In 2008/2009 we were proud to be awarded Beacon status for Improving Accessibility, jointly with Nottingham City Council, building upon our previous Beacon status in Better Access and Mobility received in 2002.
Contact us to find out more about this extremely prestigious award, which acknowledged our achievements in helping local people access work, learning, health, leisure and shopping.
The award recognised our excellent consultation processes like Local Accessibility Transport Studies, our partnership working on schemes which contribute positively to the local area including Wheels to Work and the Shopping Scheme, as well as our strong track record of developing and implementing major public transport projects such as Robin Hood Airport Lynx, the highly commended Retford Bus Station and the Nottingham Express Transit (NET) tram service.
Local Accessibility Transport Studies
These studies can help to improve people’s quality of life, and accessibility to local jobs, goods and services by developing sustainable district centres and rural market towns that are safe, healthy and attractive places to live, work and visit. This is achieved by identifying travel needs through regular consultation with stakeholders and the public, a comprehensive programme of measures to deliver the objectives of each of the studies within a value for money framework is then implemented.
Wheels to Work
Wheels to Work Nottinghamshire is a transport solutions project which enables people to access work and learning where accessibility problems would otherwise prevent them from doing so. The core project, which has been running since 2002, is a moped loan scheme, where clients borrow a moped for six months, to enable them to access work or learning, and put in place a transport solution of their own for the longer term. The project provides everything needed to get started, including the moped, equipment and clothing, insurance, tax, and regular servicing of the bike.
Shopping Scheme
There are various barriers to older people accessing a healthy diet; some involve the problem of actually getting to and from the shop, but supermarket layouts and packages can also cause difficulties. The shopping scheme project commenced in July 2007 and is making an enormous difference in addressing the needs of older people who are not able to eat well. It aims to improve their quality of life and general well being helping them to remain living independently at home, building confidence, allowing a more varied diet and ensuring stored food is rotated and consumed within its use-by date.
Robin Hood Airport Lynx
In 2003 we were involved in the DfT’s accessibility planning pilot looking at ‘access to employment in a rural area’ and consultation with stakeholders identified a need for transport provision to the airport from North Nottinghamshire, as the planning approval for the airport had not included provision of a bus service. Robin Hood Airport provides excellent employment and training opportunities for Bassetlaw district residents, on a shift basis, and the frequency and operating hours of the bus routes have been planned around the shift pattern.
As Beacon authorities for Improving Accessibility we are committed to promoting and sharing good practice about accessibility planning. We held a series of events in spring 2009 to showcase the strongest elements of our work. A range of speakers gave their time to support the events and the interesting and thought-provoking presentations covered topics from ways to encourage greener travel to transport planning.
For more information about our Beacon status, the work we have done to further access to jobs, learning, healthy lifestyles, food & essential services and leisure in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, and to download pdfs of our case studies, along with the speakers’ presentations and notes from our events please contact us.
The Beacon award is in good company as Nottinghamshire has also received a number of other Beacon award for our achievements over the years, and our Local Transport Plan secured a "Centre of Excellence" award and was rated at the highest status - well above average - by the Government.
