Our vision for Tyne and Wear:
"To see Tyne and Wear continue to develop as an area where all residents have better access to a more prosperous, safer, healthier and more sustainable lifestyle in a more attractive environment"
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Latest News
November 2008
Newcastle City Council have announced that they will host the next ACT TravelWise National Autumn Conference, Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony in October 2009. Download the flyer for more information.
September 2008
Following July’s announcement that the government will support the £350m Metro re-invigoration programme over the next 10 years (see News Archive), there is equally good news about bus services in Tyne and Wear, with £15.3 million of improvements set to go ahead, subject to government funding. 
Plans include two major new park-and-ride facilities, the first bus-based park-and-ride schemes in Tyne and Wear. These will be complemented by improvements to surrounding roads in order to deliver faster, more reliable journeys.
The plans, developed through the Local Transport Plan, include:
1) A £3.12 million park-and-ride facility for 520 cars at Follingsby on the A194(M). The facility is aimed at drawing motorists from the heavily-congested A1 Western Bypass and surrounding towns and cities including Washington, Birtley, and Sunderland. Dedicated buses will run direct to the centres of Gateshead and Newcastle. A further 480 spaces may be provided at a later date;
2) £1.34 million of improvements to the Felling Bypass and nearby Sunderland Road to smooth bus journeys;
3) A £2.26 million park and ride facility for 328 cars on Whickham Highway in Lobley Hill, easing traffic congestion around the Western Bypass, Team Valley and into central Newcastle and Gateshead. The photograph on the right shows the site of the proposed car park;
4) £1.49 million on road priority measures to smooth bus journeys into Team Valley Trading Estate, as part of a co-ordinated package to improve sustainable access to the Estate;
5) £2.9 million upgrading the Wheatsheaf Gyratory and Stadium of Light access in Newcastle Road, Sunderland, improving bus flow;
6) £1.1 million improvements to bus Superoute corridors in Tyne and Wear.
This first set of schemes are focused on Gateshead and Sunderland and have been approved by the cabinets of both local authorities. Work is in hand on further bus route improvements covering the other local authorities in Tyne and Wear.
September 2008
Sunderland City Council is leading the way in promoting sustainable travel and reducing congestion in the city.
The City Council, in partnership with the Tyne & Wear Smarter Choices Team, has organised the Travel Plan Awards 2008 which recognise organisations and businesses in the city that are developing their own effective Travel Plan. (For more information about Travel Plans, see this page).
The awards acknowledge the efforts of those participants who have looked into aspects of car parking, car sharing, pedestrian and cyclist access and public transport provision relating to their staff and visitors travelling throughout the city.
In a special ceremony held at Sunderland Civic Centre on17th September, the University of Sunderland, Barclays, T-Mobile and EDF Energy all received awards for their efforts to promote sustainable travel.
Smarter Choices Project Manager Stephen Psallidas commented: “There are only a handful of businesses in Tyne & Wear whose Travel Plans have been accredited, so these four can be proud of their achievement. We would encourage any other businesses with positive Travel Plans to contact Sunderland City Council to seek their own accreditation.”
September 2008
Regrettably, the Post Office have announced that. following their "consultation", all the branches proposed for closure in Tyne and Wear (with one exception) will be closed. The only branch reprieved is at Blackhall Mill in Gateshead, as a result of which it is now proposed to close a further branch, at Walker in Newcastle.
For previous news items, visit the LTP News Archive.
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Background to the Local Transport Plan
The Local Transport Plan (LTP) is a five year statutory document prepared by all local authorities which sets out a strategy for the development of transport in a particular area. The plan indicates how money allocated by central government will be spent in order to meet local and national targets and objectives. More money may be available in a plan area depending upon the quality of its LTP.
In Tyne and Wear a joint plan has been prepared by the five local authorities; Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Sunderland and the Passenger Transport Executive; Nexus. There are other stakeholders in the plan- including bus and train companies, the ports and airport, haulage companies, taxi operators, cycling and pedestrian organisations and many more.
During the preparation of the plan Tyne and Wear residents were extensively consulted on their views of how the transport system should evolve. Therefore the Plan Partners are confident the LTP sets out a shared vision for the future. The plan addresses key transport problems affecting the area during the next 15 years and sets out appropriate, affordable and acceptable strategies to bring about improvements in local transport systems.
The first Local Transport Plan (LTP1) covered the period between 2001-2006. Progress on this plan was reported annually each July in an Annual Progress Report. The LTP Delivery Report was produced in July 2006 and described the key achievements of the first plan from 2001-2006.
The full Tyne and Wear Local Transport Plan 2006-11 (LTP2) was completed in March 2006.
The Department for Transport and Government Office North East have recently assessed the two reports. Details of their assessments can be found by looking at the page:
LTP2 / Delivery Report assessment
Submission of the first Delivery Report designed to describe the implementation of LTP2 is due in July 2008 and will subsequently be reported every two years.
The Congestion Reduction Plan is a delivery plan for Tyne and Wear outlining the strategies we are following to reduce congestion on key corridors and enable us to meet the PSA Urban Congestion Target. Further detail can be found in the 'Documents' section of the website.
The LTP is based around the 'Shared Priorities'. More information on these is available here.
LTP Shared Priorities
Tyne and Wear was awarded Centre of Excellence status in 2003 for our work in accessibility planning.
Centre of Excellence