Active Travel Strategy
West Sussex County Council is working to deliver improved active travel facilities.
By encouraging more walking, wheeling, and cycling, particularly for shorter journeys, we can help to reduce congestion on our already busy road network. We’ll also help improve air quality and create safer, more pleasant places to live, work and do business.
West Sussex Active Travel Strategy 2023-2036
The Active Travel Strategy sets out our vision and goals for active travel in the county for the next decade and beyond. Our vision for active travel – which includes walking, wheeling and cycling – is:
"Our transport network will be characterised by high-quality active travel infrastructure, focused on connecting people with places and activities via safe, direct, attractive, and coherent routes. People across the county will be informed and aware of their options for walking and cycling locally. Active travel will be increasingly commonplace for everyday journeys, delivering greater economic prosperity, improved quality of life for all those who live and work within the county, and supporting our pathway to net zero carbon."
To achieve this vision, the following supporting objectives will guide our work:
- Support the decarbonisation of our transport network
- Reduce the need to travel by motorised vehicle
- Boost physical and mental health and wellbeing
- Support future economic prosperity and vibrant local communities
The Active Travel Strategy directly supports the policy objectives of the West Sussex Transport Plan (2022-2036) (opens in new tab). It has been developed in light of changes in the way we travel, including:
- Changes to commuting patterns following the COVID-19 pandemic
- Government policy (including the publication of ‘Gear Change’, the latest cycling design guidance LTN 1/20 and the creation of the Active Travel Fund)
- An increase in use of e-scooters and e-bikes.
Throughout the strategy, safety and behaviour change are emphasised as crucial factors in promoting active travel. By creating safe and well-maintained pavements, cycle routes, and pedestrian crossings, individuals feel more secure and confident in walking, wheeling or cycling more often. Behaviour change also plays a crucial role in shifting attitudes and habits towards active modes of transport. By enhancing public awareness and leading education campaigns, we aim to highlight the benefits of walking, wheeling, and cycling, both for personal wellbeing and the environment.
West Sussex Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP)
The West Sussex LCWIP is a companion document to our Active Travel Strategy, with a related vision and objectives to improve active travel in the county.
LCWIPs are a new, strategic approach to identify walking, wheeling and cycling improvements required at a local level. They enable a long-term approach to developing networks and routes and form a vital part of the Government’s strategy to increase the number of trips made by cycle or on foot.
LCWIPs are intended to:
- Plan for cycling and walking using evidence and data on existing and future potential demand
- Target investment where it can have the greatest impact
- Identify cycling and walking infrastructure improvements in readiness for funding bids and
- Plan cycling and walking networks which meet core design outcomes, meeting the need of users.
The West Sussex LCWIP looks in detail at six new longer-distance active travel corridors that would connect West Sussex communities together. Our district and borough councils also developed LCWIPs, which cover routes within towns – typically focused on radial routes and key corridors serving town centres, employment and transport hubs, and planned development locations.
The routes contained within the West Sussex LCWIP and the district and borough LCWIPs will help determine our future priorities for active travel and which schemes are included in future delivery programmes. By aligning and coordinating our efforts at county and local levels, the aim is to provide a safe, convenient and sustainable network for getting around, whether for leisure, commuting, or other purposes.
The six long-distance routes that we have identified as being priority for development and funding are:
- A264 Crawley to Horsham
- A259 Emsworth to Chichester - part of existing National Cycle Network (NCN) Route 2
- Selsey to Chichester Greenway
- A259 Bognor Regis to Chichester
- A24 Findon Valley to Washington
- Littlehampton to Worthing
These routes were carefully selected, taking into consideration a range of criteria, including where people start and finish their journeys. The routes were then assessed to understand if they are, or could be made, suitable for walking, wheeling and cycling. The LCWIP contains more details on this process and explores the key opportunities for each of the six routes, along with cost estimates.
The proposed LCWIP routes. The coloured lines show the proposed West Sussex LCWIP routes. The pink bubbles show the proposed local LCWIP areas. Together, the maps indicates the proposed walking and cycling network in the county.You had your say
The Draft West Sussex Active Travel Strategy and Draft LCWIP were the subject of a public consultation exercise between 22 September 2023 and 15 November 2023.
Feedback from the consultation was considered when preparing the final document. The full consultation report can be downloaded using this link on the right hand side of this page.
The final documents were approved by the Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport on 23 September 2024. Read the Decision Report.
Alternative formats
If you require any of the information for this project in an alternative format, please contact us on 01243 642105 or via email at activetravel@westsussex.gov.uk (External link) and we will do our best to assist you. If you are deaf or hard of hearing and have an NGT texting app installed on your computer, laptop or smartphone, you can contact us on 18001 (01243 642105).
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