Why is Accessibility Planning Important?

Accessibility planning is intended to develop local partnerships to secure benefits for people and areas in danger of exclusion. Poor accessibility for socially excluded groups diminishes the effectiveness and efficiency of the wide rangeof services provided by local authorities and other parts of the public sector. But, most importantly, it negatively impacts on citizen's quality of life.

The SEU report identified five key barriers that stop people from becoming actively involved in work, education, training, shopping and leisure activities or that inhibits their access to healthcare. These are:

• The availabilty and physical accessibility of transport (particularly affects those withe physical or learning disabilities, elderly people and some young people).
• The cost of transport (particularly affects low-income groups and younger people).
• Services and activities located in inaccessible places (more clearly for rural residents but also for many in urban areas).
• Safety and security (this particularly affects young men and also creates fear among women, eldery peole and people from minority ethnic and faith communities).
• A lack of information and reduced travel horizons (limiting the opportunities for partcipating in employment and social activities).

Removing these barriers means that everyone can take part in a community's economy and activities, promoting a sense of welbeing and social inclusion. Increased participation by more peoplemay also result in better use of public transport and walking and cycling routes, making a contribution to the Local Transport Plan (LTP) objectives of reducing congestion, improving air quality and improved safety, as well as improved accessibility.

For partners in service sectors, accessibility planning has similar benefits. Improving the way people access local services means less wasted resources, while the increased inclusion of formerly excluded groups will reduce pressure throughout the service sector in the long-term - enabling people to access healthcare at an early stage, for example, can reduce the need for emergency care later.

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