Council makes 'good' progress with its transport plan

The authority was ranked 12th nationally, achieving 87 per cent in the annual progress report assessment by the Department for Transport, improving its position from the previous year, when it was graded ‘average’ and scored 60 per cent.

Darlington is among 22 local councils given the ‘good’ grading by the Department for Transport for 2004/2005.

This improvement has also resulted in the authority being given a 5 per cent reward in its transport budget, adding £76,000 to the funds available to spend on schemes outlined in its Second Local Transport Plan (LTP2) for 2006/2007.

The LTP2 is a detailed plan for tackling transport issues and highways maintenance schemes over the next five years across the borough.

The priority issues to be tackled in Darlington’s LTP2, include accessibility to transport, tackling congestion, air quality issues, improvements to foot and cycleways, finding ways of using cars more sustainably, as well as safety issues, such as introducing 20mph zones around schools and traffic calming.

The LTP2 is currently being finalised, although the Department for Transport has cut the original guideline budgets for the five year period for Darlington by £1.283m.

The only way it will be able to regain this extra funding is by being rewarded for achieving the highest possible assessment for both the delivery report for the first LTP and the final version of its LTP2.

Darlington Borough Council Cabinet Member for Transport and Highways, Nick Wallis, said: “For Darlington to have gained this ‘good’ grading shows the improvements we have made in delivering transport schemes across the borough.

“Now we need to take this success and build on it to improve transport systems across the borough for the future.”

For more information about the LTP