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MVA Consultancy and Mouchel to deliver DfT travel plan seminars

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Securing Travel Plans through the planning process is the most effective and efficient way of implementing travel plans. MVA and Mouchel will assist in the dissemination of the Department for Transport’s and the Department of the Community and Local Government's ‘Delivering travel plans Through the Planning Process’ development control guidelines. MVA Consultancy and Mouchel will deliver three regional training seminars.

The seminars, on behalf of the Department for Transport and the Department of the Community and Local Government, will be delivered in partnership with other industry experts including the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation and the Royal Town Planning Institute.

The conferences – which will take place in Exeter, Liverpool and Nottingham during March 2010 – have been developed to increase awareness, uptake, and improved delivery of travel plans.The seminars will take place on the following dates:

2nd March – Devon County Hall, Topsham Road, Exeter, EX2 4QD
9th March – Merseytravel, 24 Hatton Garden, Liverpool, L3 2AN
16th March – Days Inn Hotel, Nottingham, NG1 5FW

The quickest way to book is online at http://www.ciht.org.uk/en/events/index.cfm

Key objectives of the free seminars will be to provide greater clarification and further understanding of the elements of the new guidelines and to engage with a target audience that includes: planning and development control professionals, travel planners and smarter choices professionals, as well as developers and partner organisations that represent travel planners.

Each seminar will include speaking slots from the Department for Transport, the Department of the Community and Local Government and the main authors of the guidance case study, examples of locally sourced development control LA process and travel plans, interactive workshops aimed at putting the policy into practice and best practice examples showing effective implementation of the guidance in varying settings.

Each event will start with a 1 hour key decision makers briefing aimed at Senior transport professionals, such as Heads of Transport and environment and key local politicians and councillors. This will be followed by a structured all day seminar for practitioners, which will explore the detail of best practice in this area of work.

The events – which will be supported by one-to-one drop in clinics with experts and speakers will also offer extensive networking opportunities between local authorities and developers.

MVA Director of Smarter Travel Conrad Haigh, said: “Travel Plans secured through the planning process account for around seventy-five per cent of all the active travel plans in England.

“Ensuring that these travel plans are reliable, robust, effective and delivering modal shift away from single occupancy private car usage is not only essential to the development sector, but with increasing budget pressures on government bodies and local authorities, it is also essential to the delivery of an effective transport system, that will aid and reinvigorate industry and the economy in the coming years.

Jon Harris, Technical Director for Smarter Choices at Mouchel added: “The events are funded by DfT and are free to participants, they will provide clarification on delivering the new guidelines and will offer local good practice case study examples, expert sessions and workshops as well valuable networking opportunities for all participants.”

The events are being funded by DfT and delivered with support from Merseytravel and Devon County Council.

Information for Editors:

Note to editors

Industry leader MVA Consultancy provides advice on transport and other policy areas to central, regional, and local government, agencies, developers, operators, and financiers.

A diverse group of results-oriented people, we are part of a strong team of professionals worldwide. Through client business planning, customer research and strategy development we create solutions that work for real people in the real world.

Mouchel is a consulting and business services group that provides many of the design, managerial and engineering services that support modern society. We work with government agencies, local authorities, government-regulated industries and the private-sector to provide safe, reliable roads and railways, well-managed education and civic infrastructure, clean water, and cost-effective energy.
www.mouchel.com

CIHT is a membership organisation representing over 12,000 people who work in the highways and transportation sector.CIHT members design, build, operate and maintain best-in-class transport systems and infrastructure, whilst respecting the imperatives of improving safety, ensuring economic competitiveness and minimising environmental impact.
www.ciht.org.uk

Smarter travel at MVA and Mouchel

MVA is one of the few consultancies to have a dedicated Smarter Travel Directorate with extensive experience in undertaking smarter choices projects and the development of travel planning measures. The team has been involved in a number of major PTP schemes including leading the roll out of PTP in London – the UK’s largest application of PTP to date.

Mouchel has developed its Smarter Choices capability through some ground breaking travel behaviour work around the UK, developing sustainable solutions that leave a real travel planning legacy. Mouchel have worked with partners in disseminating this best practice across the industry.

For further information please contact:

Emma O'Sullivan on 01483 742925
or email eosullivan@mvaconsultancy.com

or

Sarah White on 01483 742975
or email swhite@mvaconsultancy.com

1 February 2010