Michael Barry Cumbria County Council @ DecarboN8 Cumbria: Mobility Transformation 2037 Symposium (22 November 2022, Carlisle)

1. Serving the people of Cumbria
Cumbria Transport
Infrastructure Plan

2. Setting the Context
Future of Transport from 1st April 2023
On 1st April 2023 the 7 Sovereign
Cumbria Councils will be replaced
with 2 new Unitary Councils
(single tier authorities).
Westmorland and Furness &
Cumberland will become the
Transport Authorities
Until 1st April 2023 all current
services and projects will continue
to be delivered by the existing
councils, overseen by the
councillors on those councils
including highways and transport

3. Serving the people of Cumbria
Importance of Transport
• Transport is at the heart of successful places
• Size, sparsity of population and rural nature of the
County is a significant consideration
• Need for people to travel further for jobs, to meet
friends and family and to access services
• Transport related social exclusion and wellbeing a
factor for many urban and rural communities
• Need for transport offer to be attractive, competitive
and to be decarbonising at pace

4. Serving the people of Cumbria
Cumbria Transport
Infrastructure Plan
• Adopted February 2022
• “In 2037 Cumbria will be one of the best connected rural
geographies in the UK. Embracing innovation and
opportunity; clean growth and decarbonising transport
networks will be integral to a growing, inclusive economy
where our communities will be able to access opportunities,
services, education and leisure facilities. Cumbria will be a
destination of choice; where people choose to live, visit and
work.”
• Objectives surrounding:
– Clean and Healthy Cumbria
– Connected Cumbria
– Community Cumbria
• Decarbonisation embedded as cross cutting theme
• This plan will be passed to the new authorities to inform their
new policies and Local Transport Plans

5. Serving the people of Cumbria
Plan as a Driver for Change

6. Serving the people of Cumbria
Ambition for 2037 - Cumbria will be known as one of
the best places to walk and cycle in the UK. It
promotes:
1. High quality local and walking networks in
Cumbria’s main settlements
2. Attractive and safe cycling routes connecting the
main settlements and wider countryside providing
access to NPs, AONBs and WHS.
3. New traffic-free trails suitable for cycling and
walking
4. Cumbria will be an exemplar location for design
and installation of cycling routes and infrastructure
5. Establishment of cycle hubs at key locations
6. Active travel supporting better health and
wellbeing of communities
Moving Forwards - Active Travel

7. Serving the people of Cumbria
Strategic Corridors
Strategic Corridors
• Eden and Lune Valleys
• North Lakes and Pennines
• Hadrians Wall and West Coast
• Heart of the Lakes
• Morecambe Bay
Seeks to connect places, supporting local and
longer distance trips

8. Serving the people of Cumbria
LCWIPs
• Form a vital part of the Government’s strategy to
increase the number of trips made by foot or cycle
• A strategic and long term approach to identifying cycling
and walking networks
• Targeting modal shift for shorter journeys
• Provide a basis for further scheme development and
seeking of funding to deliver the plans
• LCWIPs for Barrow, Carlisle, Kendal, Penrith,
Whitehaven and Workington

9. Serving the people of Cumbria
Sustainable Transport
• Rail Transport
– Improving station offer and accessibility
– Enhanced infrastructure and services
• Bus Travel
– Bus Service Improvement Plan focused on
improving services and infrastructure
– Bring forward Rural Mobility Pilot
• Zero Emission Vehicles
– Defining priority locations for delivery
– Understanding energy transmission needs
• Integration
– Active and sustainable travel integral to
regeneration, town centres and planning
– Promoting role of digital infrastructure in reducing
need to travel / delivery of transport innovation

10. Serving the people of Cumbria
• CTIP fundamentally seeking to promote greater travel
options for communities
• Highlighted additional areas of work:
– What does better accessibility look like in rural
Cumbria; concepts like “20 minute communities”
– How best to monitor the resilience and reliability of
our networks
– What could new models for delivery of rural public
transport services look like
– What might the full range of alternative fuel
provision in Cumbria look like
Rural Mobility Framework

11. Serving the people of Cumbria
Partnership and Delivery

12. Next Steps
• Elected Members will be the ultimate policy-makers
and represent their communities and bring their views
into the Council’s decision-making process.
• Both Shadow authorities are developing the
fundamental principles, vision and overarching plan that
will shape their approach to service delivery, policy, how
they work with partners and engage residents.
• Each has produced a Council Plan to set out their
vision, values and areas of focus. This will be
underpinned by a Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP).
• Ongoing dialogue with partnerships, communities and
other statutory bodies
• From April they will develop and adopt key policies
transport, decarbonisation, climate change