Survey closing date: Sunday 9 March 2025

As part of our continued commitment to improving planning and design for active travel, Active Travel England (ATE) has been a statutory consultee within the planning system since 1 June 2023. 

In support of this role, we have identified a need for further guidance on cycle parking, street adoptions, and designing for active travel within schools, which we are now currently developing. 

The aim of this guidance is to enhance the quality of planning applications related to active travel, and support the delivery of local plans, design codes, and other planning policies. It will also provide a clear framework for professionals working in planning, architecture, urban design, landscape architecture, transport planning, and engineering. Additionally, this guidance will help local planning authorities (LPAs) in their decision-making process. 

These guidance documents will be based on evidence and aim to build on successful practices. Therefore, we are inviting industry professionals to submit case studies that showcase good practice examples in the areas outlined below. 

Cycle parking – Good practice examples of: 

  • Cycle parking at the home (including houses, houses in multiple occupation, flats, and student accommodation).
  • Cycle parking at the destination (including workplaces, education establishments, retail, and health facilities).
    Mobility hubs and public transport interchanges. 
  • Design (for security, weather protection, different types of cycle, and different contexts, for example urban versus rural). 

Schools – Good practice examples of: 

  • Primary, secondary or SEND school design (considering issues such as accessibility for all, waiting spaces/shelters for parents, school streets, secure covered scooter/cycle parking for pupils, teachers and parents, bus drop-off and parking, lockers, showers for staff, separate vehicular, cycling and walking entrances, balance of security with multiple walking entrances and permeability). 
  • Active travel access and routes to schools that may operate from 7am to 10pm and at weekends (for example, incorporating wrap-around-care and public out-of-hours access to sports and leisure facilities), considering separation by mode, crossings, lighting, etc., and travel plan implementation and monitoring. 
  • School locations within large new developments and the benefits for developers for getting this right.
    Either an existing school that has undergone an expansion and has implemented measures to encourage active travel as part of this expansion, or a school with a wide catchment area that has a low mode share by car for pupils/staff, illustrating how this has been achieved.

Street adoptions – Good practice examples of: 

  • LPA guidance on street design and/or which set out the process for adoption of new streets. 
  • LPAs whose guidance accords with Manual for Streets and other national and relevant local guidance on street design and identify development proposals that are informed by said guidance. 
  • Local Plan Policy and Supplementary Planning Documents linked to street design to allow us to understand the processes in place to ensure the guidance is adhered to.
    New developments that have been informed by the above LPA guidance.