Remit Consulting has been a central spoke in active travel’s intersection with Real Estate since the BCO seminar on the topic in 2012, and increasingly since 2018 when the first ReTour cycle event took place in London. Over the past 12 years, Remit Consulting has contributed to the growth of end-of-trip facilities in new developments and the increased quality of such facilities for all commuters. Increasingly, the focus has expanded to include wider city infrastructure as a key part of enabling a more active demographic when it comes to transportation.

The most recent ReTour Forum, on 16th July 2024, was held at Assembly Bristol, a new waterside development by Axa IM Alts and their development manager, Bell Hammer, which includes three buildings and an extensive public realm. For the development, the consideration of active travel was critical to the concept’s design, as the scheme itself forms a key component of the fabric of Bristol’s urban landscape, linking Bristol Temple Meads to Castle Park and the city centre for pedestrians and other active travellers. A key objective in the delivery of the project was to also help improve these links, through new initiatives such as the opening of Cheese Lane for the first time in 50 years as a public right of way.

With panellists including Bell Hammer, the Redcliff & Temple BID, Active Travel England, and Stantec, the event’s discussions began with a Bristol focus and grew to the southwest and then the UK more widely. The familiar theme of collaboration between local authorities, developers and active travel experts as a necessity ran throughout the afternoon, with particular emphasis on the impact collaboration can have on the successful implementation of masterplans for urban environments. Without collaboration, the risk increases that active travel and the productive use of public realm are deprioritised. As put by one attendee, we mustn’t forget that the people who occupy the public realm are, and should always remain, the priority for urban planning.

The level of detail provided at the planning stage can help mitigate these risks, supporting bodies like Active Travel England to endorse or enhance, rather than reject planning applications based on the proposed approaches to active travel infrastructure and prioritisation. It is now a statutory requirement in the planning process that Active Travel England reviews any schemes which plan to develop over and above 150 residential units, or 7,500 square metres of commercial space. To support the smooth transition of schemes through this check, Active Travel England is introducing a pre-application service later this year.

However, the challenge for cities like Bristol is creating consistency in their approach to planning. Unlike the ‘London model,’ as one attendee put it, Bristol does not have a city-wide master plan or transport plan from which it can hinge all development projects. This more fragmented approach is in part due to the way devolved powers are allocated, where the required local knowledge can be found, and how funding is secured for different schemes, all pointing to the solution that parties must ‘work the problem’ through incremental change rather than overhaul it.

There is also potential for this landscape to change with the new government, especially with early indications that devolution deals are to be reviewed. However, singular masterplans are not always helpful, and so the ambition to mimic the ‘London model’ is far from certain for Bristol.

There is a desire within Bristol to support a more consistently prioritised position for active travel within the urban planning process, endorsed by Bristol City Council, which is already in discussions with the head of planning to push active travel up the agenda. Hearing from the Redcliff & Temple BID, businesses within Bristol are also supportive of active travel improvements, recognising the close relationship with wider placemaking improvements. Stantec quoted that good urban planning can boost the local economy by 40%, lending more weight to the argument to attract people into urban centres for more than just mandatory office days.

There is a long way to go as cities across the UK navigate active travel’s place within the urban landscape. It took the best part of 40 years to adequately incorporate cars into urban planning, and so this may well be a long journey. Communicating the benefits through productive local engagement and continuing to swoop in on successful case studies like magpies in order to celebrate and share good practice, as noted by Active Travel England, will help the UK to continue its journey to a healthier, happier, and more active urban landscape.

To talk about Remit Consulting’s research into active travel and real estate, please get in touch with Neil Webster at neil.webster@remitconsulting.com.

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