Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the document entitled Guidance to support local authorities in the design and delivery of active travel routes will be published; and whether this guidance will include the use of Compulsory Purchase Order powers for active travel routes.

ATE is developing specific guidance for good practice application in rural areas and expects to publish this later this year. Officers in ATE are currently seeking the input of stakeholders on the document, and the current draft includes case studies on the use of Compulsory Purchase Orders for active travel routes.

Compulsory purchase orders has a high bar with a requirement for public authorities to demonstrate a compelling case in the public interest. An alternative approach to creating new active travel routes is public path creation under the Highways Act 1980, rather than outright purchase of the land through a CPO.