2021 Council Elections – Newcastle City Council

Council elections take place on Thursday 6th May this year. You can find out who is up for election in your ward here.

We have written to the transport leads for the four main parties, Labour, Liberal Democrats, Greens and Conservatives, to ask for their views on active travel. You can see their responses below.

These are the questions we put to the parties:

1. How do you propose to built a cycling network (a combination of cycleways on main roads and filtered neighbourhoods where through traffic is removed) which would achieve mode shift and meet climate change commitments in Newcastle?

2. How would you make streets outside all schools in the city safer for children and young people travelling to and from school and how would you ensure that secondary school children can safely walk or cycle to school independently?

3. How would you reallocate road space/parking space in the city centre to people, while maintaining cycling permeability, in order to improve air quality?

4. How would you communicate potential changes to the street network to the public and how would you ensure that public consultation is inclusive?

5. How would you ensure that network plans, and designs for walking, cycling and the urban realm more generally, are inclusive and of the highest standard (following the most up-to-date guidance) and how would you work with the Newcastle Cycling Campaign and other active travel stakeholders in the city to achieve this?

Responses listed in alphabetical order of party name.

Newcastle Conservative Party

No response to date.

Our comments: It’s disappointing that the Conservative Party did not respond, given that it was a Conservative government which set out the ambitious Gear Change policy last summer.

Newcastle Green Party response

Response from Alistair Ford, Newcastle Green Party.

Thanks for this opportunity to set out our transport policies for the city. We’ve been working hard on our ‘Greenprint’ for Newcastle and sustainable transport is clearly a vital part of that. Tackling climate change, and the other social and environmental problems that are caused by our current transport mix, are a key priority of the Green Party.

In answer to your specific questions:

Climate change commitments made by the city, and our obligations under the Paris Agreement, mean that we have to decarbonise transport in a matter of decades. To do this Newcastle Green Party would follow the ‘Avoid-Shift-Improve’ approach, which focusses first on reducing the need to travel (through more walkable or ’15-minute’ neighbourhoods, home working, better land-use planning etc), then on shifting journeys to more sustainable modes, and finally on the improvements that technology can bring about.

The majority of our journeys begin or end at home, so we would prioritise the creation of safe streets in every neighbourhood by reducing the speed and volume of traffic through a combination of permeable filters, bus gates, and one-way streets. This is not a ‘war on the motorist’, as everyone would still be able to access their property by car. Such low-traffic neighbourhoods should be designed with the involvement of local residents to identify optimum locations of filters and avoid unintended knock-on effects on neighbouring streets.

Taking large volumes of motor traffic off our residential streets will help to create ‘blocks’, where walking and cycling (and playing out!) are safe, where air is clean, where noise is reduced, and where quality of life for residents is improved. These blocks will then need to be linked by providing safe, segregated cycling infrastructure and improved walking facilities (including responsive pedestrian and cycle crossings) on the remaining major traffic routes. In many cases in our city there are dual carriageways through urban areas where road space could be taken from motor traffic in order to provide direct and convenient cycling infrastructure. Routes should be as direct or more direct than the equivalent private car journey.

These measures would constitute both a carrot and a stick, making driving less attractive for short journeys but also making walking and cycling more attractive. They must be part of a portfolio of transport measures, including reviews of parking prices, improved public transport (with affordable integrated tickets), and secure cycle parking. Only by providing high-quality infrastructure can we ensure that we enable people to make the change to sustainable transport fast enough to meet our climate change commitments.

We support the City Council’s recent announcement of pilot ‘school streets’, which remove motor traffic from outside schools at drop-off and pick-up times. We have been calling for this for a number of years and would extend the scheme to all schools in the city, enforced by ANPR cameras. We also need to conduct a review of school catchments to minimise the distances that children have to travel to school, maximising the number who can walk or cycle. We would enable the creation of walking or cycling school buses led by parents to ensure children could travel to school safely without needing to be driven in a car.

The key to enabling children of all ages to walk or cycle to school is the safe infrastructure highlighted in the previous answer. We would ensure that all cycle infrastructure is designed to the highest LTN 1/20 standard, meaning that it is safe for use by independent children. Creating low-traffic neighbourhoods will enable those children to reach the infrastructure quickly and directly at the beginning of their school journeys, and school streets will ensure a safe arrival at school. Finally, all the city’s schools should provide sufficient cycle parking to meet the demands of their students.

3. How would you reallocate road space/parking space in the city centre to people, while maintaining cycling permeability, in order to improve air quality?

The City Council has taken the first steps to reallocate road space to people with its announcements for Blackett Street and Pilgrim Street. These streets must remain open for cycling, with dedicated infrastructure, to ensure quick and direct cross-city journey by bike. A visit to any Dutch city will show you how easy and effective this can be.

The Green Party would look more widely than these plans though, removing through traffic from the city centre completely with a ‘to not through‘ approach, ensuring car access to car parks where necessary. We need to plan for a future with vastly reduced car use, however, so much more space (e.g. on Mosley Street, Collingwood Street, Percy Street, St James Boulevard) could be reallocated to active travel. That reallocation of space should also go for parking, with on-street parking reduced or removed in order to provide cycle parking or additional space for pedestrians.

Again, this must be part of a wider portfolio of measures to enable the shift to sustainable transport in the city centre. This must include improved park and ride options, a Workplace Parking Levy to disincentivise car commuting whilst generating revenue for sustainable transport schemes, a dedicated bus loop free from traffic congestion, and electric or hydrogen buses. This is all part of our joined-up Avoid-Shift-Improve approach! We would work with organisations like the North East Chamber of Commerce and the NE1 Business Improvement District to ensure funding was secured to help with the transition and subsidies were redirected towards sustainable travel schemes.

4. How would you communicate potential changes to the street network to the public and how would you ensure that public consultation is inclusive?

Communication is key, as such large-scale changes need the support of as many people as possible if they are to succeed. We believe it is the job of elected representatives to advocate for change where it is needed, and to spell out the many benefits of a shift to sustainable transport. Numerous surveys have shown widespread support for improved walking and cycling infrastructure, and many local residents would love the choice to use active travel if it was a safe, convenient option.

The Green Party would also speak for those people whose voices are often completely absent from transport debates. We know that 4 in 10 households in our city have no access to a car, yet we rarely hear from those who don’t drive (especially young people!) when changes are proposed. We must ensure that all voices are included in any consultation, whatever their age, sex, ethnicity, income, or mode of transport.

As elected councillors, we would focus on the positives in any consultation, discussing what could be gained rather than what could be lost. We would also ensure that consultations weren’t seen as referenda where people ‘vote’ for a binary choice. They should be opportunities to discuss, as a community, potential changes and understand different perspectives. The Green Party believe in democracy happening at the most local level possible, so residents are best placed to decide how best to make their streets safer for all! This does not mean discussing if we should improve walking and cycling, but how we do it.

The Newcastle Green Party membership includes a large number of active travel campaigners who have played an active role in community organisations like the various SPACE groups in the city, Newcastle Cycle Campaign, and discussions on the future of the Blue House roundabout and the Gosforth Garden Village. In power, we would seek to harness the knowledge and passion of these groups to drive forward the change we need for transport in our city.

By ensuring that councillors, officers, campaign groups, and residents work together on walking and cycling schemes, we can embrace the local knowledge, the political will, and the technical expertise of all to ensure delivered infrastructure is inclusive, of high quality, and well-used. As mentioned above, we would demand that all infrastructure met the LTN 1/20 standards and that designs were shaped with disability groups and other organisations (including the Youth Council and Elders Council).

We also understand the importance of a network for cycling, not a piecemeal set of schemes. We would work as quickly as possible to finalise, publish, and advertise a proposed cycle network for the whole city, covering major residential areas, workplaces, education sites, and leisure facilities. Crucially, active travel planning must also consider land-use: we have called time and time again for a re-think on the Newcastle Core Strategy, which locks us into car-dependent out-of-town housing and employment sites. We must reconsider where and how we build homes to make active travel an obvious choice for as many journeys as possible in our city.

Our comments: Excellent understanding of the need to tackle car dependency through a range of infrastructure measures (making it less convenient to drive and more attractive to cycle and walk). Only ones to mention LTN 1/20 and good to see a understanding of the importance of design quality and the role of standards, something which is still a bit hit-and-miss in the city despite huge improvements over the years. Very positive to see them stating the importance of political will and an approach to consultation which involves discussing how to make change not whether there should be changes. Good to see them making the connection with land use planning.

Newcastle Labour Party response

Response from Arlene Ainsley, currently Cabinet Member for Transport and Air Quality.

Many thanks for sending me the questions regarding transport/cycling/road space.

Responses to the questions are set out below:

1. How do you propose to build a cycling network (a combination of cycleways on main roads and filtered neighbourhoods where through traffic is removed) which would achieve mode shift and meet climate change commitments in Newcastle?

There should be a network of cycleways across the city and this can be achieved by reallocating road space on major routes. We also have a commitment to introduce low traffic neighbourhoods which will include closing roads to motorised vehicles. This will increase the space for all forms of active travel while making the roads in those neighbourhoods safer for everyone. As transport is responsible for approximately 30% of emissions it’s essential that we reduce the reliance on cars in order to meet climate change commitments.

We have a commitment to introduce school streets in as many schools as possible right across the city. At the moment local authorities do not have the enforcement powers but through working in partnership with Northumbria Police Newcastle City Council is introducing a school streets pilot scheme in 11 schools in the summer term. We need a change in the legislation which would give local authorities the necessary enforcement powers to enable councils to introduce school streets and will lobby government for this change.

The speed of motorised vehicles should be reduced to 20mph, not just outside of schools but in all residential streets as well reducing speed limits on other roads which would all contribute to making the network safer for children and young people to cycle.

3. How would you reallocate road space/parking space in the city centre to people, while maintaining cycling permeability, in order to improve air quality?

My ambition is to pedestrianise the entire city centre within the bus loop. This would of course, include cycling permeability in a similar scheme to that recently introduced on Grey Street. By reducing the number of cars driving through the city the streets will become safer for pedestrians and cyclists and this reduction will also reduce the need for parking in the city centre. Some of the space currently used for car parking could then be repurposed including an increase in space for cycle parking. All of these measures will contribute to improving air quality.

4. How would you communicate potential changes to the street network to the public and how would you ensure that public consultation is inclusive?

It’s essential that we take the public with us on any potential changes and clear communication will help with this. Consultation can be done successfully online but there must be other formats available to those who don’t have access to technology. Meetings with community groups of interest and identity (covid permitting), drop in sessions in key locations are also important methods of consultation. All documentation must be available in a range of languages.

It’s essential that the opportunity is given to all stakeholder groups to contribute their ideas and opinions on network plans. This could be done prior to a more general consultation to give these groups, including Newcastle Cycling Campaign, the opportunity to shape the plans.

I thought you might also be interested in the following manifesto commitments relating to transport:

Take decisive action to tackle poor air quality, including introducing a Clean Air Zone in areas most affected by poor air quality;
Pedestrianise more areas in the city centre, improve and extend bus priority lanes across the city and campaign for cheaper bus fares;
Introduce Play Streets / Low Traffic Neighbourhoods / School Street pilots
Continue to lobby government for greater investment in public transport, including integrated smart ticketing, despite Government’s clawing back of funds to enable this work, and for local authorities to have more control over public transport provision in their area;
Seek funding to introduce more electric vehicle charging points across Newcastle, with the aim of having the most comprehensive charging network of any UK city;.
Extend our commitment to biodiversity by installing bee friendly roofs on bus shelters and other appropriate locations, introducing wildflower verges and other spaces, and supporting wildlife habitats and corridors

The full Labour manifesto can be found at manifesto-2021-web-1.pdf (newcastlelabour.org.uk)

Our comments: Labour have an advantage in that they have demonstrated that they can deliver on their promises, which they have done over the last year. Clearly spells out the need for change and the importance of walking and cycling infrastructure to contribute to net zero goals and tackling air pollution. Some very strong statements building on what they have achieved to date and clear commitments to road space reallocation to cycling and walking, school streets, city centre pedestrianisation and low traffic neighbourhoods. Good to see an ambition to make consultation more inclusive and involve stakeholder groups at an early stage. Two extra points stand out – a desire to see 20mph on all streets and a commitment to biodiversity. The latter has been sorely missing from some schemes in recent years. Would be good to also see a commitment to adopting LTN 1/20 for all future schemes.

Newcastle Liberal Democrat Party response

Joint response from Greg Stone (Opposition spokesperson on transport) and Gareth Kane (Opposition spokesperson on sustainability).

1 How do you propose to build a cycling network (a combination of cycleways on main roads and filtered neighbourhoods where through traffic is removed) which would achieve mode shift and meet climate change commitments in Newcastle?

We have a cycling strategy which has only ever been partially implemented, based on a series of strategic routes linked by secondary routes to produce a grid across the city for journeys long and short. We still believe this network should be the highest priority to deliver modal shift which will in turn give low traffic neighbourhoods headroom to operate without simply displacing traffic onto main roads. Clearly there will be a need to fund the associated infrastructure. We will seek to effectively integrate LCWIP priorities within transport funding bidding strategy.

2 How would you make streets outside all schools in the city safer for children and young people travelling to and from school and how would you ensure secondary school children can safely walk or cycle to school independently?

We’ve been pressing NCC to implement school streets as per the example of other cities and are pleased the administration has recently shifted its position and allowed a number of pilots, having refused our suggestion for trial schemes as “legally impossible” as recently as February. We’d like to see upgrades to cycle infrastructure around all secondary schools and are disappointed with the council’s lack of progress on introducing promised improvements to cycle routes to secondary schools such as Jesmond Park Academy.

3 How would you reallocate road space / parking space in the city centre to people, while maintaining cycle permeability, in order to improve air quality?

We’d like to see a network of secure cycle parking at major locations across the city using a single key fob system. Empty retail units could be used to minimise set up costs. In the city centre we have long campaigned for an ‘inner ring’ of clear signposted safe cycle routes to allow cycles to circulate easily between key locations such as the station, universities, Library, Civic Centre etc.).

We are mindful of the importance of maintaining effective bus movement routes within the city centre. We are conscious of the potential difficulties of bus/cycle interaction on key routes and would aim to identify win-win solutions to any conflicts. We are keen to significantly extend electric / other clean bus service provision in the city centre and beyond.

4 How would you communicate potential changes to the street network to the public and how would you ensure that public consultation is inclusive?

We favour meaningful consultation which involves all residents and road / pavement users of an area as well as those already engaging with active travel, avoiding some of the problems that arose in Streets for People. This consultation should be focused on objectives of increasing travel and mobility options and modes, creating more pleasant local environments and improving air quality, rather than seeking endorsement of pre-conceived solutions.

5 How would you ensure that network plans and designs for walking, cycling, and the urban realm more generally, are inclusive and of the highest standard (following mot up to date guidance) and how would you work with the Newcastle Cycling Campaign and other active travel stakeholders in the city to achieve this?

We will work with all stakeholders to realise our vision of a sustainable transport system and will have suitable regard to national and European examples of good practice, whilst recognising that there may be practical constraints in relation to funding and delivery. We support the objective of making all cycling routes accessible for the “12yo cyclist” and would like all cycle facilities to be open to cargo bikes, hand cycles, and trishaws and be designed with pedestrians with visual impairment and/or limited mobility in mind.

Our comments: Good to see that they want the cycling network to be an integral part of city transport policy and understand the value of the LCWIP. Less clear on how they plan to implement cycleways on main roads without installing low traffic neighourhoods first or in parallel – taking a network approach and dealing with those side roads is important to make routes safe and to save money (bollards are cheap and over-engineered junctions are expensive). Good to see them acknowledge the importance of roads around primary and secondary schools. Plans for the city centre are the weakest point – apart from cycle parking, which is very detailed, intentions for cycling and buses are unclear and walking isn’t mentioned at all. A strong point – only ones to mention the need to design and build cycling infrastructure which is truly inclusive: “and would like all cycle facilities to be open to cargo bikes, hand cycles, and trishaws and be designed with pedestrians with visual impairment and/or limited mobility in mind”. Would be good to see a clear statement of intention to adopt LTN 1/20.