Issue - meetings

            The Board considered a report of the Strategic Director, Enterprise, Community and Resources, which provided information on the Liverpool City Region (LCR) joint Rights of Way Improvement Plan (ROWIP), a copy of which had been forwarded to Members for comment. Halton had produced its first statutory Public Rights of Way Improvement Plan in 2009. With the creation of the LCR joint ROWIP each authority had identified the successes of previous individual ROWIP whilst combining the ambitions of each member authority looking to the future.

            Members noted that the ROWIP was a statutory document which dealt specifically with Rights of Way and traffic free corridors. The document was designed to give a forward looking vision as to how they would be used, promoted and upgraded over the next decade. The Plan aimed to bring Rights of Way in line with all other Highways and include them in the LCR’s overall commitment to promote and encourage sustainable travel. It was not intended as a comprehensive guide to all future maintenance and capital schemes. Instead Halton would bring forward schemes which would then be evaluated. It was the ambition of the LCR to ensure that ROWIP enhancements were linked into the mainstream delivery of a range of schemes. At present, such committed schemes being taken forward through this programme were:

·         Bridgewater Canal Pedestrian and Cycle Improvements

·         Runcorn East Rail Station Access Improvements

·         Jaguar Land Rover JLR-3MG Cycle Corridor

·         A56 Sustainable Links to Sci-Tech Daresbury

·         Astmoor Business Hub Corridor

            One of the many advantages of a joint ROWIP approach was the ability to coordinate funding bids toward common goals as well as working together to create successful, user friendly cross boundary links. It was hoped that this approach would progress economic and socio-economic targets (for example, walking and cycling strategies) whilst improving transport links and opening up sustainable travel choices across the region.

            RESOLVED: That the Board supports the Rights of Way Improvement Plan and recommends that the Executive Board formally endorses it.