Havant now has a Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan, an LCWIP, pronounced ‘Elsie-Whip’.
This is REALLY important because :
- A formal plan unlocks much more future government funding
- Implementing it becomes a formal policy of the whole council, not just the cycling team
- It forces developers to show how their housing plans fit into OUR bigger plan
- It forces all of us to plan for the best long term solution, rather than just for quick wins
BUT, and there are some big buts, it’s not really going to do much for everyday cycling for Hayling Islanders.
Hampshire County Council, as the Transport Authority, has completely failed cycling as a means of transport. There have been some good steps forward in Havant and in Hayling, but more driven by Havant Borough Council, and probably despite the LCWIP more than because of it.
Shockingly, the best information about it is on Havant’s website, at havant.gov.uk/transport-projects/cycling-and-walking-infrastructure-plan .
And the LCWIP misses out some of the basic routes that Havant Borough Council put on their Aspirational 2036 Cycle Network Map and Key Routes Map, which do at least come close to Cycle Hayling’s request for Haylink, to link the south of the island to the north.
Hampshire County Council says a lot of good things about cycling in the well-hidden Hampshire Cycling Strategy and Local Transport Plan 4, but they just don’t DO any of it. You’ll search for ‘Cycling’ on Hampshire County Council website for a long time to find anything useful except leisure cycling.
And they certainly don’t talk to Cycle Hayling, or any of the other many cycle campaigning groups in Hampshire.
In Hampshire’s pretty useless 2021 consultation, we made our comments, with 10 key asks, and only number 2 is completed – The Langbrook Link – which isn’t even in the LCWIP!
Cycling will only be fixed when Hampshire County Council is dissolved, and we move into the new South East Hampshire Unitary Council under Local Government Reorganisation.