Transport planning projects that help people live healthier and low carbon lifestyles have been recognised by two national awards – the Transport Planning Society’s People’s Award and Transport for New Homes Award. 

A Sussex school initiative won the Transport Planning Society’s People’s Award for giving new secondary school students the confidence to walk and cycle to school and housing developments Bath Riverside in Somerset and Royal Arsenal Riverside in London won the first ever Transport for New Homes Award for efforts to avoid car dependency and promote walking, cycling and public transport.

Seaford Head school in East Sussex won the People’s Award for an initiative involving Year 8 students, school governors and the walking charity Living Streets, to develop maps of the easiest and safest routes to school. 

Eleanor Togut, project coordinator, Living Streets, from the Seaford Active Travel Map project said: “Often students starting secondary school have little experience of managing their own journeys. This contributes to a number of students getting dropped off by parents or carers as they go through secondary school. Older students, like those nominated for the People’s Award, can really help to build confidence in younger pupils to travel independently and sustainably. This group of enthusiastic pupils have worked really hard to produce this resource and I’m sure it’s going to help so many of their peers.”

The first ever Transport for New Homes Award was jointly awarded to the Bath Riverside development in Somerset and Royal Arsenal Riverside development in Woolwich, London. The award recognises recent housing developments that have been located and designed so that residents do not need cars to live a full life. 

Bath Riverside, built by Crest Nicholson on the site of a disused gasworks in the centre of Bath, has contributed substantially to public transport improvements in the wider area and to new local pedestrian links. Every Bath Riverside household also receives a free one-month bus pass offer, as well as free car club membership and a £100 cycle voucher.

Royal Arsenal Riverside is a large regeneration project in Woolwich, south east London, being undertaken by Berkeley Homes (East Thames). Once completed it will have over 5,000 homes and the new Crossrail Woolwich station on site. The award recognises the efforts of the development to encourage walking and reduce the need to travel by car.

Stephen Bennett, chair of the Transport Planning Society, said: “Seaford Active Travel Maps has made a genuine contribution to improving children’s wellbeing on their journey to school and were a worthy winner of this year’s People’s Award.”

Lynda Addison, a member of the Transport for New Homes steering group and a judge of the award said: “The housing we build today will determine our travel patterns for decades to come, impacting on climate change, air pollution, public health and social cohesion. All too often we see new housing built around car use, but in Bath Riverside and Royal Arsenal Riverside real attention has been paid to walking, cycling and public transport, giving residents real travel choices and a good quality of life. All new developments should be located so that people have a choice as to how they travel, and provide good walking, cycling and public transport access to daily activities”

The winners were announced at the annual Transport Planning Day event earlier this month and run by the Transport Planning Society, to highlight good practice in putting people at the heart of transport plans.