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We consider community and stakeholder involvement to be a priority if it is to be able to produce effective active travel initiatives.

It is anticipated that the involvement and engagement procedures relating to the development of active travel schemes will be undertaken by staff from the Strategic Transport team. Assistance will be provided by other services of the authority where appropriate and necessary. External facilitators may be needed, and this will be assessed on a case by case basis.

All officers in the Strategic Transport team will be involved in consultation exercises, for example preparing exhibitions and leaflets, attending meetings and liaising with stakeholders.

The consultation and involvement methods identified are those considered to be fit for purpose and appropriate to the stage of the process as well as the type of document being drafted, while not raising the public’s expectations unrealistically. Our Strategic Transport team are committed to effective consultation on all active travel schemes and resources are in place to ensure that the methods set out within this statement of community involvement are delivered where appropriate.

It is expected that full use of our website and electronic consultation methods will enable consultation to be wide reaching and effective, while keeping costs down. For example, documents could be distributed to the majority of stakeholders by electronic means to reduce the numbers of documents to be printed.

The use of publishing and consultation software will enable documents to be prepared in-house and will enable effective online consultation on active travel schemes.

The resources of our community and the potential for engagement fatigue have also been taken into account. Where appropriate, concise design documents will be produced so that consultees can get an understanding of the key points within active travel scheme proposals.

We will work with other teams within the Council and combine consultations where possible to avoid repetition and overburdening the community.