Introducing the new statutory consultee to the planning process...

...Active Travel England (ATE)

Active Travel England took up their role as a statutory consultee within the development management process on 1st June 2023.

What is Active Travel England?

Active Travel England is the government’s executive agency responsible for making walking, wheeling and cycling the preferred choice for everyone to get around in England.

Their objective is for 50% of trips in England’s towns and cities to be walked, wheeled or cycled by 2030. ATE is an executive agency sponsored by the Department for Transport (DfT).

How will Active Travel England impact planning applications?

The newly designated statutory consultee will be involved in the consultation process for planning applications for developments exceeding 150 housing units, 7,500m2 of floorspace or 5 hectares in area. Active Travel England will provide guidance to planning authorities to ensure that active travel is integrated as a substantial component in upcoming developments.

This means that a local planning authority (LPA) is obliged, from 1st June 2023, to consult and to consider comments made by ATE as set out in articles 18 and 20 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) (England) Order (2015).

The Active Travel Toolkit

The Active Travel England (ATE) planning application toolkit has been produced. It allows local planning authorities to gather evidence and assess the active travel merits for a development proposal.

The Toolkit is not in itself the determinant of a planning application, professional judgement will still be required.

Pre-planning consultation

ATE is developing a pre-application advice service for private sector applicants and their advisors. This service will be focused both on best practice and providing advice on how to best embed active travel in the design of the proposed scheme. ATE anticipates that it will be able to offer this service from Autumn/Winter 2023.

All Development Management planning application consultation emails should be sent to Planning-Consultations@activetravelengland.gov.uk.

Bridging the gap between air quality and sustainable professionals

A part of an air quality assessment is to predict the impacts the development will have on the local area. The operational phase of the proposed development has the potential to cause air quality impacts on existing receptors from additional emissions.

Emissions from road vehicles are a key source of air pollution. The main pollutants of health concern from road traffic are nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and fine particles (PM10 and PM2.5).

Active Travel England, air quality professionals and other disciplines, should, theoretically, work in unison to combat these issues. There are many times where sustainability professionals and air quality professionals have the same goal, but have different ways of getting there.

This highlights the importance of a holistic approach at the early design stage.

Gathering all disciplines together in a room, so to speak, at the early planning stages enables designs to thrive instead of turning into conflicting outcomes.

Key takeaways for planners, architects and developers:

- If you’re planning a development that meets the above criteria, plan active travel into your design proposal early

- Involve the various disciplines early on, bringing them together in a collaborative setting. This approach facilitates a seamless design process where everyone is on the same page.

How we can help you

Exe Valley Environmental provide a range of air quality consultancy services to assist with each stage of the planning, development and construction process.

Services