News Beat
Plan calls for pedestrianisation of Whitby town centre
Whitby Town Council has been urged to support and promote active travel within the parish by allocating funding on an annual basis.
Cllr Jacqui Layman wants to see Whitby Town Council (WTC) being more proactive in promoting active travel within the parish area.
A motion proposed by Cllr Layman would commit the authority to set “a budget of one per cent of precept, or £4,500, whichever is the lesser, to co-fund active-travel projects”.
The scheme would also support the pedestrianisation of Whitby’s town centre and improve facilities for residents and visitors.
The motion is set to be discussed at a full meeting of WTC on Tuesday, December 16 at 6pm.
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According to Cllr Layman, the rationale behind the motion is that “in order to promote active travel within the parish, it is proposed that the council set a budget to be used to co-fund facilities such as benches, cycle stands, cycle repair stations”.
Funding could also be used to co-fund “e-bike and electric wheelchair charging stations to complement the pedestrianisation of the town centre and improve facilities for residents and visitors”.
The motion adds: “Eligible projects must be sited within the parish and be intended for the benefit of the public.
“Each individual project must be approved by full council and any grant given will be limited to match-funding monies raised by the applicants, up to a maximum of £1,000.”
Earlier this year, campaigners said that a new plan to improve cycling and walking infrastructure in Whitby was essential to overcome “massive problems” with transport and health, campaigners have said.
Andy Jefferson, trustee of Whitby and Esk Valley Active Travel, said people were “taking their life into their hands just to get across roads” because of a lack of infrastructure.
The charity had campaigned for three years for the walking and cycling plan to be introduced, he said.
According to a tool developed by campaign group Transport for the North, coastal areas are at greater risk of “transport-related social exclusion”.
