What the new Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy means for development planning
Rovia welcomes the Government’s Third Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS3), which puts active travel as a central priority within transport and planning policy.
The Government has outlined two new objectives for CWIS3 to support this 10-year national vision: to ensure people are safe to travel actively and that people feel it is an easy choice. To help achieve this, they have allocated £4.5 billion of investment to create over 3,500 miles of safer routes, connecting schools, neighbourhoods, high streets and transport hubs.
Th Government is aiming for 55% of short urban trips to be walked or cycled by 2035, meaning there will also be rising expectations on development. The Strategy reinforces that walking and cycling infrastructure must be embedded in new developments from the outset.
A stronger planning requirement
Active Travel England (ATE) will play a more prominent role in the planning system, ensuring new developments deliver high-quality, policy-compliant active travel provision. Proposals will increasingly need to demonstrate:
Direct, safe walking and cycling routes
Integration with local and strategic networks
Alignment with Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans (LCWIPs)
This raises the bar for transport evidence at both promotion and application stages.
Aligned with growth and housing
CWIS3 places active travel at the heart of housing delivery and growth strategy. Local authorities will be expected to produce funded active travel network plans aligned with development.
For promoters and developers, this creates an opportunity to:
Position sites alongside emerging sustainable transport corridors
Strengthen the case for allocation and deliverability
Reduce reliance on private car travel
Active travel is now a critical enabler of development, not just a sustainability add-on.
Focus on schools and local connectivity
A key early priority is delivering safe routes linking homes, schools and local centres. This has direct implications for site design, with greater emphasis on:
Walkable neighbourhood layouts
Safe crossings and reduced severance
Child-friendly infrastructure and independence
These principles align closely with best practice in placemaking and masterplanning.
Towards a national network
The Strategy will bring together existing and planned routes into a coherent national active travel network, supported by improved mapping and wayfinding. For development sites, this means:
Stronger expectations to connect into wider networks
Greater scrutiny of isolated or piecemeal provision
Increased value in delivering strategic links
What this means
The Strategy reinforces that active travel is fundamental to planning success.
Developers who embed high-quality walking and cycling provision early, aligned with local plans and wider networks, will be best placed to secure consent and deliver viable, future-ready schemes.
How we can help
At Rovia, we support our clients in responding to evolving policy requirements, including:
Active travel strategies and design input
Transport assessments aligned with CWIS3 expectations
Site promotion support through the Local Plan process
Engagement with Active Travel England and local authorities
If you would like to understand how CWIS3 may affect your sites, please get in touch.
