Working principles

In order to achieve these aims all work on tranche 2 emergency active travel schemes will adhere to the following principles:

Encourage

• we will actively seek wider involvement of the community in active travel matters - we want to enhance local democracy and understand people’s needs
• we will inform the community about the schemes development process by ensuring everyone has the fullest opportunity to understand and participate in their preparation and delivery - we want the community to have their say
• we will get people involved from the earliest stages to enable them to influence design development - we want to prepare schemes that the community feels it has had a significant influence on
• we will set out clear timetables for involvement ensuring early participation when a response can make a difference
• we will use a variety of methods to increase involvement using traditional and new techniques to catch the attention and gain the interest of as many of the relevant people as possible

Realise

• we will provide support to encourage community involvement at each stage of the scheme preparation process whilst ensuring realistic expectations of the design and construction process - we want to make sure we can balance the level of involvement with the availability of resources so we can carry out effective community involvement exercises
• we will link with other initiatives which have included community participation and work with all relevant agencies to ensure issues are addressed comprehensively - we want to forge key links between the physical, social, economic and environmental aspects of all proposals

Respect

• we will promote a spirit of mutual openness, listening to and actively involving people in the production of the schemes
• we will acknowledge personal choice by respecting the right both to not get involved and to choose the level of involvement that individuals have
• we will ensure that all communications are jargon-free and use plain English - where the use of technical terms is necessary they will be explained in a glossary
• we will make sure that all communications are easily accessible to all by a range of media and locations
• all community involvement and decisions made will be transparent and our recording processes will enable individuals and groups to see for themselves how their input has been considered
• we will be helpful and considerate in our response to requests for information and endeavour to provide it in a timely and concise manner

Feedback

• we will maintain contact with respondents ensuring they are aware of what engagement opportunities are available, why they are important, and when they can have their say
• we will give swift and clear feedback on the impact and value of people's contributions
• we will monitor, review and evaluate our principles and processes to keep them relevant and to reflect the needs and aspirations of all members of the community - we will make improvements wherever considered necessary

We will set out clear boundaries regarding what is possible in areas of involvement and will ensure that it meets its all statutory requirements.