Through the LTP, we will deliver accessible, high-quality spaces and infrastructure, where everyone feels safe and able to travel, benefitting the health and wellbeing of our residents. Through improving transport connections and enhancing our places, we will tackle some of the root causes of deprivation, poor health and social isolation. We will connect people with new opportunities, regenerate communities and help build healthy living into day-to-day activities.
Concerns about safety and security, impacts of traffic, roads which are difficult to cross, and the overall quality of the built environment directly impact how people feel about where they live. Road safety in Lancashire is a particular challenge, and collisions are a leading cause of death for children and young people.
Our economy will benefit from improving the health and wellbeing of our residents by enabling more people to get back into work and training. Furthermore, addressing road safety will reduce the impact on health services and provide an economic benefit.
We will create places that people can feel proud of and fully integrated within. By creating safer and more welcoming streets, we will help build more active, engaged communities and a greater sense of belonging. Ensuring that new developments are well connected and sustainable gives opportunities to reduce existing issues such as isolation, creates the conditions for sustainable and inclusive growth, and attracts inward investment. Improving the accessibility and affordability of public transport is critical to ensuring broader and more equitable access to employment, services and centres.
| Safe and vibrant communities policies | Stronger | Fairer | Sustainable | Cross-cutting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SV1: Empower everyone to travel safely and securely, wherever they go | Strong alignment | Strongest alignment | Alignment | No alignment |
| SV2: Deliver accessible and affordable public transport | Strong alignment | Strongest alignment | Strongest alignment | No alignment |
| SV3: Develop accessible, high-quality spaces and infrastructure | Strong alignment | Strongest alignment | Strong alignment | Strong alignment |
| SV4: Embed placemaking in new developments | Strong alignment | Strong alignment | Strongest alignment | No alignment |
| SV5: Reduce adverse impacts of travel on communities | Alignment | Strongest alignment | Strong alignment | No alignment |
Empower everyone to travel safely and securely, wherever they go (Policy SV1)
We will apply a ‘vision zero’ approach to road safety – an ambition for there to be no fatalities or serious injuries on our road network. Our approach to road safety will consider the locations of collision hotspots, road user behaviour, and personal security.
The number of people killed or seriously injured through traffic collisions across Lancashire has returned to pre-pandemic levels, and we have a higher rate of road traffic collisions than the national average. Some of the high-risk roads in Lancashire include the A671 through Bacup, A682 through Gisburn, and the A6062 at Ewood Park, as well as several routes in Blackpool town centre. There are also collision hotspots for under-16s in Blackpool, Blackburn and Preston, highlighting a substantial safety issue for young and vulnerable people in our urban areas.
This presents substantial risks for all vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists - these groups are at a greater risk of injury because they do not have the same physical protection as people in cars and other vehicles. In particular, concerns such as traffic volumes, perceived safety, and the safety of junctions have been identified as key factors discouraging people from cycling in Lancashire
Our evidence base indicates that personal security is also a challenge in Lancashire. Many people do not feel safe when using our roads to walk, cycle or use public transport. In addition, our evidence base suggests that there are particular issues in getting home safely for women, girls and young people, as well as concerns around transport interchanges, when walking or cycling, and on public transport.
Through the Lancashire Road Safety Partnership, we are committed to the promotion of: Safer People, Safer Speeds, Safer Vehicles, Safer Roads, and Post Collision Response. We will work closely with community safety, and health and wellbeing partnerships, to ensure our networks are safe and meet the needs of our residents.
We will continue to develop and deliver schemes and initiatives to improve safety near to schools across Lancashire to protect our most vulnerable road users. We will continue to target road safety improvements in key problem areas. In addition, our public realm and active travel schemes will be designed with safety and security in mind, including features like CCTV and street lighting. Our aim will be to complement infrastructure improvements with education and training targeted at schools, older people and other key groups of the population, identified through understanding common causes of collisions.
Case study - Preston to Penwortham cycleway
The Preston to Penwortham cycleway opened in 2022. This scheme included the transformation of the Broadgate/Fishergate Hill junction and used the innovative Cycle Optimised Protected Signals (CYCLOPS) system to provide separation between modes. In turn, this has reduced the risk of conflict between cyclists, pedestrians and vehicles, significantly improving both safety and journey time reliability. In turn, there has been a substantial uptake of cycling through this junction, with the number of cyclists per day increasing by 45% between 2016 and 2025.
Case study - Blackburn with Darwen Walk to School Outreach activation programme
The Walk to School Outreach (WTSO) (2025-26) is a national initiative which seeks to empower children to walk and cycle to school, funded through a £3 million grant from Active Travel England. The WTSO is delivered in the UK by Living Streets in partnership with 33 combined authority, local authority and county council partners. In Blackburn with Darwen, 22 schools are currently participating in this scheme. As a result of the WTSO, the participating schools have seen an increase in children walking and wheeling to school by 12%.
Deliver accessible and affordable public transport (Policy SV2)
We will enhance public transport to progress towards systems that are truly accessible and affordable for all our residents, ensuring equality of access to education, services and employment.
At present, Lancashire has several areas that are at a high risk of transport-related social exclusion, such as Fleetwood, Blackpool, Accrington, Morecambe and Rossendale. Due to localised issues of limited transport options coupled with high socio-economic vulnerability, people are more likely to be excluded from employment, services and community life. For example, someone with limited mobility may struggle to take a bus if there is no seat or shelter at the bus stop, or a young person looking for work may struggle to afford to take the bus for job interviews, training or social activities
Improving accessibility to public transport will be critical to ensuring broader and more equitable access to employment, services and centres, including for people in coastal, suburban and more rural areas. Building on our progress to date, our ambition is for all of our railway stations to be Accessible for All, for transport-related social exclusion hotspots to be removed, and for all bus stop infrastructure and buses to be fully accessible wherever possible.
Develop accessible, high-quality spaces and infrastructure (Policy SV3)
We will work with our residents to create safer, more welcoming streets to make local communities stronger and help to strengthen local pride in place. We will ensure that our built environment and infrastructure is accessible and inviting for all people, supporting improved travel choices, equality of opportunity, and reduced social isolation.
We have a diverse and unique civic landscape in Lancashire, from Victorian industrial towns in our Central Belt, to vibrant coastal communities on the Fylde Coast and in the Bay Area, picturesque settlements in the Rural North and Connected South, and our cities of Preston and Lancaster. Ensuring that our built environments and transport facilities are accessible for all will be crucial in ensuring that everyone can benefit from our growth ambitions, and that no one is left behind.
Placemaking and regeneration will be foundational in developing more inclusive and attractive places across our county. Schemes such as the redevelopment of Fishergate in Preston exemplify the transformational impact that regeneration schemes can have on our places. Raising the profile of our towns and cities will help to attract inward investment and talent and foster a strong sense of local pride in place. Investment in placemaking will create spaces and places that people want to visit and spend time in, which in turn supports social inclusion and local businesses through increased footfall.
In Lancashire, 20% of our population are classified as disabled under the 2010 Equality Act, which is higher than both the national (17%), and Northwest (19%) averages. There are especially high proportions of residents with disabilities in our urban areas, particularly in our Central Belt and towns such as Morecambe and Skelmersdale. Other groups may also have specific needs which should be considered, such as older people, young people, and those who are pregnant or looking after young children.
By creating safer and more welcoming places, which are accessible for all people, we will help build more active, engaged communities, with a greater sense of belonging, civic pride and social cohesion.
We are committed to delivering public realm improvements including our Active Vibrant Town Centres and Safer Greener Healthier Streets. Our ambition is to roll these transformational programmes out more widely across Lancashire and bring forward additional packages of Pride in Place and regeneration measures.
We will also explore opportunities to provide richer habitats in our green spaces, as well as resurfacing, maintaining and expanding our Public Rights of Way networks, to provide access to nature for all and support local nature recovery.
We will proactively consider health and equality issues by applying inclusive design standards to all new infrastructure projects. We will also engage with our communities, including people who are often not heard, to ensure we better understand their needs - for example, by using the Healthy Streets Approach to gather feedback.
Case study - Levelling Up programme in East Lancashire
As part of Lancashire County Council’s Levelling Up Fund award, they are delivering Safer, Greener, Healthier Streets across East Lancashire. These are packages of high-quality public realm improvements, road safety measures, pedestrian and cycle improvements, and inclusive design, embedded within our communities.
Local people were involved in all stages of scheme development through an innovative community co-design process, which made sure that the priorities and concerns of local residents were understood.
Case study - Preston Fishergate public realm improvements
The redevelopment of Fishergate, one of Preston’s principal high streets, involved decluttering and widening the footway, planting new trees, and providing seating. This has created a more attractive and accessible public realm. Pedestrianising adjacent streets such as Cannon Street has supported local businesses by creating additional outdoor seating space, with many reporting increased footfall almost immediately after the works were completed. The improvements to Fishergate have created an estimated £80 million in GVA to Preston’s economy, and led to a 51% reduction in the collision rate.
Embed placemaking in new developments (Policy SV4)
We will support and promote a vision-led approach to planning for new developments that puts the transport needs of people and communities first, by prioritising access to amenities and services, nature, and public spaces, and achieving well-designed places. This will ensure that transport and land-use planning are fully integrated and will support thriving, sustainable communities.
It is essential to deliver new housing and employment across Lancashire to achieve our growth ambitions. We need to ensure that new developments are good places to live and work and are well connected and sustainable. A vision-led approach is crucial to planning for new developments. Planning with a clear vision in mind means focusing on the results (outcomes) we want to achieve and taking proactive steps to get there. By adopting this approach, we can create more sustainable and efficient developments that better serve our communities.
To ensure that walking, cycling, wheeling and buses are a natural choice for local journeys, sites should be mixed use, and both located and designed to facilitate sustainable travel movements. Residential, employment and retail sites should be designed and built with sufficient, dedicated space for active travel and efficient public transport movements, so that these are safe and convenient, with active travel providing access to nearby amenities and transit, and public transport providing onward connections. These onward connections are essential to provide access to employment, education and services, and help to avoid increasing congestion.
Clear targets should be agreed as part of the planning process, which hold developers to account for funding and delivering key infrastructure and services, such as implementing measures as early as practicable. Where necessary, road improvements should be considered to ensure that all modes of transport can continue to run smoothly.
We will expect accommodation of the Manual for Streets and consideration of best practice, such as bus operator guidance on ‘bus friendly development’ and Sport England’s Active Design guide. This will ensure that our new developments put the needs of people and communities first and prioritise sustainable access to amenities and services, nature and public spaces.
We will provide clear policy definition of vision led approaches in our forthcoming Lancashire Spatial Development Strategy, underpinned by sustainable, place-based principles and in accordance with relevant national guidance. This strategy will shape future Local Plans.
Reduce adverse impacts of travel on communities (Policy SV5)
Working with local communities, stakeholders and highways authorities, we will reduce and proactively design out the potential adverse impacts that transport can have on our communities.
Our existing transport networks are essential for us all, but there can also be unintended consequences of travel - such as air, noise and water pollution, roads which are difficult to cross putting barriers between communities, safety and security concerns, and accessibility impacts.
People who may be more vulnerable due to factors such as age, health, ethnicity, sex or income, or who have protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010, may potentially be impacted in different ways or to a different degree than other people.
It is essential that we reduce the current adverse impacts of transport on communities and plan any new schemes carefully to minimise were possible negative impacts of anything we plan to deliver.
Our scheme design and development processes will take account of potential negative impacts on different groups of people and to minimise where possible.
Specific consideration will also be given to unintended impacts arising from new technology and innovation, such as road safety and street clutter considerations for the introduction of shared e-bikes and e-scooters.
The policies in this workstream align closely with the ambitions set out in our Growth Plan. In particular, they support opportunities to:
- strengthen innovation, research and development ambitions
- enhance the importance of resilient infrastructure to support business continuity and growth
- encourage clean growth sectors and attract green investment
Case study - Astley Park reedbed enhancements
The River Chor had an issue with pollution from runoff from the M61, which it passes under. To mitigate the impacts of pollution from the motorway, work at Astley Park included the planting of quarter hectare of reedbeds on a diverted stream. This improved the water quality and reduced contaminants downstream, improving the biodiversity and the recreational value of the waterway. The scheme also provides a degree of flooding mitigation.