Local Sustainable Transport Fund - Application Form

Guidance on the Application Process is available at: www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/regional/ Bids for both small projects and initial proposals for large projects should be no more than 20 pages long. Applicant Information Local transport authority name(s)*: Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council Senior Responsible Owner name and position: Martyn Holloway Head of Traffic & Transportation Directorate of the Urban Environment Bid Manager name and position: Neil Lissimore Principal Engineer Transportation Directorate of the Urban Environment Contact telephone number: Email address: Postal address: 01384 814686

neil.lissimore@dudley.gov.uk Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council Directorate of the Urban Environment Economic Regeneration and Transportation Services Council House Mary Stevens Park Stourbridge West Midlands, DY8 2AA

Website address for published bid: www.dudley.gov.uk/transport-andstreets/LSTFlocalbid

SECTION A - Project description and funding profile A1. Project name: Brierley Hill Active Travel Partnership (BHATP) A2. Headline description: The BHATP project seeks to promote and improve active travel accessibility to and within the new centre of Brierley Hill and its surrounding hinterland to support the economic growth aspirations of the Brierley Hill Area Action Plan. The project will deliver a wide range of smarter choice initiatives delivered through the formation of community, school and business based partnerships. The development of new and improved active travel corridors for walking and cycling linking the surrounding communities with the centres retail and employment sectors will provide the enhanced sustainable connectivity vital to allow Brierley Hill to realise its economic potential. A3. Geographical area: The project is focussed on active travel to the new strategic town centre of Brierley Hill located centrally within the borough of Dudley which sits on the western edge of the West Midlands conurbation. The A4036 Primary Route runs along the eastern boundary of the town centre. The Brierley Hill Area Action Plan (AAP) boundary is shown on Plan 1 attached to this document, and this defines the town centre boundary in planning terms. A cordon representing the 15 minute walk distance from the surrounding hinterland is also shown on Plan 1, and this represents the geographical area to be targeted for the purposes of the bid. The 15 minute walk cordon contains a population of approximately 70,000 people, the majority of which are resident within 8 key residential catchments; namely; Withymoor Village, Hawbush Estate, Brockmoor Estate, Pensnett, Russells Hall Estate, Woodside, Netherton and Lodge Farm, and Caledonia, Thorns and Quarry Bank. This represents 23% of the boroughs population and demonstrates the massive potential for active modes of travel, and in particular walking and cycling to Brierley Hill Centre. A4. Type of bid (please tick relevant box): Small project bids Tranche 1 bid Expression of interest for Tranche 2 Tranche 2 bid Large project bids Key component bid Large project initial proposals
(please complete sections A and B only)

A5. Total package cost (m): 0.512 A6. Total DfT funding contribution sought (m): 0.362 A7. Spend profile: K Revenue funding sought Capital funding sought Local contribution Total 2011-12 88 25 2012-13 126 45 2013-14 38 40 2014-15 Total 252 110

150 113 321 78

150 512

A8. Local contribution The Council secure Section 106 funding from developers for transport purposes. As defined in the Councils Planning Obligations Supplementary Planning Document, monies secured can be used in the wards within which the developments are situated. The projects catchment area covers a number of wards within the borough and a sum of 63,000 has been identified as a private sector contribution to the BHATP project. In addition, a sum of 87,000 from the Councils Integrated Transport Block allocation for 2012/13 has been identified to support the capital elements of the proposed infrastructure improvements. These combined provide a capital contribution of 150,000 as indicated in the spend profile above as a specific local contribution to the project. A commitment from the NHS Dudley Public Health, a key partner, to support the programme philosophy will manifest itself through in kind staff time contributions to the development, implementation and subsequent use of the active travel corridors. Shadow allocations for the Public Health white paper targets pertaining to walking and cycling are yet to be set, but a contribution to this area of work, if not in time for the actual project phase, but for its sustainability is likely. In addition, further local authority and partner in kind contributions, in the form of officer time, contributing to the development and delivery of the programme elements will also support the project.

A9. Partnership bodies The Council will lead and co-ordinate the design and delivery of the project with support from a number of key partners, namely; Dudley Primary Care Trust, Living Streets and Sustrans. These partners will form part of the project co-ordination group and they have all provided written confirmation of their support to the project. Indeed the LSTF project provides the opportunity to extend and build on existing successful partnerships in Dudley; namely the Healthy Towns Programme with NHS Dudley and the Fitter for Walking Project with Living Streets. Given the obvious physical activity and health related benefits associated with active travel NHS Dudley will be involved in supporting the walking and cycling elements of the community partnership events. Living Streets main input will be through the organisation of community street audits on key links to strengthen community engagement and identify key issues and barriers to the walking environment, together with providing support to expanding the Walk once a Week initiative into all schools within the cordon. Sustrans will assist in developing new links to the National Cycle Network and Sustrans Rangers will support the development of the new cycle infrastructure proposals. Further opportunities through the Sustrans Links to Schools Programme are currently being explored, and if successful these will enable an expansion of the physical cycle networks beyond the cordon boundary. A number of other organisations will provide assistance with the delivery of the project in different ways. West Midlands Police and West Midlands Fire Service will assist in the delivery of the important road safety education aspects of active travel, whilst Eco and Sustainable Schools initiatives will assist other school related active travel elements of the Education Partnership. SECTION B The local challenge B1. The local context Brierley Hill was designated a new strategic town centre by the Secretary of State in January 2008 and following a successful examination in public in December 2010, the AAP is due for formal adoption mid 2011. The AAP sets out the long term aspirations for the sustainable growth of the Brierley Hill Area, which includes the amalgamation of the Brierley Hill High Street District Centre, Waterfront Business Park and Merry Hill Shopping Centre. Substantial new development and investment is needed to address the economic, social and environmental issues and achieve the vision for Brierley Hill Town Centre. By 2026, this investment will aim to provide new shopping and employment opportunities that generate over 18,500 estimated new jobs, more than 3200 new homes, an improved transport network, leisure and community facilities and other services.

Given the surrounding highway network is already operating at capacity at peak times of the day, in order to support this growth a comprehensive Public Transport Strategy has been developed. It will be delivered and funded primarily through private sector Section 106 planning obligations. Furthermore, a network of primary and secondary thoroughfares providing quality walking and cycling will also be secured through the development process. The key objective is to achieve a high level of sustainable connectivity between and within the three key areas of the centre; the traditional Brierley Hill High Street District Centre, Waterfront Business Park and Merry Hill Shopping Centre. Dudley Boroughs economy has a large degree of self containment in that the majority (70.6%) of economically active people both live and work in the borough. In terms of retail and leisure, Merry Hill is the second most important retail centre in the West Midlands region, attracting 12% of the regions shoppers. Merry Hill is 68% self contained in terms of the loyalty of its local residential customer base. The proposed geographical catchment area for the project has long been a target area for lots of services particularly those relating to public health. This means that the BHATP programme will be working in a supportive environment. The area has high levels of deprivation, coronary heart disease (CHD), unemployment, crime and on 2009 Lifestyle survey data, a significantly higher than the Dudley and national averages for obesity. B2. Evidence As mentioned previously the surrounding highway network is already operating at capacity at peak times of the day, and therefore future growth, and in particular new trips in the peak hours need to be accommodated by public transport and active travel modes. Congestion in the area, in particular the High Street District Centre, lead to the declaration of the boroughs first Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) in 2008. Local Transport Plan Town Centre cordon monitoring surveys are undertaken every two years for the 9 West Midlands LTP centres. For Brierley Hill the last survey was carried out in 2009 and the 12 hour (7:00-19:00) typical in-bound vehicle split was as follows; Cars & light vans 94%, HGVs 3.5%, Buses 2% and Cycles 0.5%. The 2001 census data shows that for the 70,000 residents living in the bid catchment area, only 1.6% of journeys to work were made by cycling and 11% by walking. School travel surveys undertaken show the cycle mode share of the 15 primary schools inside the cordon stands at less than 1%, and at the 4 secondary schools inside the cordon just reaches 1%. These figures illustrate that the active travel mode share, in particular cycling, for journeys in and around the bid cordon are very low, which suggests there is great potential to realise an increase in the walk and in particular cycle mode shares through the implementation of initiatives contained in this bid.

Whilst this data provides a valuable level of baseline information, it is the intention to undertake further monitoring in the early stages of the programme. The extensive distribution of simple travel survey questionnaires will be undertaken, to better understand peoples travel choices for short journeys to and within the town centre area will provide more robust baseline information. This exercise will be repeated later in the programme to inform the overall evaluation process. B3. Objectives Within the West Midlands Local Transport Plan (LTP3), smarter choices are outlined as one of the key strategic principles. The BHATP contains a balanced package of measures that will provide a broad range of benefits for Brierley Hill town centre, and will play a significant role in delivering against the key LTP objectives; Economy, Climate Change, Health, Personal safety and security, Equality of opportunity, and Quality of life and local environment. The evidence, as set out in Section B2, demonstrates that a package of measures as outlined in Section C will deliver the following important benefits; - Increase the modal share of active travel modes - Playing a role in addressing the school run - Enhanced accessibility for walking and cycling - Reduced road accidents from transport in urban areas - Reduction in the overall number of car trips This in itself will deliver benefits for the congested highway network in terms of reduced congestion and hence improvements in journey times and journey time reliability, which is a key element of improving the local bus service offer. In addition to the direct transport benefits BHATP will also generate wider environmental, economic and societal benefits, including; - Improved local environment and air quality through a reduction in carbon emissions - Physical health benefits from an increase in active travel modes - Improved accessibility to workplaces, schools and community services leading to reduced social exclusion - Improved safety and security The first Implementation Plan (2011-2016) for LTP3 identifies the transport issues surrounding the centre of Brierley Hill, and the development of sustainable travel options in general terms (in particular walking and cycling), as key transport priorities for both the Borough of Dudley and the wider Black Country sub-region. The BHATP project fully supports and helps to address these priorities. The key objective of this project is to; Encourage active travel modal shift into and within Brierley Hill Centre and its surrounding catchment to support the economic growth aspirations of the Brierley Hill Area Action Plan.

The key project target is; To achieve an overall increase in the active travel mode share of short journeys to and within Brierley Hill Centre and its surrounding catchment by 50%.(the 2001 census baseline is 12.6% but a more accurate baseline will be determined through the distribution of simple travel survey questionnaires at the beginning of the project) SECTION C The package bid C1. Package description The BHATP seeks to promote and improve active travel accessibility to and within Brierley Hill town centre and its surrounding hinterland. The project will deliver a tailored package of targeted smarter choices based initiatives, together with complimentary capital infrastructure improvements. The bid is based on the delivery of 5 key elements over a 2 year period, commencing in September 2011. 1 Marketing & Communications This element underpins the entire project as all the smarter choice initiatives are reliant on a varied and flexible approach to marketing and communications. A wide range of measures will be employed throughout the project with the aim being to engage with the majority of the wider Brierley Hill population. This will be achieved with the assistance and expertise of the Councils Marcomms Team. Measures will include; - Distribution of Active Travel packs - BHATP website on dudley.gov.uk (including facebook & twitter) - Distribution of newsletters (hardcopy and e-format) to all businesses, community groups, residential units and schools within the catchment - Nomination of Active Travel Choice Rep in each school, business organisation and community group - Accreditation Scheme - Flyers, posters and leaflets for libraries, G.Ps, health centres and clinics - Journey Planning using walkit.com and cycle journey planner 2 Community Partnerships In order to maximise the engagement of the local communities 8 Local Active Travel Partnerships consisting of Community Groups and schools in each of the key residential areas will be established. An Active Travel Event will be held in a central area in each of the key residential catchment areas listed in Section A3 and shown on plan 1. These events are designed to enable all the partners to engage with the local residents by involving the Community Groups and schools to be actively involved in the organisation and running of the event, which can used by them to recruit members or to raise funds for the associations or schools to help sustain the initiative. This may be by running a table top sustainable fair to encourage the reuse of unwanted items such as unwanted bicycles. The events will include;

- Training support riders to lead guided rides ensuring sustainability beyond the LSTF period - Cycle training will be offered for all ages - At the event there will be Doctor Bike surgeries - Cycle skills competition - Cycle treasure hunt - Advice on personal travel planning - An opportunity to engage with Living Streets to carry out Community Street Audits to encourage active travel to Brierley Hill Centre - Eco driver training and alternative travel mode sessions 3 Education Partnerships The project catchment area includes 15 primary schools, 4 secondary schools and 2 Special Education Needs (SEN) schools which combined support over 8000 students. In addition the catchment includes college annexes for both Dudley and Stourbridge colleges. Various school smarter choice and active travel initiatives are proposed within the project. They aim to encourage modal shift by actively encouraging parents and students to walk and cycle, thereby reducing carbon emissions and reducing congestion. Active travel partnerships developed with each school will involve a range of initiatives to support the existing road safety and education programmes, including; - active travel Carbon Reduction Projects - pedestrian and Bikeability training for pupils - enhanced Walk once a week (WoW) schemes involving Living Streets - Identification of Park & Stride opportunities - transition resource for Year 6 & 7 - school parking awareness raising exercises - development of school Travelwise websites - Car free challenges - Cycle training for staff and post 16 - Eco Driver training - Parent focus groups to promote walking groups - cycle purchase salary sacrifice scheme - small match funding grants for cycle storage 4 Business Partnerships There are approximately 2500 businesses within the Brierley Hill area accounting for 23% of all businesses in Dudley Metropolitan Borough. 80% of these employ up to 10 people, therefore the focus will be on the 20% that contain a greater number of employees. Active travel partnerships developed with these employers will help them and their employees engage in a range of sustainable travel initiatives including; - A sustainable travel business partnership launch - Company Travelwise website - Car share website - Active travel workshops - small match funding grants for cycle storage

- Travel awareness days - Cycle and walking challenges - Walk to work week promotions - Eco driver training 5 Infrastructure Improvements Plan 1 illustrates the BHATP catchment area and how the Sustrans National Cycle Network Route 54 traverses through the heart of Brierley Hill linking the town centres of Stourbridge and Dudley. A number of active travel corridors have been identified (shown in red on the Plan 1) that link the 8 key residential catchments with the centre. These routes focus on the use of off road routes and quieter residential streets aiming to avoid busy heavily trafficked roads wherever possible. Small scale infrastructure improvements, including time and distance based signage along these corridors will be developed and implemented as part of the project to improve the walk and cycle experience and provide safe and convenient opportunities for sustainable connectivity to and within Brierley Hill Centre. Further minor infrastructure improvements will be identified through the community street audits, which will also be used to assess those corridors identified on Plan 1 in order to secure community engagement and ownership of the network being developed. C2. Package costs
Scheme element 1 Marketing & Communications Scheme element 2 Community Partherships Scheme element 3 Education Partnerships Scheme element 4 Business Partnerships Scheme element 5 Infrastructure Improvements GRAND TOTAL K Revenue Capital K Revenue Capital K Revenue Capital K Revenue Capital K Revenue Capital 2011-12 16 2011-12 26 2011-12 22 2011-12 24 2011-12 25 2012-13 23 2012-13 37 2012-13 32 2012-13 34 2012-13 45 2013-14 7 2013-14 11 2013-14 10 2013-14 10 2013-14 40 2014-15 Total 46 0 Total 74 0 Total 64 0 Total 68 0 Total 0 110 362

2014-15

2014-15

2014-15

2014-15

C3. Rationale and strategic fit Although the BHATP project has been packaged as 5 individual elements for the purpose of detailing the nature and cost of the programme, in order to achieve the maximum benefit, it is planned to deliver them as one integrated package. This approach provides the best opportunity to connect with all sectors of the local community and other key stakeholders, to ensure all types of journey; the school run, local commuting and leisure trips are all targeted and encouraged to consider more sustainable and healthier modes of travel.

At a strategic level, the economic development of the Black Country is being driven by the newly established Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) focused on three themes and six priorities. A key theme is Land use and transport change, and a priority in Transport. The adopted Black Country Joint Core Strategy (BCJCS) will shape regeneration, investment and growth to 2026. The Core Strategy identifies 6 key regeneration corridors which include Dudley to Brierley Hill. Brierley Hill is one of the 4 Strategic Centres as defined in the BCJCS and is also identified as an Impact Investment location within the Black Country Gowth Point area designation. The Dudley Borough Economic Development Strategy (2011/12 - 2013/14) sets out the overall aims for economic development. As part of its economic development strategy, Dudley Council will be increasing its focus on attracting investment into the Borough based on the development of key sites and the creation of employment opportunities, linked to wider cultural, housing and retail opportunities that are planned for the Borough, much of which is planned for the Brierley Hill area. Clearly economic growth for Dudley is focused on Brierley Hill and therefore sustainable travel choices are crucial to support this growth. The BHATP project will provide the enhanced sustainable connectivity vital to allow Brierley Hill to realise its economic potential. The capital infrastructure works will improve access to and routes through some of the boroughs Nature Reserves and Public Open Space and therefore provide a significant contribution to the aims of the Councils Parks and Green Space Strategy. The proposal will complement and contribute to the Boroughs Obesity Strategy, the main strategic target for the Primary Care Trust and the Council, the inequality strategy, the Healthy Towns programme, the Community Strategy, the Air Quality Action Plan and the Physical Activity in Community Environments (PAiCE) plan. There are also links with wider determinant health programmes around the prevention elements of diabetes, stroke and mental health and wellbeing. The successful implementation of the project will deliver a more sustainable transport network and hence an improved environment in and around Brierley Hill centre, that will not only benefit those living and working within the targeted catchment, but also residents elsewhere in the borough who need to access the town for employment, educational, leisure and shopping trips. C4. Community support The project is supported by the established Brierley Town Centre Partnership, which comprises a range of stakeholders with an interest in the existing and future role of the centre. This group will feed into the projects co-ordination group for the duration of the programme. At the Brierley Hill Area Action Plan examination in public in December 2010 community representatives from Brierley Hill identified the lack of walk and cycle connectivity as a significant problem for the town centre, and this is one of the key issues which this project seeks to address.

The Council has also been discussing the project with Westfield Shoppingtowns Ltd, the current owners of the Merry Hill Shopping Centre, who have confirmed in writing they are keen to be involved and assist the Council in working with the centres main retail employers and their staff. Many of these employees are within the 70,000 population that makes up the project catchment. The community partnerships will involve a Community Travel Awareness event held at a central venue within each of the 8 surrounding residential catchments. Having already made contact with the relevant community organisations, the first event will take place at the Thorns School who along with the local community groups are keen to support the initiatives proposed. SECTION D Value for money D1. Outcomes and value for money Specific outputs from the project are listed in Section E2 of this application form. The combined impact of these outputs is expected to generate a significant increase in the use of active travel modes, in particular for short journeys to and within the centre of Brierley Hill and the surrounding catchment area as identified on Plan 1. Given the wide range of initiatives contained within the proposal, it is difficult to quantify the overall combined impact and outcomes however, some specific examples are given below; Community Partnerships The index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) 2007 shows that 6 neighbourhoods in the Brierley Hill area fall within the top 10% most deprived in the country; this is a third of all neighbourhoods in the Borough identified as being in the top 10% most deprived in the country. This leads to health and social exclusion issues. Promotion of Sustainable travel through proposed initiatives such as Family cycle training, Active travel packs, setting up a community travelwise website and employing an Active Travel Choice Representative and personal journey planning will greatly help in tackling health issues such as obesity and breaking down barriers of social exclusion. Overall, 70,000 residents will be targeted through different initiatives; this represents approximately 23% of the boroughs population. One initiative proposed by Dudley is the family cycle training aimed at equipping individuals with skills and confidence to cycle on the road. Research by Department of Health has shown 24kg of carbon saved per person per year across all participants trained, 60% of people who train increase in their cycling a lot after their training. A pilot in Bristol showed 25% reduced their car use to some extent (www.lifecycleuk.org.uk).

Active Travel information Packs are another initiative Dudley MBC are proposing within the LSTF bid. These packs are designed to include local walking and cycling information. Inactive people will be targeted via GP surgeries, and libraries with an alternative pack for pupils at schools to increase cycling and walking to school. Initially an audience of 6000 people will be targeted through the Active Travel packs. Average cost of a pack will be approx 2 at 2010 prices. Distribution can be targeted with no ongoing cost. Research has shown 41% of people doing more everyday walking as a result of using the packs. A carbon saving of 13kg per person per year was averaged across all participants. (Vernon. D 2002 Sustainability and evidence of success: An 18-month follow up study of the Doorstep Walks initiative) Dudley is aiming for a similar success rate by specifically helping approx 6000 people walk more everyday and thereby saving 78,000kg of carbon per annum. By increasing the active travel options of 6000 people, it is hoped that short journeys of a 1 mile or 2mile round trip to the local shopping centre can be reduced on average 2 times per week. That is a potential saving of 6000 x 1.5miles x 2 per week x 52pa = 936,800 vehicle miles per annum saved. There is a projected spend of 65,000 on the community scheme part of the LSTF proposal. It is realistic for Dudley to deliver substantial benefit to help towards sustainable and active travel, improve health and obesity, reduce car travel and increase carbon savings within the local Brierley Hill community. Education Partnerships Previous initiatives undertaken by Dudley MBC in promoting sustainable and active travel amongst parents and children travelling to school has shown successful returns in modal shift. Walking Following consultation as part the schools Travel Plan Glynne Primary Schools parent, pupils and staff identified that a large percentage of pupils would walk to school if the school site had an entrance at the rear. Using their School Travel Grant a new gate and covered waiting area were installed. Walking rose by 12% and car usage has fallen by 11% Cycling Through the provision of new better located cycle parking facilities at Summerhill Secondary School together with improved infrastructure, provision of cycle training and Safer Routes to School projects, cycling levels increased from 5% in 2001 to 18% by 2009.

Walk Once a Week (WoW) In partnership with the Department of Health and Living Streets borough schools with high numbers of pupils travelling to school by car have been targeted to take part in the Walk Once a Week (WoW) campaign. During January 2011 WoW was launched at Ham Dingle Primary School and the number of pupils walking to school was raised from 33% (January 2010) to 71%. Dudley MBC aim to target 15 primary, 4 secondary schools and 2 SENs which combined support over 8000 students in total. The Dudley MBC 2010 School Travel surveys show the current children travel to school modal split is as follows; car 34.8%, car share 2.6%, public transport 6.5%, walking 53.9%, cycling 1.4% and other 0.8% The carbon savings per young person based on a 1 mile return journey to school over the year would be 190x0.3kg* (average small/large car average figure for 1 mile from www.transportdirect.info carbon calculator)= 57kg per young person per year. Based on previous results of active travel to school measures in Dudley, the following carbon savings can be assumed: Walking 8676 x 12% x 57kg = 59,344kg carbon saved. Cycling 8676 x 13% x 57kg = 64,289kg carbon saved. Total carbon saved through Active Travel to Sch initiatives = 123,633kg. From a value for money aspect, school active travel initiatives have shown in case studies to achieve on average 7.5% reduction in car trips, 4.5% increase in walking, and 3.4% - 6% increase in cycling. With an overall projected spend of 64,000 on the educational scheme part of the LSTF proposal, it is realistic for Dudley to achieve similar targets that will deliver substantial benefit to help towards sustainable and active travel within the Dudley educational and school communities. Business Partnerships There are approximately 2,500 businesses within the Brierley Hill project catchment area accounting for 23% of all businesses in the Dudley Metropolitan Borough. The sustainable travel initiatives proposed by Dudley MBC to help local businesses and their employees to engage in active travel include Walking to Work Schemes, Work place walking challenges, Travel Awareness Days, Active travel information packs and the setting up of a car share website. Car Share Scheme Research by www.liftshare.co.uk showed average benefit to cost ratio for all car schemes to be very high (72:1). The high BCRs are partly explained by the low operating costs averaging less than 10,000 per year. Each commuting journey removed saves an estimated 960kgs of carbon per year.

The study by Cairns S, Sloman L, Newson C, Anable J, Kirkbride A & Goodwin P (2004) Smarter Choices Changing the Way We Travel showed a 3% change to car share based on 20 organisations car share schemes in the first year and between 8% and 18% in the following years. The Brierley Hill Travel Cordon Survey undertaken for Local Transport Plan (LTP) monitoring in 2010 shows approximately 60,000 vehicles travelling within the area on a given week day. 2,500 businesses x 10 staff (minimum average) = 25,000 employees. Census 2001 data shows 60% travel to work by car within the Brierley Hill area averaging 8km. Therefore 15,000 business employees within Brierley Hill travel by car. The car share scheme will aim to attract 450 motorists (3%) within the 1st year of operation. Assume employees will car share 50% of their journeys throughout the year 50% of cars will still be on the roads. 225 employees x 8km saved x 232/2 working days pa = 208,800 vehicle km saved pa. Carbon saving is calculated at 204kg of carbon per person per year based on car sharing alone. (Cairns S, Newson C, Davis A, 2010 Understanding successful travel plan initiatives in the UK) Therefore Dudley MBC proposed Car share scheme carbon saving is equal to: 450 people x 204kg carbon saved = 91,800 kg carbon saved. The estimated set up cost of the scheme is set at 16,000. Dudley MBC also propose initiatives such as Work Place challenges and Walking to Work initiatives, cycle training and cycle challenge days. Work place challenges on average cost 25 per employee. Dudley aim to target 200 staff at 5000 overall cost with a view to achieving 3,400kg of carbon saving and 83,200 vehicle km saving per annum based on reduced car use for work at least once a week. It is estimated that an overall spend of 68,000 on sustainable transport measures for businesses and the workplace within Brierley Hill will show a substantial return through an increase in walking and cycling, vehicle miles saved per annum and overall carbon reduction, and this represents excellent value for money. As stated above the programme will give some measurable outcomes, but there will also be quantifiable data that the programme is a contributor to but not the only variable and may take years to measure, such as reduction in obesity, CHD, and improvements in air quality etc. However there will be a number of less quantifiable but equally important benefits that may happen years down the line such as an increased sense of wellbeing, increased community cohesion and improved satisfaction.

D2. Financial sustainability The basis of the approach to the smarter choices elements of the project is to empower the local residents and communities within the Brierley Hill catchment to continue and expand the active travel opportunities introduced as part of the BHATP project. The key to the projects longer term sustainability will be giving local people and community representatives the skills to lead walks, cycle rides and community street audits themselves. Given the importance of sustainable travel to Brierley Hills future growth, and its importance in the LTP longer term strategy, the Council will seek to support this agenda beyond the life of the LSTF. Further funding opportunities through Section 106 developer contributions may also support this initiative. SECTION E Deliverability E1. Implementation Project Implementation will be managed and co-ordinated by a newly formed Brierley Hill Active Travel Partnership Group. This group, being chaired by the Bid Manager, will comprise a lead officer for each of the 5 elements of the project as set out in Section C, a representative from the Councils finance section and representatives from all key partners, namely; NHS Dudley, Living Streets and Sustrans. Other key stakeholders including a representative from the well established Brierley Hill Town Centre Partnership will be encouraged to join the group. This group will manage and co-ordinate the overall delivery of the project and report quarterly to a BHATP Project Board chaired by the Senior Responsible Officer for the bid. The majority of the smarter choices initiatives will be delivered on the ground through the Councils Road Safety and Travel Awareness Team who employ casual Road Safety Assistants. This provides a flexible resource of trained support staff who can respond to the changing demands of the project. This model is based on the project management structure successfully employed for the delivery of Dudleys Healthy Towns Programme. E2. Output milestones The table below shows the key outputs for the project by year; Key Output Description
Community travel awareness events Community Eco Driving Training Sessions (15-20 delegates) Distribution of Active Travel Packs Production & distribution of quarterly newsletters Personal Journey Planning Sessions Group cycle rides with trained leader Annual review of School Active Travel Strategy and Travel Plans Completion of Pedestrian Training for pupils

Output (No.) Year 1

(Sept 11 Aug 12)

Output (No.) Year 2

(Sept 12 Aug 13)

5 5 4500 4 12 15 21 300

3 3 1500 4 8 9 21 200

Completion of Cycle Training for pupils Enhanced WoW implemented in schools Transition Training delivered to Year 6 pupils Development of School Travelwise websites Parent focus groups to promote walking/street audits Business Active Travel Workshops Company Cycle & Walking Challenges Company Travel to Work surveys Implementation of Company Travelwise website Company Eco Driving Training Sessions (15-20 delegates) Companies signed up to Car Share Scheme Doctor Bike sessions Active travel corridor developed and implemented

1200 ongoing 600 ongoing ongoing 2 2 100 100 3 3 8 5km

1200 15 200 21 15 2 2 100 100 3 3 4 10km

E3. Summary of key risks Key Risk 1 - Governance

Reduction in Political support from the Council L L Submission of LSTF bid and LTP3 approved by Cabinet and Council. Strong cross party support for sustainable travel initiatives to support growth. Regular reports to Cabinet member for transportation. Formal support received from all key partners. Key partners form part of the BHATP Co-ordination group. Project SRO is senior manager within the Council and Chair of the BHATP Project Board. Marketing and Communications is a key element of the bid and will be carried out through a range of initiatives. Good contacts and communication channels with schools and community groups already exist. Capital design and implementation teams have significant experience in this area. Appropriate contractural delivery arrangements already in place. Likelihood H/M/L Impact H/M/L

Mitigation

Reduction in support from key partners

2 - Leadership
Project Director unable to lead effectively L L

3 - Engagement
Failure to engage with communities, schools and businesses

4 - Delivery
Lack of capacity to deliver the capital elements of the programme L L

E4. Project evaluation Dudley and its partners are keen to inform any evaluation process and both the existing and additional baseline data to be collected as identified in section B2 will greatly assist this process.

PLAN 1 Brierley Hill Active Travel Partnership Area

Letters of Endorsement and Support.