Plans to improve access to jobs, learning, healthcare and shopping in Eden have been approved by the county council's local committee for the area yesterday (Thursday 22 February).
Councillors heard that the county council has been working with a number of organisations in Eden to produce an 'Accessibility Plan', which will be submitted to the Department for Transport as part of the Local Transport Plan for the county.
The Eden Accessibility Plan features specific actions to improve access for both groups and individuals in the community. Some of these are already underway, including a scheme to encourage young people to use community buses and help with driver training for young people to learn how to drive minibuses. This is provided by North Cumbria Community Transport.
The county council will also be working with Cumbria Association of Local Councils (CALC) to encourage people in Eden to get involved with voluntary schemes in the area. The council has been working for some time to support several voluntary car schemes in the area, which are useful for people who can't use or don't have access to public transport. A new scheme is currently being developed in Kirkby Stephen.
Eden is also fortunate in that it has the services of the Fellrunner, which is entirely staffed by volunteers and provides a lifeline for communities on the East Fellside.
As well as schemes that provide greater access to transport, the plan also includes details of how access to the county council's services will be increased raising awareness of those services. Organisations such as Cumbria Tourism, Eden District Council, Friends of the Lake District and the Lake District National Park Authority are working together to promote passenger transport.
Support has also been received from Cumbria Primary Care Trust to recruit a Cycling for Health officer and a number of initiatives are in place to encourage people to walk or cycle to some of the council's services, which also promotes a healthy lifestyle
The review of the current levels of accessibility in Eden has thrown up a number of issues regarding access to health facilities and here again the council is working with the primary care trust to ensure that the it takes account of the rural nature of the area when planning health care servcies for local people.
Speaking about the Eden Accessibility Plan at the meeting councillor Gary Strong, Chairman of the Eden Local Area Committee, said: "Accessibility is a very important issue in Eden.
"It is vital that everyone in the area is able to access the services they require. Transport issues are a major topic for the people of Eden, particularly if they do not have access to a car.
"This plan hopes to help resolve these sort of problems."
ENDS
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