1.       CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES AND IMPLICATIONS

2.      INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

2.      

2.1     Kent County Council (KCC) is currently consulting on the Kent Cycling & Walking Infrastructure Plan (KCWIP). The consultation runs from the 1^st November 2023 to 10^th January 2024.

2.2     The KCWIP is part of the Government’s Local Cycling & Walking Infrastructure Plan process. It has a 10-year timeframe but is a ‘living document’ in that it will be subject to regular review. This process was developed by the Department for Transport between 2016 to present. These plans are to be used as the primary strategies for walking & cycling investment decisions. They also involve the development of a local cycling and walking infrastructure plans at a district or borough level to support the work of the Local Plan. The key outputs of this process as described by the DfT are threefold:

·     a network plan for walking and cycling which identifies preferred routes and core zones for further development.

·     a prioritised programme of infrastructure improvements for future investment

·     a report which sets out the underlying analysis carried out and provides a narrative which supports the identified improvements and network.

2.3     At present Maidstone Borough Council is preparing for the development of its own Local Council Cycling & Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) to cover the Borough. This will be complementary to the KCWIP once developed.

2.4     This consultation is the second stage of consultation, but the first public consultation on the KCWIP. The first stage was a closed stakeholder consultation to which the Council did respond in July 2023.

Consultation content 

2.5     The consultation document deals with two principal issues. Firstly, priority cycling routes proposed for the county, and secondly proposed walking and wheeling zones. These can be located on pages 10 to 16 of background document 1.

2.6     The priority cycling routes are those that have been identified to best support travel by that mode and will be prioritised for investment. Within Maidstone Borough KCC have identified a route between Maidstone East Railway Station and Sittingbourne Railway Station via Detling, Hartlip, Kemlsey & Sittingbourne. A detailed route map has been attached to this report in Background document 2.

2.7     The proposed walking and wheeling zones are 2km radius areas from 15 identified town centres where intervention to encourage walking and cycling are proposed. None have been identified for Maidstone Borough.

Maidstone Borough Council response

2.8     The proposed full response on behalf of Maidstone Borough Council to the KCWIP consultation can be found in Appendix 1. However, set out below is a summary of that response.

2.9     In short, the proposed response makes the following points:

·         Maidstone Borough Council would like to see Maidstone town centre as a walking zone in line with its adopted strategies.

·         The proposed zones and routes do not appear to factor in projected growth and the Council feels that this should be the case now that the Local Plan Review is at an advanced stage.

·         The proposed cycling routes need to be amended to support cycling to the rural service centres as stated in the adopted Maidstone Integrated Transport Strategy and Maidstone walking & Cycling Strategy.

What happens next?

2.10     The KCWIP document suggests that following the consultation a consultation report will be produced and published. It is planned then intended for the document will be adopted by KCC in Spring 2024. The document will then be used to secure funding for the proposals.

3.   AVAILABLE OPTIONS

3.1     Option 1: That the Planning, Infrastructure and Economic Development Policy Advisory Committee recommend that the draft response to the consultation be approved by the Cabinet Member for Planning, Infrastructure and Economic Development. This would allow the response to be sent by the submission deadline of 10 January 2024.

3.2     Option 2: That the Planning, Infrastructure and Economic Development Policy Advisory Committee recommend that the draft response be approved by the Cabinet Member for Planning, Infrastructure and Economic Development, subject to further comments and changes. Depending on the extent and timing of the receipt of these comments, this would allow the response to be sent by the submission deadline of 10 January 2024.

3.3     Option 3: That the Planning, Infrastructure and Economic Development Policy Advisory Committee recommend that the draft response is not approved by the Cabinet Member for Planning, Infrastructure and Economic Development. However, this would mean the response would not be sent and the Council’s views on the KCWIP would not be provided to KCC.

4.        PREFERRED OPTION AND REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS

4.1     Option 1: That the Planning, Infrastructure and Economic Development Policy Advisory Committee recommend that the draft response to the consultation be approved by the Cabinet Member for Planning, Infrastructure and Economic Development. This would allow the response to be sent by the submission deadline.

5.       RISK

5.1    The risk associated with the recommendation, including the risks should the Council not act as recommended, have been considered in line with the Council’s Risk management Framework.

5.2    If agreement is secured, per the recommendations, then we are satisfied that the risks associated are within the Council’s risk appetite and will be managed as per the Policy.

6.       NEXT STEPS: COMMUNICATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DECISION

6.1     If agreed, the response provided as Appendix 1 will be presented to the Cabinet Member and then if approved submitted to Kent County Council on behalf of Maidstone Borough Council.

7.        REPORT APPENDICES

The following documents are to be published with this report and form part of the report:

·         Appendix 1: Draft Response to Kent Cycling & Walking Infrastructure Plan consultation.

8.        BACKGROUND PAPERS

·         Background document 1: Kent Cycling & Walking Infrastructure Plan: Consultation Document - Kent Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan | Let’s talk Kent

·         Background document 2: Kent Cycling & Walking Infrastructure Plan: Cycling Route 14 Maidstone to Sittingbourne - Kent Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan | Let’s talk Kent