on a number of local and regional opportunities to lock-in the value of both capital and revenue investment. Local Links Anglia is not constrained by local authority borders and aims to support economic growth; encourage healthy lifestyles and support local communities through the delivery of five packages of measures: 1. Local Links 2. Facilitating cycling 3. Wheels to Work 4. Delivery team 5. Monitoring & Evaluation These packages will deliver a shift to non-car modes as described in the table overleaf.

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Project Element

Description Output Outcome

1. Local Links Business PJP Work with the business community in each town to prepare travel plans and provide travel advice

Develop at least 90 travel plans

Engage 9,000 staff

Culture of sustainable travel within businesses.

Reduced car trips to work

Increased levels of non-car modes

Residential PJP To engage residential communities in areas of high need / opportunity to provide tailored travel advice.

Target 3,200 households

Engage 8,500 residents

Culture of sustainable travel within local communities

Increased levels of non-car modes

Post 16 PJP Provide Post 16 year olds with tailored travel advice for future employment and training

Target 4,000 young adults

Facilitate access to jobs and training

College PJP Provide students with digital PJPs offering bespoke travel information

Target 2,000 students Increase levels of non-car modes

Job seeker PJP Provide Job Seekers with tailored travel advice to help access employment and training

Target 4,500 job seekers Facilitate access to jobs and training

Sustainable Travel Grants Offer grant funding to businesses and communities for schemes that facilitate sustainable travel

Provide at least 20 funding grants

Increased levels of active travel

Events Programme of events to engage local communities

Target to engage of 5,000 residents

Raise profile of Local Links and benefits of active travel

Skills training Programme of training sessions including cycle skills, maintenance, ride leader and event planning

Target to deliver training to over 500 individuals

Greater confidence

More cycling

Community led ethos

Active travel challenge Number of active travel challenges to raise awareness and encourage participation in walking and cycling activities

Target to engage over 5,000 individuals

Increased levels of walking and cycling

Information, resources and communications Provide high quality travel information including maps and online content, maintain social media presence and raise awareness and profile of the Local Links Anglia programme

Range of maps, publicity, campaigns etc

Raise profile of Local Links and benefits of active travel

Increased support and buy-in

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2. Facilitating cycling

Bike recycle Promote and expand the Green Bike Project in the project area to recycle old bikes for sale or hire

Target to have sold and / or loaned at least 100 bikes

Engaged over 500 people

Increased levels of cycling

Bikelife Package of measures to support school communities to cycle more often

Work with 11 schools Increased levels of cycling for pupils and staff

Cycle safety campaign Campaign will be delivered across the towns with the support and expertise of the road safety team

Ongoing safety campaign Increase awareness

Improve cycle safety

3. Wheels to Work

Wheels to work Support Suffolk W2W to loan scooters to provide access to employment and education in a new project area

20 scooters to loan

120 clients engaged

Facilitate access to employment, education and training

4. Delivery team

Delivery team Project team will be responsible for delivering and coordinating the measures and will work closely with partners to maximise the opportunities presented through the planned capital investment

Four team members Deliver programme

Share best practice across the New Anglia region

5. Monitoring & Evaluation

Monitoring & Evaluation Work with the University of East Anglia and Norfolk County Council to undertake a robust programme of monitoring and evaluation

Ongoing programme of monitoring and independent evaluation

Demonstrate value of investment and capture success for future investment planning

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B2. STRATEGIC CASE

Local Links Anglia vision

Geographical overview The Local Links Anglia programme will focus on three East Anglian towns: Bury St Edmunds, Thetford and Haverhill. They lie within a ‘triangle of growth’ created by the East Anglian economic centres of Ipswich, Cambridge and Norwich. The towns have been selected because of their role as commuting hubs; the levels of planned growth, and the opportunities created by future capital investment.

Bury St Edmunds and Haverhill are in Suffolk, and Thetford is in Norfolk. The Local Links Anglia programme focuses on travel behaviours and the barriers to change, and is not constrained by local authority borders. The two Local Authorities which form the New Anglia LEP region will work together, and through strategic work with adjacent Cambridgeshire, to ensure success. A proposed Devolution Deal for Norfolk and Suffolk may be agreed in autumn, and it is the County Councils’ intention for this project to be an exemplar of partnership working across the New Anglia LEP region. Bury St Edmunds is the primary focus of the programme, to build on the success of the existing Bury Local Links programme. Bury is the third largest town in Suffolk with a population of nearly 40,000, which is expected to grow to 50,000 over the next 15 years. Nearly 6,000 new homes have been built in the last 15 years, and nearly 6,000 more are planned. Job growth continues at the 12 local business parks and Bury St Edmunds has become a major employment hub and trip attractor with West Suffolk Hospital, West Suffolk College, Greene King and British Sugar located in the town. Bury St Edmunds has a relatively self-contained workforce, with c.70% of residents working locally, but single occupancy car use is high. This, coupled with the number of journeys made to the town for employment, education and health purposes, and the levels of out-commuting, has resulted in high levels of single occupancy car use and associated problems across the town.

To make East Anglia a hub of active living where sustainable travel is the

obvious choice for residents, businesses, employees and visitors

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Haverhill is the fourth largest town in Suffolk, and is similar in size to Thetford with a current population of 27,000. Between 2001 and 2011 the population of the town grew by almost 23% and further growth is expected over the next 15 years with plans for over 4,000 new homes. The town is a hub of manufacturing with industry representing nearly a third of all jobs in the town. The Haverhill Research Park (which has funding from the New Anglia Growing Places Fund) is targeting life sciences as a key growth area for future employment in the town. Haverhill has strong economic links to Cambridge and a large proportion of its residents commute to Cambridgeshire. In fact, over 50% of Haverhill residents commute out for work and yet Haverhill is one of the UK’s largest towns without a train station, resulting in a high level of single occupancy car use. This, combined with the significant level of planned growth, is why Haverhill has been chosen as part of the programme. Thetford is the fourth largest town in Norfolk, with a current population of around 25,000. It is situated on the A11 growth corridor (identified in the New Anglia LEP Strategic Economic Plan) between Norwich and Cambridge. There are plans for more than 5,000 new homes and 20 hectares of employment land over the next 25 years as part of a mixed use urban extension. Thetford is a centre for agricultural technology and has benefitted from previous investment through prior status as a Growth Point and the associated Moving Thetford Forward initiative which helped bring forward major regeneration of the waterfront area. Thetford has been chosen because of the planned growth, travel to and from the other towns, because capital funding is allocated through the Local Growth Deal, and because there are significant issues associated with congestion and access to services.

Strategic fit The Transport White Paper: Growth, Cutting Carbon – Making Sustainable Local Transport Happen (2011) and Door to Door: A Strategy for Improving Sustainable Transport Integration (2013) set a vision for an integrated transport system that is an engine for economic growth, but one that is also greener, safer and improves quality of life. The Paper sets Government commitment to Active Travel, making public transport more attractive, and managing traffic. The draft Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (2016) has ambitions which include making cycling and walking the natural choices for shorter journeys; double cycling levels; and reducing cycle accident rates. These aspirations are reflected in the Suffolk Walking & Cycling Strategy (2014). The New Anglia LEP Strategic Economic Plan (2014) aims to establish Norfolk and Suffolk as a centre for global talent and business excellence. By 2026 the LEP aims to deliver 95,000 more jobs, 10,000 new businesses, and 117,000 new homes. These present significant challenges whilst also creating significant opportunities for positive change. The Plan identifies the towns of Bury St Edmunds, Haverhill and Thetford as growth locations and through the Government’s Local Growth Fund the New Anglia LEP has secured funding to deliver sustainable transport improvements in Bury St Edmunds and Thetford. Suffolk County Council Local Transport Plan 3 (2011) sets out the Council’s long-term transport strategy. The key focus of the plan is to support Suffolk’s economy and support future sustainable economic growth. The LTP acknowledges that transport will play a role in supporting and facilitating future sustainable economic growth by:

Tackling congestion

Improving access to jobs and markets

Encouraging a shift to more sustainable travel patterns

The Local Links Anglia programme is aligned to national and sub-national

strategies, policies and priorities

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Norfolk County Council Local Transport Plan 3 (2011) sets out the strategy and policy framework for transport up to 2026. Norfolk’s Transport Vision is for a transport system that allows residents and visitors a range of low carbon options to meet their transport needs and attracts and retains business investment. The aims that support this vision include:

Deliver sustainable growth

Reduce emissions

Improve road safety

Improve accessibility The St Edmundsbury Core Strategy (2010) forms part of the St Edmundsbury Local Plan and sets out the vision, objectives, spatial strategy and overarching policies for new development in the Borough up to 2031. The strategy identifies a high-level vision for Bury St Edmunds and Haverhill, where 86% of growth will take place, to ensure future developments are well served by local facilities, and promote sustainable transport usage. The Strategy states all development proposals should prioritise active and sustainable modes of travel. The Breckland Core Strategy (2012) forms part of the emerging Breckland Local Plan and sets out a spatial vision for Breckland with clear economic, social and environmental objectives up to 2026 to delive, prosperous and self-sustaining communities through the delivery of at least 19,100 new homes and significant employment growth. The Strategy states that Thetford will continue to develop as a key strategic centre. The Bury St Edmunds Transport Strategy 2011-2031 (2015) is an evolving document that responds to the town being identified as a key growth location to help reduce the demand to travel by car. The latest version of the Strategy summarises work being undertaken by the Council including significant investment in walking and cycling infrastructure, reviews of congestion and accident data to determine future priorities, and ongoing engagement with public transport partners to deliver enhancements to the network. The Bury St Edmunds Vision 2031 (2014) forms part of the St Edmundsbury Local Plan, it was compiled by St Edmundsbury Borough Council, working with many other partners, and identifies the key challenges for the town over the next 20 years which include tackling congestion. The Vision identifies key aspirations, including: reducing outbound commuting and increased use of non-car modes of travel. Haverhill Vision 2031 (2014) like the Vision for Bury St Edmunds forms part of the St Edmundsbury Local Plan and identifies the key challenges for the town over the next 20 years including access to jobs for young people. The Vision identifies key aspirations, including: well-connected new development integrated into the town; sustainable transport links; and, a shift to non-car modes of travel. The Thetford Area Action Plan (2012) forms part of the emerging Breckland Local Plan to provide a policy framework for development in the town. Key ambitions of the Plan include: providing an urban extension of 5,000 dwellings, allocating 22hectartes of new employment land and providing for new jobs. The Plan also sets an ambition to encourage modal shift to non-car modes. The Local Links Anglia programme will help to achieve the vision, aims and ambitions of these national and sub-national strategies by delivering a package of measures that will encourage a shift to non-car modes and enhance access to jobs, education and training in areas of economic growth.

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Local Links Anglia Objectives Based on these strategic priorities, and the challenges and opportunities described later the following objectives have been set to align with the ambitions of the DfT Access Fund

Identifying the need for intervention The three towns are facing a number of challenges and without intervention these issues will be exacerbated and the strategic aims and objectives for East Anglia will not be achieved. Whilst each town has its own specific issues, most of the challenges, summarised below, are common to all three towns:

Impact of significant growth in housing, jobs and schools on the transport network

High levels of commuting

High reliance on private car resulting in congestion and delay

Low usage of non-car modes

High number of pedestrian and cycle collisions

Health inequality

Inadequate access to employment, education and training Suffolk County Council with partners is excellently placed to tackle these challenges through the Local Links Anglia programme and will be able to capitalise on a number of significant opportunities including:

Capital investment in transport schemes

A background in delivery of successful programmes to encourage sustainable travel

Effective partnerships Challenge: Impact of significant growth in housing, jobs and schools Each town has been identified within the New Anglia LEP Strategic Economic Plan as a Growth Location, and the plans overleaf show the areas of planned growth in each town over the next 15 years. In Bury St Edmunds:

at least 5,740 new homes are planned;

Suffolk Business Park has recently been extended and a further 68.3 hectares is allocated for employment development; and

a new Academy is opening in January 2017.

High level objectives for Local Links Anglia:

Support economic growth across New Anglia

Encourage active lifestyles to improve public health across New Anglia

Support local communities and address issues of inequality Specific objectives for Local Links Anglia:

Deliver sustainable ways of accessing employment, education and training

Improve access to integrated travel options and non-car modes

Increase mode share of non-car modes for local and longer distance journeys

Increase levels of walking and cycling

Improve cycle safety

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This growth will result in an increased demand for travel in to, across and out of the town, with a specific demand for travel to the new school and the employment growth site to the east. In Thetford:

at least 5,000 new homes are planned;

employment growth is expected to deliver 5,000 new jobs; and

food and non-food retail floor space will increase by 9,400m2

This growth is focussed in the new urban extension to the north of the town and will create a significant demand for travel to and from the development exacerbating existing problems. In Haverhill:

at least 4,260 new homes are planned; and

a total of 12 hectares is allocated for employment development

This growth is focussed to the north-east of the town centre, and will exacerbate demand for cross town movement to and from this site. This housing supports the planned growth of high value Bio-Manufacturing industry, Biotech and Life Science hubs During the Access Fund period 2017/18-2019/20 it is expected that at least 1,000 of the planned new homes will come forward across the three towns. Without intervention a high reliance on the private car will emerge. The Local Links Anglia programme will help to embed a culture of active and sustainable travel within existing communities and in the new developments. Challenge: High levels of commuting Each town has distinctive employment sectors with multiple business and research parks acting as trip attractors. Furthermore, the nearby employment hubs of Cambridge, Ipswich and Norwich also act as trip attractors. As a result there is a high number of trips out of, and in to the three towns, for example nearly 25% of residents living in Haverhill work in Cambridge and 15% living in Thetford work in Bury St Edmunds.

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Using online interactive mapping from datashine.org.uk which analyses 2011 Census data it is possible to see the dominant patterns for outbound journeys to work (red lines) and inbound journeys to work (blue lines). Images for Bury St Edmunds are included below as an example of the analysis.

Bury St Edmunds journey to work destinations, source: datashine.org.uk

Bury St Edmunds clearly has a high number of local journeys to work but also a high number of outbound journeys being made to Thetford, Cambridge, Haverhill, Ipswich and Stowmarket. It is also clear that whilst inbound journeys are predominantly local there is a high demand from Thetford, Haverhill and other nearby villages. In addition to journeys to work shown here Bury St Edmunds also attracts a high number of trips to West Suffolk Hospital West Suffolk College. In Thetford the dominant flows of both outbound and inbound journeys is to/from Brandon to the north-west, Bury St Edmunds to the south, and to Attleborough and Norwich to the north-east. In addition to journeys to work, Thetford also has a campus as part of West Suffolk College attracting trips and encouraging movement between Bury St Edmunds and Thetford. Haverhill has a distinctive flow of outbound commuting towards Cambridge to the west, and inbound commuting from smaller villages to the east. There is also a clear pattern of both outbound and inbound journeys to/from Bury St Edmunds and Newmarket. These levels of inbound and outbound commuting put pressure on the transport network. The Local Links Anglia programme will operate in and work across the three towns, and work with partners to encourage active travel for local journeys and reduce the number of single occupancy car trips for longer distance commute journeys. Challenge: High reliance on private car resulting in congestion and delay At a strategic level there is an ambition to encourage a shift to non-car modes in each town, however, analysis of 2011 Census data highlights there is a high reliance on the car for journeys to work despite a large number of journeys being less than 5km in length. The map overleaf highlights pockets of high car use, with the Moreton Hall ward in Bury St Edmunds having the second highest level of driving to work in Suffolk. Whilst West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds has an active and successful travel plan, single occupancy car use still represents 56% of staff journeys to work.

Car Mode Share Travel to

WorkAverage Distance to Work

Percentage of Residents

Travelling Less Than 5km

to Work

Percentage of Residents

Travelling Less Than

10km to Work

Bury St Edmunds 61% 14km 54% 58%

Thetford 63% 16km 43% 51%

Haverhill 67% 17km 41% 44%

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In addition to the high number of work related journeys on the transport network, there is significant demand for travel to and from the primary and secondary schools across the three towns which together serve over 16,000 pupils. Furthermore, West Suffolk College has over 11,000 students and West Suffolk Hospital serves a total population of over 275,000. It is therefore unsurprising that a review of traffic data and local information demonstrates the towns suffer from congestion during the AM and PM peak periods. Bury St Edmunds experiences specific hotspots of congestion at A14 junctions, in Moreton Hall and along key routes in and out of the town. With Thetford and Haverhill also experiencing issues of congestion and delay as a result of high levels of car use and the relatively constrained road networks. The high levels of traffic and associated congestion impact the economy through journey time delays, and negatively impact local air quality, the attractiveness of the town centres, and the quality of life for residents, workers and visitors. In Bury St Edmunds which has a number of conservation areas but is also experiencing significant issues with air quality as a result of traffic volumes in the town centre. In fact, whilst there currently no AQMA in the town, there are a number of sites where there is an exceedance of the annual mean objective for Nitrogen Dioxide, and other sites where the levels are very close to the annual mean objective. As a result the County Council has recommended some sites be declared as an AQMA. The Local Links Anglia programme will focus on communities and businesses with a high level of car use to help reduce the impacts of congestion and delay by encouraging a shift to non-car modes of travel. Challenge: Low usage of non-car modes Achieving a shift to non-car modes will not be easy and the local opinion in the three towns is that public transport links and cycling facilities are poor.

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Low levels of public transport use The mode share to work by public transport is only 3% in Bury St Edmunds and Thetford, and 6% in Haverhill. However, each town has a number of bus services providing a mixture of local routes and more ‘express’ type routes such as Bury St Edmunds to Newmarket or Thetford. However, Sunday and evening services are limited. Whilst Haverhill is one of the largest towns in the UK to not have a railway station, both Bury St Edmunds and Thetford have good rail links. Bury St Edmunds provides a regular service to Colchester, Ipswich, Cambridge and Peterborough; whilst Thetford provides regular services to Norwich, Cambridge and Ely. Nevertheless, both towns have a low number of total entries and exits when compared to other towns with a similar population. A high-level review of likely journey times between key destinations highlights that travelling by public transport is quicker for some routes and only 10-20minutes longer for others. Evidence suggests the low levels of public transport use are a result of limited awareness and information, shift working, and the car being seen as more a convenient, quick and cheap travel option. The Local Links Anglia programme will promote the options available, identify opportunities and provide a range of targeted information to increase the use of the existing public transport network. Low levels of walking and cycling Each town is relatively compact and flat making access to employment centres by bike from residential communities achievable in under half an hour. Each town also has a comprehensive cycle network, and the network maps for Bury St Edmunds and Haverhill have recently been updated, however, there are plans to significantly improve the provision for cycle users and pedestrians in each town. The mode share for journeys to work by foot or by bike is 24% in Bury St Edmunds, 21% in Thetford, and 15% in Haverhill. Given the compact nature of each town, the extent of the cycle network, and the high number of short distance journeys being made – the modal share is significantly lower than would be expected. The Propensity to Cycle Tool highlights that each of the towns has significant propensity to increase cycling. Under the ‘Go Dutch’ scenario (which assumes the likelihood of cycling a given distance is the same in the UK as it is in the Netherlands) Bury St Edmunds cycle to work mode share across the wards changed from values between 4%-5% to between 20%-27%; in Thetford they changed from values between 2%-4% to between 9%-22%; and in Haverhill they changed from between 2%-3% to between 13%-18%. The Local Links Anglia programme will actively promote and encourage an increase in levels of walking cycling through a package of measures including advice, events and training. Challenge: High number of pedestrian and cycle collisions Real and perceived concerns about safety are some of the main barriers to individuals cycling. A review of available collision data for the years 2011 to 2015 (inclusive)

Car Public Transport

Bury St Edmunds - Thetford 25-35 mins 35-50 mins

Bury St Edmunds - Haverhill 30-40 mins 50-60 mins

Bury St Edmunds - Cambridge 45-55 mins 40 mins

Thetford - Cambridge 45-60 mins 45 mins

Haverhill - Cambridge 40-50 mins 60-70 mins

Journey TimesRoute

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summarised in the table below has highlighted a number of sites where there appears to be a cluster of incidents. In Bury St Edmunds a high number of the cycle related accidents have occurred within the town centre, however, there are also key clusters on routes and junctions on the way in to the town. Pedestrian accidents are clustered in the core of the town centre and near to the railway station. In Haverhill the cycle accidents are clustered along three routes which run north to east from the town, east to west in to the town and north-west to south-east past the town; pedestrian accidents are predominantly clustered in the town centre. In Thetford the cycle accidents are clustered at the B1107 / Thetford Bypass junction which acts as a gateway for traffic coming from the north-west / Thetford Forest in to the town; along Norwich Road which passes through the town centre; and at the junction of Norwich Road / A1066 to the east of the town centre. Pedestrian accidents are found in similar locations. In addition to the issues associated with real safety concerns there is a significant issue of perceived safety discouraging walking and cycling as a result of high levels of car traffic on narrow roads in the historic centres. The Local Links Anglia programme will deliver a safety campaign and a programme of skills training to help address these issues. Challenge: Health inequality Although all three market towns have general good health there are pockets of inequality. Two wards in Thetford and one in Bury St Edmunds are categorised in the top 10% or top 20% most deprived in the country based on the Indices for Multiple Deprivation indicator for health and disability. There is significant difference in average life expectancies in and between each town, for example in Bury St Edmunds the Moreton Hall ward has an average life expectancy of 86.3 years compared to 77.3 years in the Eastgate ward. In Haverhill West the average is 83 years compared to 80.6 in Haverhill South. The Active People Survey states that in Breckland 66.7% and in St Edmundsbury 66% of adults are overweight, the average for the East of England is 65.1%. The survey also states that in Breckland 19.5% and in St Edmndsbury 18.1% of children are obese, the average for the East of England is 17.2%. These issues of poor health are reflected in the map overleaf which shows the combined percentage of residents who considered themselves to be in either bad or very bad health, based on data from the 2011 Census.

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The Local Links Anglia programme will work with residents to encourage more active lifestyles to help improve public health. Challenge: Inadequate access to employment, education and training In Haverhill the unemployment rate is 3.4%, which is above the Suffolk average of 2.8%, and in Thetford the unemployment rate is 4% compared to the Norfolk average of 3.8%. Analysis of data from the Indices of Multiple Deprivation, shown in the map below, highlights areas in each of the three towns where access to education and training is considered to be in the top 10% or top 20% most deprived in the country. Furthermore, the percentage of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) in Haverhill and Thetford is above the regional average.

The Local Links Anglia programme will work with local communities and partners in these areas to help improve access to employment, education and training.

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The Opportunities Opportunity: Capital investment in transport schemes The report for DfT Finding the Optimum: Revenue/ Capital Investment Balance for Sustainable Travel (2014) highlights the benefits of having both revenue and capital funding together - “Sustainable transport schemes that were 100% capital did not in general, show the highest value”. This suggests that there is a strong case for applying revenue funding to complement existing capital investment. The Local Links Anglia programme will provide a package of revenue measures to compliment recent, ongoing and planned capital improvement schemes to maximise the value of investment. In Bury St Edmunds, the public realm in the historic core has recently been improved for pedestrians and cycle users, new cycle parking has been provided at the train station, and the new Academy in includes over 650 cycle parking spaces. In Haverhill a new cycle track has recently opened along the Railway Walk; and in Thetford the waterfront area has undergone major regeneration and the new £3.9m bus interchange opened in 2015. In addition to this recent investment, funding for transport improvement measures are planned in each town. In Bury St Edmunds capital funding has been secured from the New Anglia Growth Deal which will deliver:

£5.7m for Bury St Edmunds Eastern Relief Road to help ‘unlock’ housing and employment land in Bury St Edmunds, the road includes a dedicated walk and cycle path along its length; and

£2.3m for Bury St Edmunds Sustainable Transport Package to make walking, cycling and travelling by public transport easier for short journeys. The details of the emerging sustainable transport package are shown in map below.

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In Haverhill a total of £250,000 is committed to delivering a new cycle track on a key desire line through the recreation ground and LTP funding has also been committed to develop the sustainable transport offer across Haverhill as part of the Masterplan for Haverhill. In Thetford funding has been secured through the New Anglia Growth Deal for £2.3m to deliver the Thetford Sustainable Transport Package which will improve the town centre, provide a cycle link between Thetford and the village of Croxton, and enhance the main cycle network. These sustainable transport improvements will be delivered over the same period as the Access Fund enabling the Local Links team to maximise value and lock-in the benefit of this investment. Opportunity: Successful programmes to encourage sustainable travel Suffolk County Council and partners have been and are involved in the delivery of a number of successful programmes encouraging sustainable travel. Some of these are summarised below and the Local Links Anglia programme will learn from and build on their success. The Bury St Edmunds Local Links programme was formally launched in February 2016. Since the launch the following has been delivered:

active travel events with major employers and Suffolk Chamber

information packs sent to businesses

social media campaign (currently 350 Twitter followers)

travel packs developed for estate agents and house movers

pre-work walking and cycling events

relaunch of Local Links website and newsletter

active travel event at West Suffolk College job fair and fresher’s event

To date the Bury St Edmunds Local Links programme has experienced mixed success with some well attended events and positive feedback. However, the programme has found it difficult to raise awareness and increase the levels of local engagement as a result of the limited resources currently available. The Local Links Anglia programme will enable all the excellent work that has been started in Bury St Edmunds to be expanded with a dedicated team and budget supporting delivery to elevate the offer within the town and expand delivery in to Haverhill and Thetford. Over the last four years Suffolk County Council has provided £33k of Sustainable Travel Grants to 42 businesses. This funding has been matched by £64k from the businesses to deliver a range of initiatives including cycle storage, showers, lockers, pool bikes and remote working equipment. Feedback from businesses has been very positive and the Local Links Anglia programme will build on this success marketing the fund alongside other activities In March 2015 Suffolk County Council launched a 12 month cycling initiative ‘Bikelife’ to run alongside the launch of “Suffolk’s Year of Cycling”. The aim of Bikelife was to develop a sustainable cycling culture within eight primary schools in Bury St Edmunds to encourage more cycling to school. The project which is currently shortlisted in the National Sustainable Travel Awards achieved its aims with the average rates of pupils cycling increasing from 7% to 21%. The Local Links programme will use the lessons from this project and deliver a ‘second generation’ of the project to other schools.

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The region has been successful in attracting sporting events, in 2015 the Tour of Britain passed through both Thetford and Bury St Edmunds; and in July 2016 the Street Velodrome was in Bury St Edmunds with over 650 locals riding on the Street Velodrome over the weekend, including over 260 school children. The Local Links Anglia programme will work with partners to bring these events back to the region. In 2016 Norfolk County Council were awarded Sustainable Transport Transition Year funding, the programme known as ‘Pushing Ahead’ builds on the success of the AtoBetter initiative by focussing on existing residential communities in areas of highest need and major trip attractors in Greater Norwich and in Great Yarmouth to increase active travel. The Local Links Anglia programme will work closely with Norfolk County Council to learn lessons from their Pushing Ahead programme and develop opportunities to work together. Between 2012 and 2015 Suffolk Council delivered the Lowestoft Local Links programme, this programme secured £5m through the Local Sustainable Transport Fund and delivered a highly successful campaign to promote sustainable travel and reduce car trips. The programme offered very high value for money with a calculated benefit-cost ratio of 6.3:1 and was acclaimed nationally, winning the Chartered Institute of Highways and Transportation's 'Sustainability Award' in 2013, and was highly commended at the 2015 National Transport Awards. The Lowestoft Local Links programme focussed on businesses and their employees, engaging and working with over 150 businesses to develop travel plans and provide a wide range of resources, events, campaigns, awards, communications, and the Bounce web-app. Whilst Lowestoft has a very different business and residential profile to the towns of Bury St Edmunds, Haverhill and Thetford the key lessons, transferable approaches and successful measures have helped in to inform the Local Links Anglia programme. Following on from the Lowestoft Local Links programme Suffolk County Council delivered Beat the Streets which aimed to get more people walking by encouraging participants to scan a card or key fob onto ‘Beat Box’ scanners located around the community to show they have walked between the boxes.

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Over one month, 12,786 people living in Lowestoft and surrounding villages took part in Beat the Streets, walking a total of 161,600 miles. Eight out of ten people said that Beat the Street helped them be more active and walk more and the proportion of adults meeting the Department of Health’s physical activity target increased from 42% to 54%, and eight out of ten people said that they planned to continue any changes they had made after Beat the Street ended. The Local Links Anglia programme will build on this success by delivering a number of active travel challenges across the towns. Suffolk has a successful Wheels 2 Work (W2W) scooter loan scheme offered to those who are unable to access employment, work experience or training opportunities due to lack of personal or public transport. Suffolk W2W has a proven track record helping unemployed people of all ages and over the last 12 months 85% of the clients issued with a scooter have re-entered the employment market. This demonstrates that the scheme helps improve social inclusion and breaks the cycle of need that arises from being unable to get to work. The Local Links Anglia programme will support Suffolk W2W by helping to expand the scheme, and promote it through Personalised Journey Planning sessions with Job Seekers. West Suffolk Hospital Travel Plan is helping to mitigate the impact of travel demand to and from the hospital. A number of measures have been delivered by the NHS Trust to encourage more walking, cycling public transport and car sharing to reduce drive alone journeys. These have helped to reduce the number of staff driving alone from 74% to 56%. The Local Links Anglia programme will work closely with the Trust to support employee engagement and utilise the hospitals experience as an exemplar site to other large employers. Suffolk Car Share has a total of 2,497 members across the county (as of August 2016) and there are a total of 132 CarBUDi teams making regular journeys and it is estimated that 67% of these CarBUDi teams are now sharing a journey compared to driving alone, this is estimated to save a total of 584,515 car miles over the next 12 months. The Local Links Anglia programme will help and promote the car share scheme across the towns to increase membership and use. Opportunity: Effective partnerships The Local Links Anglia programme will be able to capitalise upon a number of existing relationships that are resulting in the successful delivery of schemes. Suffolk County Council and Norfolk County Council are working together with Groundwork and NWES to deliver Business Energy Efficiency (BEE) Anglia. BEE Anglia is a three-year programme, part funded through the European Union European Regional Development Fund, which provides free support to at least 1,000 SMEs across Suffolk and Norfolk to become more energy efficient. The support on offer includes sustainable travel advice and grants towards new energy efficiency measures and provides a direct opportunity for the Local Links Anglia programme team to engage SMEs. Suffolk County Council has developed a positive relationship with the Havebury Housing Partnership, a specialist in affordable housing in Suffolk. The relationship has evolved from supporting them with their employee travel planning to working together over the last 12 months to enhance their TRUST Programme, which provides over 14,000 tenants with

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support and advice to improve qualifications and prepare for job interviews. The Local Links Anglia programme will provide the Partnerships front line staff with training and information on transport and travel options so that sustainable travel advice is part of the day to day conversation. Working with the Partnership the need for more low cost transport options was identified, this will be provided by the Green Bike Project which is a community cycle reuse scheme. The project takes unwanted cycles, teaches disabled or disadvantaged people to refurbish them and then use the bikes for a variety of community uses including affordable sales, hire, pool bike schemes, and exercise on referral. The Local Links Anglia programme will enable the setting up of at least one additional hub in the project area. Through the Bury Local Links project some excellent relationships have been established with local businesses including Haart Estate Agents who are distributing travel packs created by the team to their clients as part of the moving process. Furthermore, the project has developed positive relationships with Greene King and held an active travel event in June 2016 supported by other local businesses including Outspoken Cycles and Micks Cycles. The project has also developed great relationships with West Suffolk Hospital and West Suffolk College. The Local Links Anglia programme will build on the success of these partnerships and continue to work together to maximise the success of future schemes across East Anglia.

The three towns are facing a number of challenges and without intervention these issues will be exacerbated and the strategic aims and objectives for New Anglia will not be achieved. The key challenges are:

Impact of significant growth in housing, jobs and schools

High levels of commuting

High reliance on private car resulting in congestion and delay

Low usage of non-car modes

High number of pedestrian and cycle collisions

Health inequality

Inadequate access to employment, education and training The Local Links Anglia programme will help to address these and will be able to capitalise on a number of significant opportunities including:

Capital investment in transport schemes

Successful programmes to encourage sustainable travel

Effective partnerships

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Local Links Anglia – Programme of measures The Local Links Anglia programme of measures has been developed to achieve the stated objectives; and respond to the challenges and opportunities identified. In identifying the measures, good practice from successful projects across East Anglia and the country have been considered. As a result, the programme will adopt an approach similar to Sustainable Travel Towns and Cities with a Local Links project being delivered in each of the three towns, supported by complimentary packages. Package 1 – Local Links This package, Local Links focusses on encouraging modal shift through a number of measures including:

Personalised Journey Planning with businesses, residents, post 16 year olds, college students and job seekers

Sustainable travel grant scheme

Programme of events

Skills training

Active travel challenges

Travel information, resources, marketing and publicity Local Links Anglia will provide an overarching programme of delivery to ensure consistent messaging, branding and monitoring against targets, however, the three individual projects: Bury Local Links (expanded); Thetford Local Links (new) and Haverhill Local Links (new) will be tailored to local needs. Further details of the measures are provided below: Personalised Journey Planning (PJP) for Businesses Building on success from Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds the programme will continue to promote sustainable travel for journeys to work. The programme will work with the business community in each town to support the development of at least 90 travel plans and target engagement with 9,000 staff to create a culture of sustainable travel. Businesses that join the Local Links programme will be eligible for additional support including grant funding, access to knowledge and experience from the business network, and PJPs for staff. Residential Personalised Journey Plans (PJP) Learning from the projects being delivered in Norfolk and elsewhere a programme of PJP will be delivered in residential communities in areas of highest need / with greatest propensity in each town, and those closest to existing or planned facilities (for walking, cycling or public transport). The PJP will target a maximum of 3,200 households and seek to engage with a minimum of 8,500 individuals to provide them with tailored information and travel advice. The programme of PJP will also actively promote other measures including the planned events, skills training, recycled bikes, and wheels to work. Post 16 and College PJP A programme of PJP will be offered to post 16 year olds through secondary schools; and to those attending West Suffolk College. The post 16 programme will integrate with career advice sessions to focus on providing at least 4,000 young adults with tailored information and advice regarding travel options to work, training and further education to help remove potential barriers. The college programme will provide a minimum of 2,000 students with digital journey plans, which will be personalised to their circumstances to highlight the travel options available, offer road safety advice, and provide additional information. Job seeker PJP Working with DWP a programme of PJP will be offered to a minimum of 4,500 job seekers to provide tailored information and advice regarding travel options to work, training and skills.

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Sustainable travel grant scheme The travel grant scheme has proved highly successful to date and will be offered to businesses that sign-up to developing travel plans as part of the Local Links programme; and to local communities in areas of highest need. The scheme will provide at least 20 funding grants require applications to be made along with a commitment of match funding to be used to improve facilities at places of work; or to support a local community group to get people active. Community and active travel events A number of community and active travel events will be organised and attended during the delivery of the programme to engage over 5,000 people from local communities that are part of the PJP programme. These will include organised walks and cycle rides, interactive or participatory elements such as smoothie bikes and bike maintenance sessions, as well as providing opportunities to give out information and advice. The programme will also support events such as the Tour of Britain and Suffolk’s Most Active County. Skills training Members of the team will deliver and support the delivery of a range of skills training to over 500 people including:

Cycling confidence training aimed at children, young adults and adults of different abilities; and bike maintenance classes to encourage cycling.

Ride leader coaching and community event planning to enable the community to continue the delivery of led rides and local events beyond the funding period.

Active travel challenges Building on the success and lessons learned from Beat the Streets and Love to Ride, a travel challenge initiative will be delivered to get more people active. The programme will target a total population of 5,000 residents. Travel information, resources, marketing and publicity Led by the Communications & Engagement Officer a marketing and communications plan will be developed to ensure all activity is coordinated through all media channels to raise awareness of the schemes being delivered and to publicise the successes. As part of this the existing Local Links website www.suffolk.gov.uk/business-jobs-and-careers/local-links/ will be updated and social media presence will be increased. Digital and printed packs of travel information and resources including maps, timetables and relevant information and links will be produced. Package 2 – Getting more people cycling This package will focus on increasing cycling and complement the Local Links programme. Bike recycle and loan The programme will help to promote and expand the Green Bike Project providing at least 100 bikes in the project area and also look to learn from the success of the Norfolk Cycle Loan. Bikelife 2 The Bikelife project showed that schools locally are receptive to targeted support and enthusiastic about getting more pupils and staff cycling to school. Therefore Local Links Anglia will develop a package of measures to support the school community at the new Sybil Andrews Academy, creating a cycle culture from the start and ensuring that the cycle friendly position of the school takes advantage of the infrastructure provided in the Morton Hall area. A dual part of the project will further engage with ten secondary schools to support the transition to FE, vocational studies and readiness to work.

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Cycle safety campaign To help reduce the number and severity of accidents a cycle safety campaign will be delivered across the towns with the support and expertise of the road safety team. The campaign will utilise the DfT THINK! cycle safety campaign and Let’s Look Out for Each Other and combine it with locally delivered skills training and advice through the PJP programmes. Package 3 – Wheels to Work The Local Links Anglia programme will support Suffolk W2W to loan scooters to individuals in need of transport who cannot access training, education or employment opportunities through personal or public transport. Applicants will need to meet eligibility criteria and a typical loan period is up to 6 months. Suffolk W2W currently operates in the Ipswich and Suffolk Coastal areas, the Local Links Anglia programme will enable the operation to be expanded with a fleet of 20 additional scooters to support 120 clients. Package 4 – Delivery Team To deliver the programme the existing resource allocated to Bury Local Links will be expanded to a team of four staff consisting of a Project & Programme Manager; two Active Travel Officers; and a Communications & Engagement Officer. The project team will be responsible for delivering and coordinating the measures to be delivered. The team will work closely with partners to maximise the opportunities presented through the planned capital investment, in particular the Sustainable Transport Packages to be delivered in Bury St Edmunds and Thetford, and the development of the Haverhill Masterplan and A1307 Haverhill to Cambridge Corridor study. The team will also work closely with public transport operators to review existing services and timetables and explore opportunities to enhance the available information and interchanging between modes. Package 5 - Monitoring & Evaluation As part of Norfolk County Council’s STTY funded scheme Pushing Ahead, working with the University of East Anglia they have developed a monitoring and evaluation strategy. To maximise the value of that work and ensure lessons can be shared, the Local Links programme proposes to work with Norfolk County Council and the University of East Anglia to expand that work so it covers a greater part of East Anglia.

The Local Links Anglia programme will:

Target Personalised Journey Planning at a total of 28,000 individuals

Work with at least 90 businesses

Deliver schemes in partnership with 11 secondary schools

Allocate over 20 sustainable travel grants

Help to recycle over 100 bikes for loan or sale

Enable over 500 people to access skills training

Provide 20 scooters to help individuals access work opportunities

Engage over 10,000 people through events and challenges

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B3. The Economic Case – Value for Money

In August 2014 the DfT published a report ‘Value for Money Assessment for the Local Sustainable Transport Fund’ which summarises the findings of the assessment of the VfM for the large projects. It concluded that the 12 large projects that received funding represented a combined return on investment of at least 5:1. This conclusion demonstrates that investment in local sustainable transport projects represents very high value for money. The report also notes that the VfM assessment of the smaller bids suggested that, as a package, they also represented high value for money. Research published in 2011 by the Sustainable Development Commission in their Fairness in a Car Dependent Society report summarised typical Benefit to Cost Ratios (BCRs) for sustainable transport interventions. Some of these are shown opposite and support the DfT research. The analysis undertaken to assess the economic benefits for the Local Links Anglia package demonstrates that it will deliver Very High Value for Money.

A spreadsheet based economic assessment has been conducted, drawing on a range of available data sources in order to develop estimates of both the anticipated reduction in car trips and the associated increase in walking, cycling, public transport use and car sharing.

WebTAG values for the marginal external costs (MEC) of congestion are then applied to the forecast reduction in car kilometres whilst the estimated increase in walking and cycling is used to generate likely benefits associated with reductions in mortality and absenteeism.

An appraisal period of 20 years has been assumed. This is in line with the DfT’s Investing in Cycling and Walking - The Economic Case for Action’.

The appraisal period reflects the fact that the benefits are derived from revenue measures rather than infrastructure measures and that their impacts will be realised in the short term. A decay rate of 10% per annum has also been adopted beyond the funding period.

The Economic Appraisal Report which includes the scheme impacts pro forma, attached in Appendix B, outlines the assumptions and methodology for the calculation of the economic impacts of the package in more detail. The table below summarises the benefits of the package, demonstrating that the package offers Very High Value for money, with a BCR of 5.9.

Item Present Value (all values are in 2010 prices)

Congestion £2,559,760

Infrastructure £21,155

Accident £700,937

Local Air Quality £14,103

Noise £42,310

Greenhouse Gases £183,344

Indirect Taxation -£864,536

Absenteeism £215,033

Physical Activity (mortality) £3,954,138

Total – Present Value Benefit (PVB) £6,826,245

Total – Present Value Cost (PVC) £1,154,108

Net Present Value (NPV) £5,672,137

Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR 5.9

Intervention Typical BCR

Cycle training 7:1

Personalised travel planning 7.6:1

Travel Planning 15:1

Car share schemes 68:1

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B4. The Financial Case – Project Costs The total cost of the Local Links Anglia programme is £1,544,000. Table A below confirms that SCC will contribute £213,500 (14% of total) with a third party contribution of £12,500 (1% of total) with the remainder sought from the DfT. The Council’s contribution is new funding, which has been agreed as match funding for this programme. Table B details the costs of the different package elements. Table A: Funding profile

Source

2017/18 (£000s)

2018/19 (£000s)

2019/20 (£000s)

TOTAL (£000s)

DfT funding sought 395.5 473 449.5 1,318

Local Authority contribution 65 75 73.5 213.5

Third Party contribution 4.5 4 4 12.5

TOTAL 465 552 527 1,544

Table B: Cost breakdown by package element

Package element

2017/18 (£000s)

2018/19 (£000s)

2019/20 (£000s)

TOTAL (£000s)

Package 1

Establish Local Links per town 5 0 0 5

Business Engagement and Journey Planning

30 40 40 110

Residential Personalised Journey Plans (PJP)

40 70 60 170

Post 16 and College PJP 25 45 35 105

Job seeker PJP 25 35 30 90

Sustainable travel grant scheme 10 15 15 40

Community and active travel events 30 40 40 110

Skills training 5 5 5 15

Active travel challenges 60 60 60 180

Travel information, resources, marketing and publicity

35 45 30 110

Package 2

Bike recycle and loan 20 10 20 50

Bikelife 2 30 30 30 90

Cycle safety campaign 5 5 5 15

Package 3

Wheels to Work 15 22 22 59

Package 4

Delivery Team 120 120 120 360

Package 5

Monitoring & Evaluation 10 10 15 35

TOTAL 465 552 527 1,544

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B5. Management Case - Delivery To ensure the Local Links Anglia programme can hit the ground running. The proposed programme has been developed to be highly deliverable and low risk by building on and incorporating existing partnerships, ongoing initiatives and present working groups. All of the external partners are well known to the County Council. The County Council with these partners has a track record of delivery as demonstrated through initiatives such as Lowestoft Local Links, Bury Local Links, Bikelife, Beat the Streets and Suffolk Wheels 2 Work. Following a successful announcement it is the council’s intention to utilise their existing contracts. The Council expect to prepare draft Memorandum’s of Understanding with each delivery partner, which will be subject to approval of funding by DfT. This will mean should the bid be successful the MoUs can be finalised and approved at an interim Project Board meeting in January 2017 to enable work to commence as soon as possible. Where procurement is required, project deliverables and specifications will be identified at the earliest possible stage and there will be early engagement with the Procurement Team, there is an established relationship with this team due to the successful delivery of current and previous sustainable transport related procurement.

a) The attached Gantt chart at Appendix C details the tasks that will be undertaken, their outline timescales, and the key milestones.

b) This proposal does not require any land acquisition.

c) For this bid there are no construction projects within the package. Construction milestones are all part of other projects although the timescales for construction projects will overlap (as shown in Appendix C) creating opportunities to maximise the value of investment. Specific milestones within the Local Links Anglia project delivery will be:

1. Appoint Project & Programme Manager by the end of February 2017.

2. Appoint additional Delivery Team by end of March 2017

3. First Project Board meeting in March 2017

4. Delivery partners to be appointed by end of April (assuming ITQ timescales)

5. First Steering Group meeting in April 2017

6. Commence early engagement in April 2017, including Working Group meetings

7. Delivery to commence in May 2017

B5. Management Case – Statutory Powers and Consents The Local Links Anglia programme does not require any statutory powers or consents.

B6. Management Case – Governance Suffolk County Council has an excellent reputation for project delivery and strong governance will be put in place to administer, deliver and monitor the programme. This experience is evident from the highly successful delivery of the DfT LSTF funded Lowestoft

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Local Links project between 2012 and 2015, and the ongoing delivery of the Bury Local Links project and BEE Anglia. The Governance structure attached in Appendix D shows that the delivery of the project will be overseen by the Local Links Anglia Project Board. Dave Watson, Suffolk County Council’s Head of Transport Strategy will be the Senior Responsible Officer and chair the Project Board to maintain a strategic overview of the project and provide strategic direction and financial approval as required. The Local Links Anglia Steering Group will maintain a closer oversight of the project delivery and will be chaired by Sharon Payne, Suffolk County Council’s Road Safety & Smarter Choices Manager. The Group will comprise leading people responsible for project delivery and regular meetings will take place to review progress, issues and risks to ensure any problems are identified and resolved as quickly as possible. Local Links Anglia will work across Suffolk and Norfolk, as such representatives of New Anglia LEP and Norfolk County Council will be part of both of the Project Board and Steering Group. A Local Links Anglia programme team will be established. A Project Manager will be appointed to lead the team and take responsibility for allocating resources and ensuring the delivery of the various workstreams. The team will include the existing member of staff allocated to the Bury Local Links project, with the remainder of the team will be appointed either via council secondment, partners or external recruitment. This project team will liaise with various stakeholders by setting up working groups including local representatives, cycling groups, road safety, public health bodies etc to ensure the programme responds to local problems.

B7. Management Case - Risk Management Risks to project delivery will be tracked in accordance with the Council’s corporate risk management principles using JCAD. The risk management framework requires the identification and recording of risks, an evaluation of their potential and any mitigation actions, and monitoring of ongoing progress. A structured method for identifying, assessing and mitigating risk for the package has been developed to ensure that a robust assessment of risk is undertaken. A risk log has been created to identify and record risks that have the potential to impact the programme or cost. The risk register, included as Appendix E, is a live document and will be reviewed at Steering Group meetings and updated at key stages via risk workshops attended by all appropriate parties. Overall there are no significant risks to delivery.

B8. Management Case - Stakeholder Management a) Can the scheme be considered as controversial in any way?

Yes No

b) Have there been any external campaigns either supporting or opposing the scheme?

Yes No

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B9. The Commercial Case As noted above, Local Links Anglia is highly deliverable and low risk. The programme builds on and incorporates existing partnerships, ongoing initiatives and present working groups. The existing Bury Local Links initiative and lessons learned from the successful Lowestoft Local Links programme mean the County Council are able to commence promptly. SCC has an excellent reputation for scheme delivery and already has an existing team and partnership arrangements in place supporting sustainable travel delivery. External parties have provided letters of commitment to the project indicating their readiness to deliver, and through existing partnership agreements the council will be able to mobilise quickly and commence delivery of the programme at the start of the funding period. Project Board The Project Board will include members already involved in Bury Local Links, Norfolk County Council, New Anglia LEP and strategic leads from each project area of business, community and education sectors. Steering Group The steering Group will include partners known to the council and include key individuals already involved in sustainable travel projects and partnership delivery leads. Delivery team and partners A dedicated Project Manager will ensure successful delivery. The delivery team officers will have the appropriate skill set to commence delivery immediately and will be seconded from within the council or partners, or recruited externally. Discussions are already ongoing to ensure an appropriate project management and delivery team can be identified in the timescales. To ensure the programme can mobilise quickly the council will work closely with a number of partners, letters of support are attached in Appendix A. Working groups Throughout the delivery of the programme the team will regularly engage with a number of stakeholders. Most stakeholders are already known to the council from previous and ongoing projects. These groups will be contacted by the delivery team and invited to attend separate ‘open door’ sessions in each town. At these sessions the delivery team will outline the programme and schemes to be delivered to: gather initial comments and input from stakeholders to shape delivery; seek support to help raise profile of the programme; and which groups wish to be involved in the delivery. These sessions will also help to identify potential community volunteers and will be used as part of the ongoing monitoring of the project.

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SECTION C – Monitoring, Evaluation and Benefits Realisation

C1. Monitoring and Evaluation Monitoring and evaluation is regarded by Suffolk County Council as an essential part of sustainable travel initiatives. A robust approach to monitoring and evaluating previous projects including Lowestoft Local Links, Bikelife and Beat the Streets; and ongoing monitoring of Bury Local Links has helped to inform this bid. Upon confirmation of the funding bid being successful SCC working with Norfolk County Council and the University of East Anglia will finalise a Monitoring and Evaluation Plan that is in line with the DfT’s Monitoring and Evaluation Strategy. This Plan will focus on the outputs and outcomes of the interventions delivered across East Anglia to demonstrate success against the identified objectives and provide evidence of value for money to influence future investment by the Councils beyond the Access Fund period. Key impact indicators will be defined through the UEA Evaluation Framework but are likely to include:

Number of cycle and walking trips by purpose

Number of organisations engaged

Number of cycle and pedestrian collisions

Number of businesses and individual contacts made

Number and impact of personal journey plans delivered Data collection will include:

Manual Counts of Cycle users and Pedestrians

Travel Plan monitoring surveys

PJP follow-up monitoring surveys

Trip length and origin-destination surveys

Cycle parking counts and surveys

Website and Social media statistics By submitting this bid, I agree to work with the Department to provide a reasonable level of monitoring to enable the measurement of outputs and, where appropriate, evaluation of outcomes.

Yes No

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SECTION D – Declarations

DI. Senior Responsible Owner Declaration As Senior Responsible Owner for Local Links Anglia I hereby submit this request for approval to DfT on behalf of Suffolk County Council and confirm that I have the necessary authority to do so.

I confirm that Suffolk County Council will have all the necessary statutory powers in place to ensure the planned timescales in the application can be realised.

Name: Dave Watson Signed:

Position: Transport Strategy Manager

D2. Section 151 Officer Declaration

As Section 151 Officer for Suffolk County Council I declare that the scheme cost estimates quoted in this bid are accurate to the best of my knowledge and that Suffolk County Council

has allocated sufficient budget to deliver this scheme on the basis of its proposed funding contribution;

accepts responsibility for meeting any costs over and above the DfT contribution requested, including potential cost overruns and the underwriting of any funding contributions expected from third parties;

accepts responsibility for meeting any ongoing revenue and capital requirements in relation to the scheme;

accepts that no further increase in DfT funding will be considered beyond the maximum contribution requested and that no DfT funding will be provided after 2019/20;

Confirms that the authority has the necessary governance / assurance arrangements in place and the authority can provide, if required, evidence of a stakeholder analysis and communications plan in place.

Name: Geoff Dobson

Signed

Appendices

Appendix A) Letters of Support

Appendix B) Economic Appraisal Report and Scheme Impact Pro-forma

Appendix C) Delivery programme

Appendix D) Governance structure

Appendix E) Risk Register