Annex 2 - Cornwall's Challenges and Concerns - The Evidence Base

Cornwall is changing economically and socially and will continue to change in the future. The challenge for transport in the next five years is to take advantage of the opportunity presented by these changes and improve transport provision and choice.

The environment both historic and natural is hugely important to Cornwall and its future. A high proportion of the County and a large number of towns and villages are covered by environmental designations and protection. The environment is diverse including flora, fauna, industrial heritage, agriculture, archaeology and climate. These wide ranging aspects have helped to make Cornwall one of the top holiday destinations in the UK and for those making a life style choice. This makes it very difficult for transport infrastructure proposals to be taken forward. Environmental and historic protection constrain the infrastructure that can be delivered or add significantly to the resources needed to deliver them. The transport strategy in Cornwall will focus on making the most of the existing transport infrastructure and protecting the environment where improvements are made. Climate change will also influence Cornwall’s environment, with many miles of coastline, small communities close to the sea and a reliance on the good climate that the County currently enjoys.

The LTP2 strategy will focus on addressing air quality hotspots identified in the County’s towns.

Socially the challenge will be to improve accessibility to services. Cornwall’s population is increasing and at the same time getting older. The population is diversely spread around the County, making transport provision difficult and expensive. Transport schemes that enable access to rural areas will be important in improving access to services.

There is a high level of deprivation in Cornwall which presents a number of challenges for transport. Housing affordability dictates where people can live, cheaper housing is often more remotely located. This promotes the need to travel to work, a trend which needs to be reversed by providing housing in and around the work centres in the County.  Affordability also dictates whether people can stay in the County - there is a pattern of young people leaving the County as they cannot afford either to live or travel in Cornwall. Car ownership is high, but the cars tend to be older as they are more reasonably priced. The older vehicles are impacting on air quality and safety. Provision of public transport that is inclusive of everyone and alternative transport that takes people to the services they need will be brought forward during the LTP2.

Regeneration is important in Cornwall, and will help to address deprivation in Cornwall, encourage new industry and business into the County and provide better opportunity for people. The increase in economic activity and increase in population bring with it further pressures on transport provision in the county and it is crucial that the transport infrastructure and services keep pace with and exceed the demand placed upon them by the regeneration proposals. Planning polices and sustainable transport through walking cycling and public transport will be implemented in accommodating change without a detrimental impact on Cornwall. Some new infrastructure will be needed and together with our partners we will focus this investment in areas where it will result in the greatest outcome.

The population of Cornwall is reliant on the car to allow them to access work, education, health and services. The reliance on the car is due in part to the population spread in Cornwall, and the centralisation of services and work opportunities, forcing people to travel. It is also driven by where people choose to live. In Cornwall this is increasingly divided into either the fashion for life style choice, a conscious decision to live remotely in environmentally attractive areas, or through house price pressures forcing people to live remote from their place of work. This has led to an increase in car ownership. The higher number of people and cars in the County is increasing congestion on the County’s highway network. Transport schemes will need to address the level of congestion and provide greater modal choice, so that people are not reliant on their cars. Planning policies will also be used to remove the need to travel by co-locating new housing and services.

The economy is a key driver of transport both in terms of distribution of services and goods, and in allowing employees to access work. Cornwall has a large number of small employers. There is, therefore, a scatter of business locations throughout the County. This spread of business has led to a reliance on road freight for distribution and means that businesses are difficult to service by alternative modes. Consequently there are heavy vehicle trips on inappropriate roads resulting in congestion and adverse impacts on the maintenance of highways and structures. The majority of businesses are located in the ‘triangle’, increasing the pressure on the transport links between them.  Transport policies will initially be focused on large employers to achieve the biggest change. Travel plans will be targeted at these employers so that a small change in modal choice results in a real impact on the highway network. Planning policy will be relied upon to located businesses in the most appropriate locations.

A significant number of the travel to work trips in Cornwall take place in the ‘triangle’ between CPR, Truro and Falmouth.  While there is some movement from Newquay and St Austell to Truro, these two towns are more self contained and have a higher percentage of people who live and work in the town. Bodmin has become more of an attractor for work in recent years and is generating a significant number of travel to work trips from outside the town. Future employment and housing allocations suggest that the percentage of people living and working in Truro could rise, similarly for Camborne Pool Redruth. Therefore, there could be a decrease in the ‘inter-town’ flows, although this is likely to be small.

Current local congestion patterns bear out the draw that Truro has on the rest of the County. Both health provision and higher education provision currently focus on Truro. While there will be some diversification in provision it will stay focused on Truro, and the ‘triangle’. In terms of actively encouraging modal switch, the LTP strategy will prioritise investment along these key corridors.

Tourism brings in people and money to Cornwall, and has a significant impact on Cornwall’s resident population. Tourist numbers are continuing to increase and the peak season is extending, increasing the impact on Cornwall. The vast majority of these visitors arrive in the County by road, leading to significant seasonal congestion problems on the County’s roads. The challenge is to promote sustainable tourism, to encourage people to travel by alternative modes while in Cornwall and on their journey to the South West. The LTP strategy will focus on the hotspots evident during the summer by offering alternative modes of travel to St Ives, Newquay and Penzance. It is unlikely that seasonal pressures will decrease in the short term even with the tourism industry encouraging a longer season.

The key theme to emerge from the extensive consultation that has been undertaken is for the improvement of the reliability, frequency, cost and information for bus services. This will be picked up through the LTP strategy.

All theses elements come together in the provision of transport, they are intertwined and proposals to address one factor will also have an influence on another. It is important that these strategies work together in bringing about change.