Have your say on Horsham’s first Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan

Local people are being encouraged to give their views on new plans to substantially improve walking and cycling in and around Horsham.

Horsham District Council is running a public consultation on Horsham’s first Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) from 12 August 2020 to 28 August 2020 and would like residents to give their views by going to their website: www.horsham.gov.uk/lcwip

Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans (LCWIPs), are a new, strategic approach to identifying cycling and walking improvements at a local level. They enable a long-term approach to developing local cycling and walking networks, and form a vital part of the Government’s strategy to increase the number of trips made on foot or by cycle especially as the country comes out of lockdown.

The LCWIP has so far been developed with the help of leading consultants in this field and local stakeholders such as the District Council, North Horsham Parish Council, Warnham Parish Council, Horsham Denne and Horsham Forest Neighbourhood Councils, Horsham District Cycling Forum, Horsham Town Community Partnership and The Horsham Society.

 Stakeholder workshops have already been held and five main corridors have been identified as a focus for the LCWIP. These corridors, for both cycling and walking, all lead to the town centre.

They include:

Corridor 1a - North Horsham via Rusper Road, Littlehaven, Kings Road and North Street.

Corridor 1b – North Horsham via Northlands Road, North Heath Lane, Wimblehurst Road and North Parade.

Corridor 2 - Roffey via Crawley Road, Kings Road and North Street.

Corridor 3 - Forest School via Comptons Lane, Bennetts Road, Brighton Road, Queen Street and East Street.

Corridor 4 - Southwater via Worthing Road with an option along Two Mile Ash.

Corridor 5 - Broadbridge Heath via Broadbridge Way, Farthing Hill, Guildford Road, with an option over the A24 cycle/foot bridge, Highwood Mill and Hills Farm Lane.

Corridor 6 – Warnham Mill via Warnham Road, North Parade and Springfield Road

Commenting on the consultation, Horsham District Council Cabinet Member for Horsham Town Centre, Cllr Peter Burgess, said:

“The Government has recently announced an increase in funding for walking and cycling and funding will only be available for high quality schemes based on well-thought out infrastructure plans. As a council, we are committed to ensuring that Horsham Town Centre is ready for these opportunities.

“We want our residents to take a key role in conversations on how we make our main routes into the town centre truly walkable and safe to cycle.

“The LCWIP will help us in this process. We know walking and cycling has a number of benefits for mental and physical health, as well as for our environment. During lockdown, we’ve seen more people take up cycling and walking, which saw improvements in our air quality – a trend we’d all like to build upon.

“I’d like to encourage as many of you as possible to take part in this consultation, whether you walk, use a mobility scooter, cycle, take the bus or drive, so together we can make the town’s infrastructure safer, more accessible and more attractive to encourage more people to cycle and walk.”

How to get involved

To give your views on Horsham’s first Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan, visit www.horsham.gov.uk/lcwip