Rural communities across Somerset will find it easier to develop and deliver their own active travel schemes thanks to a Somerset Council initiative.
The Council is launching its rural active travel toolkit that will help communities through the process of developing a project from large-scale schemes such as a multi-user path to smaller improvements like dropped kerbs.
It takes groups from identifying a need and engaging local people, through to route design, funding, consents, delivery and ongoing maintenance.
Councillor Ros Wyke, Somerset Council’s Associate Lead Member for Active Travel, said:
People may be inspired by the excellent examples of community-led active travel schemes across Somerset, including the Strawberry Line in East Somerset and Frome’s Missing Links.
The toolkit aims to encourage and support more projects like these by providing communities with the confidence, knowledge and practical tools to get started.
The project has grown from a recognised need to do more to support active travel in Somerset’s rural areas, where communities can face challenges around access to services, limited transport choices and social isolation. National guidance also tends to focus on urban environments, which can make it difficult for rural communities to find information that feels relevant to their circumstances.
We know that there are those who are already active or interested in developing active travel schemes, like parish councils, community groups and local volunteers.,” said Cllr Wyke.
But we also hope it will inspire people who have identified a local issue or opportunity and want to explore how active travel improvements could benefit their community.
A package of online training sessions is also being developed that will support communities in using the guidance. Sessions will cover each section of the toolkit in more detail. Anyone interested in taking part can find the expression of interest form on the Council’s website.
