Objective 4: Enhancing Norfolk's quality of life

Summary of Objective

This has a clear priority on climate change, reducing carbon, and improving air quality. Work to find new opportunities to improve quality of place is ongoing. A range of green infrastructure projects are being developed and funding is being sought.

Policies

• Policy 11:  When making changes and improvements to our transport network, and in working with users on how they choose to use the network, we'll seek to understand the consequences of our decisions. We'll see how those decisions affect the collective challenge of protecting and improving our global environment to meet the environmental policy target of working towards carbon neutrality.
• Policy 12: We'll take action to improve air quality. This includes investigating vehicular restrictions or charging where air quality falls below the threshold for Air Quality Management Areas. We'll also embrace new ways of monitoring air quality to inform interventions, including in other areas, where we deem this necessary.
• Policy 13:  We'll seek to improve quality of place, conserving and enhancing our built and historic environments, when we take action to improve the transport network

Objective 4: Delivery Highlights

Healthy Streets 

The Healthy Streets approach aims to make streets healthy, safe and welcoming for everyone by focusing on the experience of people who use them. It's included in the Transport for Norwich Strategy. 

County and district council officers, members and stakeholders have had training in the implementation of a Healthy Streets approach to scheme design, delivery and maintenance.

Roadside Nature Reserve Scheme

We've had a successful collaboration with Norfolk Wildlife Trust on the Roadside Nature Reserve Scheme. This helps protect verges that contain nationally rare or scarce plant species and view them in the wider conservation context. 

We developed a plan to expand the scheme in Spring 2023.  We have earmarked verges:

• Along the Norwich Northern Distributor Road near Taverham
• Off the A148 near Flitcham
• Near King's Lynn, Wells-next-the-Sea and Heacham

Platinum Jubilee Trails

Five new walking and cycling trails in Norfolk, known as the Platinum Jubilee Trails, were announced in October 2022. The trails are the:

• Elizabeth Way
• Wendling Way
• West Acre Way
• Chet River Circular
• Eastern Maritime Way

A Greenspace improvement pilot has been undertaken as part of the Wendling Way trail development. The trail will link Dereham town centre to Gressenhall Museum and Workhouse to provide a safe and direct active travel route.

Climate Policy

Norfolk County Council's Climate Policy sets out that we'll lead by example through making our own estate net zero by 2030. Estate emissions include those generated from the council's buildings, streetlights and vehicle fleet. 

NCC currently manages impacts that address Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions categories. We're evaluating the approach to look at supply chain impacts - addressed through Scope 3 emissions. 

Scope 1 are direct emissions that an organisation owns or controls. Scope 2 and 3 are indirect emissions. These are a consequence of the activities of the organisation but don't result from sources owned or controlled by it.

We're supporting EV infrastructure on our own estate through:

• The provision of electric pool cars and charging infrastructure
• The ability to buy EVs on the lease car scheme, which is now available to employees

Employees are also able to access a salary sacrifice bike scheme. This covers both pedal and e-cycles. 

Transport for Norwich (TfN) Strategy

We've agreed new workstreams for the Transport for Norwich (TfN) Strategy. 

In Autumn 2022 work began on the first of these, a Network Review examining the existing highway network arrangements, current issues, function and priorities. We're working on this in collaboration with officers from Broadland, South Norfolk, and Norwich City councils. 

This will provide an area wide approach to inform the type, design, and implementation of schemes for all travel modes. It's considered to be vital in supporting a co-ordinated approach to scheme development and future bid submissions.

Other TfN workstreams include:

• A review of parking in Greater Norwich, including Park and Ride and pavement parking
• The development of a future pipeline of transport schemes

In 2023 we completed works to upgrade and enhance St Stephens Street in Norwich. This provides bus passengers with better interchange facilities and makes bus movements entering and leaving the stops smoother. The works used £6m of the Transforming Cities Fund grant. 

We've deployed low-cost air quality monitoring equipment across Norwich. This is to see whether we can collect good quality, real time, air quality data. 

Work for next period

Quantifiable Carbon Reduction Study

We await Government guidance on carbon quantification. However, we are pushing ahead with work on quantifiable carbon reduction. 

We've commissioned a Quantifiable Carbon Reduction (QCR) study to provide an evidence base and technical support. We can use it to inform decision-making on the measures required to meet carbon targets. This will ensure that there's robust data on where carbon emissions are generated (and will be generated in future) so we can develop appropriate interventions to reduce them.

Work to quantify the carbon impact of the LTP Implementation Plan will assess if the scale of carbon impact is sufficient to achieve the carbon target outlined in the Plan. 

Although the Department for Transport (DfT) has not yet released QCR guidance, we've taken advice to ensure our work is best practice and is in line with DfT expectations. We feel we shouldn't delay this important piece of work. 

Sub-national transport bodies have developed carbon tools and we'll use these to undertake Quantified Carbon Analysis on LTP4. 

Air quality

Projects in King's Lynn are being developed to tackle air quality issues in the town and we've developed a King's Lynn Air Quality Strategy. 

Work is ongoing to consider an Air Quality Strategy with a delivery plan to target air quality issues across Norfolk. 

Reviews of the King's Lynn and Great Yarmouth Transport Strategies are under way. This will ensure that active and sustainable travel is at the forefront of transport planning. 

Among other initiatives, we're considering using LTP funding to look at improving the data and evidence base around air quality. This will support the LTP and other relevant policies and strategies, as well as building our evidence base for future funding bids.

Public Health is now the lead for air quality, which has given fresh impetus and focus. This includes chairing the Countywide Air Quality Group, which we refer to in the Objective 2 highlights. It provides a more joined up approach to managing and mitigating against poor air quality in Norfolk. 

Taking a system-wide approach will have co-benefits on public health, air quality and climate change. 

Net zero carbon emissions target

We'll continue to work towards the Objective 4 target to achieve net zero carbon emissions from transport by 2050. 

Data from 2021 (most recent) shows a slight reduction in carbon emissions from transport reducing to 1,714.9 ktCO2. We're yet to see a release of more recent data but we will respond to it as it emerges.