Accessibility Strategy
Introduction
Background
The Government's
The SEU report recommended a strategy for improving accessibility to key services and facilities through the introduction of accessibility planning. Accessibility planning aims to ensure that there is a clearer and more systematic approach to identifying and tackling the barriers that people, particularly those from disadvantaged groups and areas, face in accessing jobs and key services.
The Scope of
The County Council, as the local transport authority, is leading on the work on accessibility planning in Warwickshire as a key component of this new Local Transport Plan. Strategies, policies and programmes in the LTP can make a significant contribution to improving accessibility - for example, by improving the availability and accessibility of public transport and improving the attractiveness of walking and cycling for local journeys. However, helping to ensure that people can access the services they need and want is not just a matter of improving local transport. Improving the provision of services and developments in more accessible places and ways, and at more convenient times, can have as much impact on accessibility as transport provision itself. The emphasis of accessibility planning is therefore on engaging with partners who can influence the location and delivery of services – land use planners, health, education and employment sectors – to ensure that accessibility is factored into decision-making to maximise accessibility and its benefits.
This
- An overview of accessibility within Warwickshire;
- The approach to improve accessibility;
- Results of the accessibility assessments;
- Cross-cutting accessibility improvements;
- The action plan for delivering proposed recommendations and initiatives; and
- How the strategy will be monitored.
Accessibility within Warwickshire
Accessibility Vision
The vision for the accessibility strategy is:
To enable people to reach a range of education, training, employment, healthcare, shopping and leisure opportunities, with a particular focus on improving accessibility for disadvantaged groups and areas
The vision recognises that, to enjoy a balanced lifestyle and to take advantage of opportunities which arise, people need to be able to access a wide range of facilities. However, as highlighted by the Social Exclusion Unit’s report Making the Connections, a number of barriers serve to limit access to opportunities. The nature of these barriers and their influence in a Warwickshire context is outlined below.
Barriers to Accessibility
-
The Availability and Physical Accessibility of Transport - limitations imposed by the geographical and time of day coverage of public transport services, or the ability to physically access public transport vehicles. Within Warwickshire there are varying levels of public transport service across the County. Whilst the main urban areas are relatively well served by public transport, many rural or edge of town areas have only minimum public transport service levels, limiting the opportunity for local communities to travel to services and facilities outside their local area. The problem is particularly acute for remote rural areas and for travel in the evenings or on Sundays.
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Cost of Transport – for some people the costs of private or public transport are very high and often unaffordable. Bus fares have risen by nearly a third since 1985. Motoring costs account for 24 per cent of the weekly expenditure of households in the lowest income quintile who have cars. There is a local perception within Warwickshire of increasing costs for public transport use, with the Citizens’ Panel Survey (June 2005) indicating that nearly half (48%) of respondents considered that the cost of public transport had increased over the last 5 years, whilst only 17% considered that costs had stayed the same.
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Services and Activities Located in Places Inaccessible by Public Transport or at Some Distance – the increasingly dispersed patterns of development for key services and job opportunities serves to limit accessibility for those without access to a car. In Warwickshire the development of out-of-town shopping centres and business and industrial parks has resulted in longer journey distances to access services and facilities. Such developments tend to be designed around the needs of the car and can be difficult to serve efficiently by public transport or to access on foot or by bicycle. In addition a loss of rural services and centralisation of some health services has resulted in services being harder to reach for local communities.
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Safety and Security – crime and fear of crime can deter walking, cycling and the use of public transport. Similarly, the perceived safety and security of parking may deter people from travelling by car to certain destinations. The recent Citizen’s Panel Survey indicated that only 5% considered that there had been an improvement in safety on public transport over the last 5 years; 28% thought it had got worse and 31% thought safety had stayed the same.
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Travel Horizons – people may be reluctant to make journeys that require longer distances or journey times, or interchange. Inconsistency in the provision of public transport information and poor integration of public transport services (including ticketing) can contribute to a reluctance to make longer or more complex journeys by public transport. Findings from a recent Citizens’ Panel Survey (June 2005) indicate the extent to which the above factors limit peoples’ ability to access key destinations - the workplace, healthcare (GP surgery or hospital), supermarkets and educational institutes such as schools, colleges or learning centres. A summary of the findings is presented in Figure 2.1 below.
Figure 1 Factors that slightly / severly limit respondents access to specified locations
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Although the overall view is mixed, the availability of public transport services is the main factor which limits panel members accessing each of the list of services to any extent. Location of facilities and lack of information are listed to a lesser extent.
The effect of these barriers is not felt uniformly, but varies by type of area (for example urban or rural) and for different groups of people, such as those on low incomes, older people, younger people, disabled people (including those with mental health problems), people with illnesses, women and people from ethnic communities. The influence of these factors in different areas and for different groups is explored in more detail below.
Lack of access to a car can also severely limit access to opportunities and is considered to be one of the major transport problems in Warwickshire (Warwickshire Citizens’ Panel Survey, April 2004). The problem has not decreased in recent years, with most of the recent growth in car ownership coming from households acquiring second or third cars. Hence, the proportion of households without access to a car has remained relatively stable.
Geographical Variation in Barriers
Results from the recent Citizen’s Panel Survey (June 2005) reveal:
- A greater percentage of respondents from North Warwickshire state that the barriers severely limit or limit their ability to access services. This is particularly significant in relation to the availability of public transport services for journeys to work, education and food shopping, the cost of transport to education, the location of education and lack of information for journeys to work and education;
- Stratford District has the second highest percentage of respondents stating that the barriers severely limit or limit their ability to access services. This is most notable in relation to the availability of public transport services, cost of travel, location of services and lack of information;
- Respondents from Nuneaton and Bedworth identified the availability of public transport as the most significant barrier, particularly for journeys to work and education. To a lesser extent the cost of travel and the location of services were identified as barriers, again most notably for journeys to work and education;
- The most significant barrier in Rugby Borough is the availability of public transport services, in particular for journeys to work and education. To a lesser extent the location of services was identified as a barrier, most notably for journeys to work; and
- Respondents from Warwick District identified the availability of public transport as the most significant barrier, particularly for journeys to work and education.
Socio-demographic Influences on Accessibility
Socio-demographic data enables the identification and location of different groups of people who may be at a higher risk of social exclusion due to the limitations of poor access to services and facilities. Specific groups considered include:
- Elderly people (over the age of 65);
- People of working age (16-74);
- People without access to a car;
- People with a Limiting Long-Term Illness (LLI); and
- Low income population (Job Seekers Allowance claimants).
Key points about each of these population groups along with location specific information is highlighted in Table 2.2 below.
|
Demographic Group |
Key Points |
Location Specific Information |
|
Elderly people (over the age of 65) |
Just over 16% of Warwickshire’s population is over the age of 65. It is important that elderly people are taken into account in the strategic mapping audit as financial constraints and mobility issues may be significant factors within this age group. Importantly, the number of people aged 65-74 is forecast to increase by 44% in Warwickshire by 2021 whilst the population aged over 85 is forecast to increase by a massive 74.2%. |
Stratford District (a rural/semi rural district) has an older age profile than other Warwickshire districts, with over 18% of the total population aged over 65. Conversely, only 14.8% of Nuneaton & Bedworth’s population is aged over 65. |
|
People of working age (16-74) |
There are approximately 369,000 people aged 16-74 in Warwickshire, representing approximately 73% of the total population. It is vital that this age group is taken into account in the accessibility assessments as limits on access to education and employment may have a significant affect on life chances now and in the future. |
Warwick District has a slightly higher proportion of the population who are of working age (76%) when compared to the County overall. |
|
People without access to a car |
People without access to a car may not be able to access key services quickly and easily; they are reliant on public transport and thus may be at significant risk of suffering social exclusion. This is especially true if key services are not available within the local vicinity or the area is poorly served by public transport. |
Levels of car ownership in Warwickshire are higher than on a regional or national basis. Just under a fifth of Warwickshire households do not have access to a car. This is significantly lower than the national (27%) and regional (27%) figures. There are hotspots of low levels of car ownership across the County, notably in Nuneaton & Bedworth and Rugby Borough. |
|
People with a Limiting Long Term Illness (LLI) |
The Limiting Long Term Illness (LLI) dataset is derived from the 2001 Census and can be used as a suitable proxy for disability. Approximately 17% of Warwickshire’s population has a LLI, and this proportion is likely to increase, as Warwickshire’s age structure grows older. |
The health of Warwickshire’s population is generally good when compared to a national basis. However, there are hotspots of poor health throughout the County, notably in North Warwickshire and Nuneaton & Bedworth, and to a lesser extent, Rugby. |
|
Low income population (Job Seekers Allowance claimants) |
The number of people who are in receipt of Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) provides a good proxy for identifying people out of work. As of August 2005 the unemployment rate in Warwickshire was just 1.5%. |
The unemployment rate in Warwickshire is significantly lower than that at a regional level (3.0%) and at a national level (2.4%). The unemployment rate in Nuneaton & Bedworth Borough stands at 2.6% (Aug 05), which is significantly higher than the County average. Pockets of high unemployment also exist in Rugby Borough, Warwick District (small parts of Leamington-Spa and Warwick) and Stratford-on-Avon District. |
An overview of the geographical variation in socio-demographic factors across Warwickshire is provided in Figures A to G below.
Rural/Urban Warwickshire
Using the Office of National Statistics Urban/Rural classification, it is evident that a third of Warwickshire’s population live in rural Warwickshire, with 18% of the population living in villages, hamlets or isolated dwellings. Significantly, over 22% of people aged 60 and over live in rural Warwickshire and nearly a quarter of these people live in hamlets or isolated dwellings. Although almost half of households in rural Warwickshire own two or more cars, access to key services can still be problematic, especially for those without access to a car for all or part of the day. The urban/rural classification is shown graphically in Figure H.
Disadvantaged Communities
Despite Warwickshire’s overall prosperity and strong economic performance there are significant inequalities that exist across the County with a number of communities, often in specific localities, experiencing deprivation and disadvantage. Whilst higher levels of deprivation exist in the north of the County, even within generally more prosperous southern districts, pockets of disadvantage exist. This is compounded by the physical and practical problems of lack of transport and support services, and of limited employment opportunities outside the main towns of the County.
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister’s Index of Multiple Deprivation 2004 (IMD 2004) provides the most detailed and comprehensive measure of deprivation and disadvantage to date. It reveals:
- Two areas within Nuneaton & Bedworth feature in 10% of the most disadvantaged in England (at Super Output Area (SOA) level);
- Of the 37 Warwickshire areas in the worst 30% nationally, 26 are within Nuneaton and Bedworth, 4 within Rugby, 5 within Warwick and 2 within North Warwickshire; and
- The IMD 2004 also measures the disadvantage rural communities can experience in terms of the accessibility of key services and access to affordable housing. Five Warwickshire Super Output Areas (SOAs) feature in the 1% most deprived areas for access to services and housing in England. These areas are all in Stratford and Warwick Districts, reflecting a lack of affordable housing and dispersed nature of many key services.
Figure I below shows the geographical variation in the Index of Multiple Deprivation.
Cross-boundary Issues
Warwickshire has extensive external administrative boundaries with the West Midlands conurbation (specifically Coventry and Solihull) as well as to the Shire Counties of Staffordshire, Leicestershire and Northamptonshire to the north and east, and Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire and Worcestershire to the south and west. In terms of accessing jobs and services, significant cross-boundary movement occurs, most notably towards the Metropolitan Area.
Work on the modelling of cross-boundary movements is progressing as authorities across the West Midlands Region begin to develop working arrangements to share data. However, a number of issues have already been highlighted via consultation with partners and through the development of our evidence base. For example 2001 census information shows almost 30,000 workers a day commuting into Coventry from the surrounding districts, particularly from the adjacent areas of Nuneaton / Bedworth, Warwick / Leamington and Rugby. The reverse movement is also strong with almost 18,000 people travelling daily from Coventry to Warwickshire. There are also several cross-boundary movements for access to hospitals, with a number of patients travelling between Coventry and Rugby as the hospitals provide different services. Similarly, in the south of the County many residents travel to the Alexandra hospital in Redditch for treatment.
Work will continue to develop both partnerships and an analytical base to progress cross-boundary working throughout this LTP period.
Approach to Improve Accessibility
To achieve our accessibility vision, the County Council will focus on reducing or removing barriers that serve to limit access to services, with a particular emphasis on those groups and areas who are most affected by them. The following objectives have been developed to support our accessibility vision:
- To promote a transport system within Warwickshire that improves access to key services and facilities for all;
- To promote accessibility as a key consideration when making decisions on the location of new services and facilities;
- To promote the delivery of services in ways which can contribute towards improved accessibility; and
- To achieve improvement for all, but with the fastest improvement for the most deprived.
A five-stage process (as recommended in the accessibility planning guidance) is being undertaken to support these objectives:
- Strategic accessibility assessment;
- Local accessibility assessments, focused on priority areas, groups and issues;
- Option appraisal and identification of resources;
- Accessibility action plan development; and
- Monitoring and evaluation.
More detail on each stage is outlined below and summarised in Figure 2.2.
This process will provide an improved evidence base which will enable a greater understanding of accessibility needs across the area and the delivery of the most cost-effective ways to tackle these needs.
An important part of the success in meeting our accessibility vision is the active engagement of the appropriate sectors and partners. The strategy therefore recognises the need for improved partnership working to maximise opportunities to improve accessibility, and the involvement of partners will be crucial throughout the above stages. Our approach for engaging with partners is outlined later in this strategy.
Figure 2 Mian stages of the recommended accessibility planning process
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Stage 1: Strategic Accessibility Assessment & Stage 2: Local Accessibility Assessments
A strategic accessibility assessment has been carried out to highlight those areas or groups of people who currently experience the lowest levels of accessibility in relation to the access to work, access to health (including healthy food) and access to education and training. For each theme the strategic assessment has combined:
- A mapping exercise using Accession software (of origins and destinations and availability of transport between the two);
- A policy review to identify any implications for accessibility;
- A review of existing evidence; and
- Consideration of socio-demographic and geographical influences on accessibility.
The strategic assessment enables accessibility to key services across the County to be examined in a systematic and objective way. The mapping exercise has been carried out using Accession, a mapping software tool that enables access by both public and private transport to be measured, from specified origins to specified destinations. Comparisons can be made over time and between different geographical areas.
The outcome of the strategic assessment has been used as a basis for discussion with main partners and has resulted in a series of actions being prioritised for each theme. In determining priorities consideration has been given to where:
- Disadvantage is greatest or there are concentrations of people at risk of social exclusion;
- The accessibility of a single service or combination of services is poorest; and
- Accessibility improvements are likely to make the greatest contribution to delivering the authority’s wider objectives, and those of the strategic level partnership.
Some of these actions require more detailed local accessibility assessments to be carried out, including undertaking additional mapping of local issues and the investigation of possible solutions arising from the Stage 1 work. The local assessments and actions will be overseen by a partnership appropriate to the priority, and will be phased through the lifetime of this Local Transport Plan period (2006-2011).
Stage 3: Option Appraisal and Identification of Resources
Having identified specific local priority areas, groups and activities through the accessibility assessment, a range of potential solutions to address these problems will need to be considered. This will be undertaken with partners so that the broadest possible range of solutions can be looked at and any practical barriers to delivery identified from the outset.
A number of factors will be considered when appraising and selecting options:
- The impacts (benefits and disbenefits) of proposed actions and their appropriateness for meeting local needs;
- The barriers to implementation that exist for the proposed action;
- The resources available to support the proposed action; and
- The stakeholders necessary to take forward the proposed action.
Where appropriate, the accessibility software will be used to compare the impacts of particular interventions. However, it is recognised that consideration of travel time issues alone is not necessarily appropriate. Other factors, such as safety, travel cost, readily available easy to understand information, or frequency of service may be equally, if not more, important. The involvement of partners and targeted consultation with local communities in option appraisal will help to ensure that any planned actions address the actual problems experienced by affected people.
The availability of resources is likely to be one of the most significant barriers and opportunities for determining whether it is practicable to develop individual actions. When considering what resources are available to implement actions, a broad view of resource availability will be taken, including staff resources, skills, locations and vehicles as well as funding across partners.
Proposed actions are likely to call on existing budgets as much as utilising new funding opportunities. In this respect the County Council will explore the possibility of efficiency gains, for example, whether integration between the forms and functions of transport across local authority departments (transport, social services and education) could lead to better accessibility and better use of resources.
In addition to maximising the benefits of existing transport funds, where it can be demonstrated that accessibility interventions are key to the successful delivery of the authority’s wider policies and objectives, consideration will be given to setting up an ‘accessibility pot’ – made up of pooled resources from across Departments – to fund joint solutions.
Stage 4: Delivery
The phased approach of carrying out accessibility assessments and reviewing options and resources will enable an action plan to be drawn up to tackle local accessibility problems. This will include consultation with partners and communities to determine the specific types of initiatives that are most appropriate for tackling local accessibility problems. The types of mechanisms that might be identified for delivering improved accessibility through action plans focus on three main areas:
- Travel to Services – improving travel to services, including the availability, accessibility, affordability and acceptability of public transport; the attractiveness of walking and cycling to local destinations; and the role of parking provision, in particular the availability of parking for disabled users and the adequacy of short stay parking;
- Location of Services – role of service providers and land-use planning in ensuring the location of new service provision in accessible places; and
- Service Delivery – approaches such as taking services nearer to people (e.g. mobile services) or providing some services through other means which avoid the need to travel (e-govt, internet shopping) and improving access of other sorts (e.g. use of language).
A number of policies have been developed under each of these headings to provide an overall framework for delivering cross-cutting accessibility improvements. These are detailed later in the strategy.
Stage 5: Monitoring and Evaluation
To evaluate the effectiveness of this strategy in meeting our accessibility objectives, the County Council will monitor the change in accessibility levels (as expressed by journey times) for access to the following key services and facilities:
- Access to healthcare and healthy food;
- Access to education; and
- Access to employment.
In addition, project specific targets will be developed where appropriate.
Partnership Approach
As stated previously, helping to ensure that people can access the services they need is not just a matter of improving local transport, but also of improving the provision of other services and developments in more accessible places and ways, and at more accessible times. Engaging with relevant partners is therefore crucial to our success in meeting accessibility strategy objectives. Where possible, existing partnerships are being used to pursue accessibility objectives within Warwickshire.
Countywide Partnership
On a strategic level, engagement is through the Warwickshire Strategic Partnership (the countywide Local Strategic Partnership). An Accessibility project group has been set up as a sub-group of the Transport Theme Group to ensure that the aims of accessibility planning are supported. Activity of the project group is divided between two areas:
A core accessibility group – represented by a small number of Warwickshire County Council officers. The group’s remit is to ensure that the aims of accessibility planning are supported by:
- Ensuring there is a clear process and responsibility for identifying groups or areas with accessibility problems;
- Ensuring that the development and delivery of LTP2 is informed by improved information on barriers to accessibility and solutions to remove or reduce these barriers; and
- Engaging with other agencies to ensure that the widest range of solutions to accessibility problems can be considered
A ‘virtual’ wider partnership group – including representatives from partner organisations and agencies represented on the Warwickshire Strategic Partnership (health, education, employment and community sectors as well as relevant officers from District/Borough Councils e.g. land use planning officers). Representatives are engaged by the core accessibility group on an ‘as and when required’ basis to assist with accessibility planning work. To date this has included consultation on the development of the Accessibility Strategy and providing details of work or partnerships that can assist with accessibility planning.
Theme Specific Partnerships
In addition to engagement with partners at a strategic level, the County Council are working with partners to consider accessibility issues relating to specific themes. This is being progressed through existing partnerships, including:
- Health and Wellbeing Partnership (for access to health and healthy food);
- Travel to Learn Partnership (for access to education); and
- Jobs Strategy Group (for access to employment).
Specific involvement of partnership groups has included: helping to identify accessibility issues (and providing a reality check on data sources already available); agreeing priorities within different sectors; and helping to identify solutions and their role in delivering these solutions. Further detail on partnership membership and engagement is outlined later in the strategy.
Links with Wider Objectives
Links with County Council and Corporate Objectives
Improving accessibility has an integral role to play in helping to meet the wider vision and objectives of the authority and its partners. As outlined in Part 1 of this LTP, the County Council’s vision and corporate objectives are set out in the Corporate Business Plan for 2005-2008. Five corporate objectives set out the long term aspirations to achieve the vision of ‘Making Warwickshire the best place to live and work’. The objectives are as follows:
- To promote lifelong learning and personal development;
- To promote the health and social care of our citizens;
- To improve the environment);
- To reduce crime and improve safety of the community; and
- To develop and maintain a vibrant local economy which promotes employment and prosperity for all.
Improved access to key services and facilities can help meet all 5 of these corporate objectives by:
Lifelong Learning and Personal Development –
- Making it easier for people to get to schools, colleges and libraries, encouraging participation and retention in education.
Health and Social Care of our Citizens –
- Reducing inequalities in health by ensuring that those most in need can access health services, ensuring that appointments are not missed and that medical help is sought at an early opportunity;
- Bringing about health benefits by enabling people to access and participate in everyday activities; and
- Encouraging healthier lifestyles by improving access to leisure facilities, improving opportunities to walk and cycle and improving access to a healthy diet.
Improve the Environment –
- Reducing the dependency on car journeys by offering more travel choice through improvements to public transport, walking and cycling; and
- Reducing the need to travel by relocating services and facilities closer to where they are needed and delivering services in ways which avoid the need to travel.
Reduce crime and improve safety of the community –
- Improving accessibility includes considering the safety of people whilst travelling; helping to ensure that people feel safe whilst making journeys on foot or by cycle, or whilst waiting or using public transport.
Vibrant Local Economy which Promotes Employment and Prosperity for All –
- Making it easier for people to travel to jobs, helping people to move from welfare into work.
Similar themes have been adopted in The Strategic Plan for Warwickshire 2005-2008, ensuring commitment from a wide range of stakeholders and the local community. Principles and actions included in the Plan which directly support the delivery of accessibility objectives are listed in Table 2.3 below.
|
Community Plan Theme |
Objective and Action |
Link to Accessibility Strategy |
|
Housing Affordability |
LPSA2 - We will improve streets for people by improving our street scenes in specific targeted areas through lighting, graffiti cleaning etc and reducing the number of anti-social behaviour and nuisance incidents. |
Safety when Travelling |
|
Jobs, Skills and Learning |
We will improve basic skills in the most deprived areas of the County and in under-represented groups through:
|
Access to Education and Employment |
|
Jobs, Skills and Learning |
We will reduce the number of economically inactive (including those on incapacity benefit, lone parents and carers) by helping those who would want to work secure work through:
|
Access to Employment |
|
Jobs, Skills and Learning |
We will provide and maintain transport infrastructure that supports a competitive economy and encourage business to remain in and relocate to Warwickshire and seek to improve mobility for all |
Access to Employment |
|
Community Safety |
We will reduce the fear of crime and improve people’s feeling of safety in their communities, by identifying what causes people to be fearful of crime and create interventions to counteract this fear |
Safety when Travelling |
|
Community Safety |
We will provide a safer environment for vulnerable road users through:
|
Safety when Travelling |
|
Health and Wellbeing |
We will promote healthy lifestyles for young people through expanding our Healthy Schools programme and creating an integrated programme of professional development and network support levels for attainment in physical education. |
Access to Health and Healthy Affordable Food |
|
Health and Wellbeing |
We will improve access to jobs and essential services e.g. GP surgeries, food shops, and leisure services by improving provision of public and community transport and directing services to the right locations. |
Access to Education, Employment, Health and Healthy Affordable Food |
|
Health and Wellbeing |
We will improve accessibility of the highways for people with physical or sensory impairments and for others with special requirements including:
|
All, particularly those with Mobility Impairments |
|
Spatial Strategy |
The spatial strategy running through the strategic plan favours new development on ‘brownfield’ land in the main Warwickshire towns as they already have access to jobs, community facilities, shops and public transport. |
Location of new Facilities |
Results of Accessibility Assessments
Accessibility Assessment Process
Accessibility assessments have been carried out for each of the main themes: Access to Health; Access to Education & Training; and Access to Employment. An overview of the accessibility assessment process is outlined in the figure below. Results of the assessments are detailed for each theme along with an overview of the strategic mapping audit stage is outlined in Figure 2.3 below.
Figure 3 Key stages and processes involved in the accessibility assessments
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Strategic Mapping Audit
The strategic accessibility maps have been produced using
Data Collection and Accession Runs
Access to the four key destination groups (8 different destinations in total) were plotted and analysed in Accession. Data (both for public transport and destinations) has been collected for Warwickshire and surrounding authorities where possible to reflect the cross-boundary nature of some journeys. Details of the data used in the mapping work, including the limitations, is provided in Table 2.4 below.
Accession runs (based on journey time threshold calculations) for all destinations were carried out using the public transport network, with key time periods, as set out in Table 2.5 below. Thresholds were set using DfT guidance and input from our partners on appropriate time periods. Accessibility runs were replicated using the ITN network (access by car) for comparative purposes.
Further Accession Plots
Following consultation with partners, a number of additional accession runs have been identified as being useful, including access to leisure facilities, access to health clinics and access to the four key destination groups by bicycle. Accessibility to the additional destinations may be examined at a later date after further consultation with the relevant partners.
Access by bicycle has not been considered at the strategic assessment stage due to limitations in representing cycle journeys at a countywide level in Accession. Whilst Accession can consider a ‘cycle’ mode, it is difficult to adequately represent in the road network the specific requirements of, and issues affecting, cyclists (for example the deterrence factors due to heavy traffic). More work will be carried out at the local accessibility assessment stage to try to take into account deterrence factors when mapping accessibility levels by bicycle.
|
Destination/ Network Data |
Data Set |
Source |
Limitations of the Data/ Implications for Stage 2 Assessments |
|
Public Transport Network |
The bus network, including cross-boundary routes. |
Public transport data. |
Only contains commercial and subsidised bus services. Does not contain school bus routes or routes operated through community transport initiatives. No rail services included. |
|
Education |
Schools (primary & secondary) in Warwickshire, sixth form colleges, FE colleges and work based learning providers. |
Warwickshire County Council Education Department and the Coventry & Warwickshire LSC. |
Access is mapped using only the PT network which does not include the statutory school transport network (this will be included when looking at Stage 2, local assessments). |
|
Employment |
Employment sites with over 500 employees located inside and outside Warwickshire and key Warwickshire town centres which offer a range of employment opportunities. |
IDBR data plus information from partners. |
Strategic level maps only show access to nearest possible employment, not nearest suitable employment. PT data used to measure accessibility does not include community transport initiatives to enable people to access employment (e.g. Busterwerkanbak operating in the north of the County). This will be included in Stage 2 assessments. |
|
Key Health Services |
GP Surgeries in and outside Warwickshire (including branch surgeries where possible) and hospitals. Small, hospitals offering limited services have been excluded from the Stage 1 assessment as it is felt that they do not inform the strategic level assessment as well as the large hospitals, offering a full range of patient care facilities. |
Data provided by DfT plus amendments made by partners (e.g. to include branch surgeries). |
Data may not include all branch surgeries. Accessibility maps only show access using the PT network, they don’t include the many community transport initiatives. Health clinics are not included at stage 1 assessments even though a number of residents (in particular the very young and the very old) access health clinics in addition to GP services. Stage 2 assessments may take these other transport options and health service destinations into account. |
|
Healthy Food |
Outlets (including small local shops, supermarkets and farmers markets) selling fresh fruit and vegetables. Located in and outside Warwickshire. |
Warwickshire Food for Health group and www.yell.com |
Fruit and Vegetable outlet data may not be fully comprehensive as it relies on data held by www.yell.com and local knowledge. Produce sold in small, local independent shops may be relatively expensive and therefore not provide a real choice for those on low incomes. |
|
Destination |
Accessibility Measure/Threshold Journey Time |
Mode |
Time Period |
Population |
Socio-demographic data as a proxy for social exclusion |
Rural / Urban1 |
|
Access to Work |
||||||
|
Main employment centres (including town centres) |
15 minute intervals up to 60 minutes maximum |
Bus/ walk |
0730-0900 (Out) 1700-1830 (In) |
People of working age (16-74) |
- Jobseekers allowance - Households without access to a car |
Yes |
|
Access to Learning |
||||||
|
Primary school |
15 minute intervals up to 60 minutes maximum |
Bus / walk |
0800-0900 (Out) 1500-1600 (In) |
Compulsory school age children |
- Income Deprivation Affecting Children (IDAC) |
Yes |
|
Secondary school |
15 minute intervals up to 60 minutes maximum |
Bus/ walk |
0730-0900 (Out) 1530-1730 (In) |
Compulsory school age children |
- Income Deprivation Affecting Children (IDAC) |
Yes |
|
Secondary school / Sixth forms / FE colleges |
15 minute intervals up to 60 minutes maximum |
Bus/ walk |
0730-0900 (Out) 1530-1730 (In) |
16-19 year olds |
- Income Deprivation Affecting Children (IDAC) |
Yes |
|
Access to Health Care |
||||||
|
GPs, including branch surgeries |
15 minute intervals up to 60 minutes maximum |
Bus / walk |
0900-1000 (Out) 1000-1100 (In) 1500-1600 (Out) 1600-1700 (In) |
All households |
- Households without access to a car - Limiting long-term illness - Population aged over 65 |
Yes |
|
Hospitals – general hospitals offering a range of care facilities |
15 minute intervals up to 60 minutes maximum |
Bus / walk |
0900-1000 (Out) 1300-1400 (In & Out) 1700-1800 (In) |
All households |
- Households without access to a car - Limiting long term illness - Population aged over 65 |
Yes |
|
Access to food shopping |
||||||
|
Supermarkets, shops and markets selling fresh fruit & vegetables |
15 minute intervals up to 60 minutes maximum |
Bus/ walk |
0900 –1100 (out) 1500 – 1700 (in) |
All households |
- Households without access to a car |
Yes |
|
Access to Main Service Centres |
||||||
|
Access to main service centres (providing a range of employment, retail, health (inc general hospital) education (inc FE) & leisure opportunities) |
Varying intervals up to 90 minutes maximum |
Bus/ walk |
0900 –1200 (out) 1200-1500 (in) |
All households |
- Households without access to a car |
Yes |
Access to Health (including Healthy Affordable Food)
Accessibility Planning and the Health Agenda
Good accessibility to key health related services, including health facilities and affordable healthy food, is vital in improving the overall quality of life and can significantly impact upon life chances. Improving access to health facilities, either through transport improvements or changes to the way services are delivered (including the location of facilities), can encourage people to seek medical help at the earliest opportunity as well as helping to reduce the number of missed appointments. Similarly, improving access to a healthy and affordable diet can significantly improve overall health, contributing to a reduction in obesity levels, helping to reduce the incidents of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers.
The circumstances of some individuals can impose further restrictions on access to healthcare and healthy food. For example:
- Levels of mobility - can people physically walk or drive to the shop or GP surgery or use public transport;
- Affordability - is healthy food affordable; and
- Skill-set - consumers with no, or few cooking skills may rely on ready-made convenience foods, which are often a more unhealthy option.
The influence of the above factors will be considered when developing solutions to improve accessibility.
Review of Health Conditions in Warwickshire
General health is, on the whole, good across Warwickshire although, as shown in Figure J below, there are hotspots of health and disability deprivation in all five districts across Warwickshire. Warwickshire has an aging population and this may present further health provision challenges in future years.
Access to Primary Health Care Services
There are currently three Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) in Warwickshire (see Figure K below): North Warwickshire PCT, which covers the boroughs of North Warwickshire and Nuneaton & Bedworth; Rugby PCT; and South Warwickshire PCT which covers Warwick and Stratford-on-Avon districts.
The structure of primary care at a national level is currently under review and present thinking indicates that the three PCT model currently in existence in Warwickshire will be replaced with a single Primary Care Trust covering the whole of the County. Small, local offices will provide a local, district level focus. In terms of accessibility planning, moving to a countywide PCT structure may be beneficial, as overall health based policies should be implemented at a county level, as opposed to the different policies being applied to different areas of the County.
GP surgeries are a crucial link into primary health care, and act as the first interface between the public and the health care system. Good access to GP surgeries is therefore vital. Poor accessibility may lead to patients not seeking medical help at the earliest opportunity, which may be detrimental to long-term health, and contribute to the incidence of missed appointments (at an estimated cost of around £100 each to the local health trust).
There are over 60 GP surgeries within Warwickshire plus additional surgeries in neighbouring local authorities where, as suggested by anecdotal evidence, Warwickshire residents living on the County border are registered.
Results of Strategic Mapping Exercise - the analysis shows that 85% of the County’s population have access to GPs by bus or on foot within a 30 minute threshold. The majority of areas which have poor or no access by bus are rural areas of the County where there is a lower population density and dispersed deprivation. A number of community transport schemes operate in the areas denoted as having poor accessibility, suggesting that on the ground accessibility is better than indicated by the strategic mapping exercise. Access to GP surgeries by community or voluntary transport services is summarised below in the section 'Provision of Specialist Transport for Access to Health' and will be mapped as part of Stage 2 local accessibility audits.
Access to Hospitals
Warwickshire residents primarily use one of twelve hospitals located in Warwickshire and the surrounding areas. With hospitals tending to specialise in certain types of treatment, the choice of which hospital to attend is determined by which services are on offer, and can often result in patients having to visit the hospital that has the most suitable health care provision, as opposed to the hospital that is the most easily accessible.
The provision of acute services is currently under review, the outcome of which may have a profound and possibly detrimental effect on accessibility to hospitals for patients and visitors alike. The implementation of ‘Choose & Book’ (see page 30) may improve accessibility at an individual level.
Results of Strategic Mapping Exercise - the analysis shows that 47% of the County’s population have access to hospitals by bus or on foot within a 30 minute threshold, the lowest percentage of all the destination types analysed. The majority of areas which have poor or no access by bus are rural areas of the County where there is a lower population density and dispersed deprivation.
There are a number of limitations of the strategic mapping exercise, namely:
- The assessment does not take account of community transport or voluntary transport schemes operating in the area, suggesting that on the ground accessibility is better than indicated by the strategic mapping exercise. A summary of services is given below; and
- The assessment only considers accessibility to the nearest hospital and does not take into account what treatments are available. Patients requiring specialist treatment may therefore have to travel to hospitals further afield and experience even lower levels of accessibility.
Further analysis and investigation of these issues is being considered as part of the Stage 2 local accessibility audits.
Access to Healthy Affordable Food
Low-income and socially excluded groups are more likely to face problems in accessing healthy and affordable food. Retail patterns have changed significantly over the last twenty years, with more and more supermarkets relocating to out of town sites and the decline of small, independent, specialist shops, such as a greengrocers or a fishmonger within town centres. Groups that have mobility problems, such as those without access to a car and who are reliant on public transport, are more likely to experience difficulties in accessing out of town supermarkets and therefore cannot take advantage of the wide choice of fresh food available at low cost. The only real option for many is to use small, local shops where often the availability of healthy food is poor, quality is poor and the price is often high.
Results of Strategic Mapping Exercise - the analysis shows that 92% of the County’s population have access to fresh food outlets by bus or on foot within a 30 minute threshold. The majority of areas which have poor or no access by bus are rural areas of the County where there is a lower population density and dispersed deprivation. The assessment does not take account of community transport schemes operating in the area, suggesting that on the ground accessibility is better than indicated by the strategic mapping exercise. Access to fresh food outlets by community transport services or dedicated supermarket transport services will be analysed as part of the Stage 2 local accessibility audits.
Whilst the results of the strategic mapping exercise appear promising, the assessment does not take into account the range of produce on offer or its affordability. Further investigation of these issues will be undertaken as part of the ongoing work of the Warwickshire Food for Health Partnership (details provided below).
Provision of Specialist Transport for Access to Health
A number of specialist transport schemes operate throughout Warwickshire, all of which, to some extent help improve accessibility to key health services and to healthy food. These transport options are outlined below. Due to time constraints these ‘non-timetable’ services have not been included in the Stage 1 accessibility assessment. It is anticipated that the services will be reflected in the Stage 2 assessment.
Flexibus - the Flexibus scheme across Warwickshire provides wheelchair accessible buses, running to a timetable on a fixed route but with the option to divert to convenient pick up points. The Flexibus scheme allows people who live too far from the standard pick up point (which is especially relevant in rural Warwickshire) or are unable to get to the bus stop, perhaps due to ill health or disability, to still access public transport. An overview of the Flexibus operation in Warwickshire is outlined below:
|
District |
Summary of Flexibus operation |
|
North Warwickshire |
Nine Flexibus routes are in operation in North Warwickshire, serving Atherstone, Tamworth (Staffordshire), Hinckley (Leicestershire), Coleshill, Bedworth and Solihull |
|
Nuneaton & Bedworth |
Four Flexibus routes all bring people into the bus station in Nuneaton town centre, two of the routes take people into Bedworth town centre |
|
Central Warwickshire |
Nine routes are in operation, bringing people into Leamington Spa and Warwick town centres. Warwick Tesco, Sainsbury's and Asda are also served. Two routes take people into Solihull town centre |
|
Rugby |
Ten of the twelve routes in operation bring people into the town centre. Routes also serve out of town centres, including a service that drops people off at Tescos and Sainsbury's. Nuneaton and Leicester town centres are also served by the Rugby flexibus |
Community Transport in Warwickshire - the community transport sector in Warwickshire has evolved due to the unmet transport needs of Warwickshire residents. Community transport has an important role in filling the gaps in the mainstream public transport network.
Any Warwickshire resident facing some kind of transport barrier, such as those experiencing permanent temporary illness, a disability or mobility problem can use community transport. Also eligible, are those who are geographically isolated or socially excluded because they do not have access to a private car or affordable transport.
Examples of community transport schemes that provide transport primarily to enable access to health services are set out below. Across Warwickshire there is no consistent approach to eligibility, charges levied, use of the service and marketing and publicity regarding the services available.
|
District |
Summary of ‘Access to Health’ Community Transport Schemes |
|
North Warwickshire |
Beeline Community Transport provides transport to and from hospitals, doctors' and dentists' surgeries, opticians and chiropodists. The service is for residents of North Warwickshire and patients who are registered with a North Warwickshire GP and who do not have access to public or private transport or are unable to use public or private transport due to sickness or disability |
|
Nuneaton & Bedworth |
Medi-Car provides transport for all medical related journeys, using volunteer drivers within the Borough |
|
Warwick |
'Racing to Get There' provides transport for people over the age of 65, who live in Warwick District, to medically related appointments |
|
Stratford-on-Avon |
The Stratford-on-Avon Volunteer Bureau runs a car scheme (driven by volunteers) for people with a genuine need to attend hospitals, doctors, dentists or day centres |
|
Rugby |
The Rugby Volunteer Bureau organises transport for clients who need to get to day centres, hospitals, doctors, dentists and other necessary appointments. Volunteer drivers in their own cars provide the transport |
Patient Transport Service - the Patient Transport Service (PTS) is available for those attending pre booked hospital appointments. A door-to-door service is provided for those who have a condition that prevents them using public transport. For patients on a low income (in receipt of income support, working tax credit or guaranteed pensions credit) the cost of travel to the appointment is reimbursed – a rate per mile for those patients who use their own car or full public transport fare, where appropriate. For patients unable to use public transport as a result of mobility problems a taxi may be used as an alternative.
Health Policies and Schemes that currently impact on Access to Health Provision
Advanced Access Appointment System - the advanced access appointment system offers accessibility benefits by giving patients flexibility in making appointments, enabling patients to take advantage of available public transport services, or, if travelling by car, at times when they will be able to park with relative ease. Advanced Access Appointment Systems have been implemented in GP surgeries (to different degrees) across the County by all three PCTs, although no standard currently exists across Warwickshire.
Choose and Book - the Choose and Book i