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Ambition 8 Improving transport and digital connections

Our roads, transport and broadband infrastructure are essential for everyone. They bring friends and family together; grow businesses, markets and employment opportunities; open up training and leisure; and keep Nottinghamshire well connected.

Building on our autumn 2021 Highways Review, we're working on maintaining and improving Nottinghamshire's roads and footpaths. It’s one of our big priorities, and we know it’s important to residents too. We're improving our walking and cycling network, so people can be more active in the way they travel, and we're also encouraging people to use low-emission and sustainable transport where they can. Our Local Transport Plan will set out how we’ll improve our transport networks, prioritising those areas that would benefit most from better connections and making use of the latest technology and data to keep Nottinghamshire moving and thriving. Together, these steps will:

  • have a positive impact on people's health and wellbeing
  • help tackle issues like rural isolation
  • ensure the transport options we have meet demand
  • keep our County well connected
  • protect our environment, and reduce our carbon footprint.

The Big Notts Survey

  • Over 1 in 3 (38%) people said that less traffic was one of the positive things they would want to see continue after the pandemic. A similar proportion of young people agreed (34%).
  • Just under 1 in 5 (18%) people wanted to see less traffic and more walking and cycling in their local area.
  • Just over 1 in 5 (22%) people ranked improving the condition of the County’s roads and pavements as one of their top priorities for their local area.
  • Just over 1 in 10 (14%) named improved public transport as one of the things that would make Nottinghamshire a better place to live and work.

Over the next four years we will:

We’ll use a ‘right repair, right first time’ approach to improve our highways maintenance service, so roads and pavements are maintained to a high standard. We’ll focus our highways spending more on local roads.  We’ll also review and improve our working practices and make sure highway works offer best value for money. We’ll keep residents fully informed about local highways works.

We’ll continue to improve and join up local and regional transport connections, opening up employment, training, and leisure opportunities to everyone, and securing funding to develop new infrastructure where it’s needed the most.

We’ll promote and roll-out sustainable, low-carbon and healthy travel options and encourage people to try healthier, more environmentally-friendly ways of travelling. We’ll also promote options for cycling and walking to school and raise awareness of the harm to health, especially children’s health, caused by poor air quality. These will help reduce Nottinghamshire’s carbon footprint and improve health and wellbeing.

We’ll deliver improved bus services to make bus travel better, easier, and more accessible. We’ll also address rural isolation and use new technologies to make our services more efficient.

We’ll make walking and cycling part of our wider transport network, and ensure all new highways and developments are designed with walking and cycling in mind.

We’ll strengthen our enforcement of parking and bus lane restrictions, especially near schools, to help reduce congestion and make roads safer. We’ll also improve the way we monitor and coordinate roadworks, so essential works can be carried out with minimal disruption and congestion. We’ll make sure that new developments are safe and don’t impact negatively on road users.

We’ll ensure our ‘home to school’ transport services keep improving to meet the changing needs of children and young people across the County, wherever they live.

We’ll help homes and businesses in hard-to-reach locations get a fast and reliable broadband service. We’ll also continue creating the world’s first 5G network in a forest setting in Sherwood Forest, protecting the area while enhancing  the visitor experience. Finally, we’ll give businesses the space they need to develop and trial their own innovations using 5G technologies.

Success means:

  • People travel around the County easily and safely
  • More people walk, cycle, and use public transport
  • More electric vehicle charging points added across the County
  • Improved superfast broadband coverage
  • Roads and pavements are maintained to a high standard
  • People are satisfied with the condition of highways and footpaths
  • People are satisfied with local bus services
  • All children and young people have safe and appropriate transport to school.

In 2023-24, to achieve this, we will deliver the following actions:

Increase the coverage and quality of broadband connectivity across the county so that residents have access to fast and reliable broadband services. Where possible, this will also include the installation of better-quality, gigabit connectivity.

Use the Right Repair, Right First-Time approach that delivers permanent repairs on Nottinghamshire roads whenever possible, extending this to the A, B, and C road network.

Widen the roll out of demand responsive transport to support the general public’s access to jobs, rural areas and leisure and shopping amenities.

Implement a three-year capital programme of highway improvements, ensuring that our investment represents good value for money. This will focus on our local road network, footways, and drainage.

Work with partners to deliver an intelligence led inspection programme on weight restricted roads. This will see that pedestrians, cyclists and other road users are protected from heavy goods vehicles using roads which are considered unsuitable or dangerous, with damage to weight restricted roads caused by heavy goods vehicles being prevented.

Pilot our on-street electric vehicle infrastructure programme providing an easier transition to electric vehicles for all.

Implement the Enhanced Partnership and the Bus Service Improvement Plan to maintain the existing network and where possible deliver improved bus services, ticketing, information, first phase of priority measures for buses on our roads (including feasibility for the Baums Lane/A60 junction in Mansfield), bus infrastructure and decarbonisation of bus services.

Review our ‘active’ travel (walking and cycling) approaches, in order to best improve the cycling infrastructure and maintaining rights of way to enable Nottinghamshire residents to make healthy choices about how they travel around the County.

Review the requirement for parking and pick up/drop off outside new schools to ensure new developments are delivered in a manner that promotes safe and sustainable access to school whilst considering the needs of all users, including local residents.

Review and develop our Local Transport Plan (Nottinghamshire County Council or Combined Authority) in line with awaited government guidance to ensure that Nottinghamshire’s transport strategy continues to reflect the national, regional, and local vision and ambitions; and continues to guide highway and transport delivery programmes to deliver this vision.

Develop and implement a winter maintenance plan for road repairs to counteract the impact of the colder months on the state of Nottinghamshire’s highways, ensuring that roads are well maintained.

To find out more about what we’ve got planned for the current year, you can read our full Annual Delivery Plan 2023-2024 [PDF].

Our other ambitions

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