Norfolk County Council's Active Travel team presented its work to the Norfolk Local Access Forum (NLAF) at County Hall on 12 February, revealing it holds £750,000 in revenue funding from the Department for Transport and Active Travel England.

The funding cannot be spent on building physical infrastructure but covers feasibility studies and programmes designed to change how people travel. The team is currently carrying out studies in Dereham, Poringland, and Diss.

Infrastructure planning is already under way in Norwich, Great Yarmouth, King's Lynn, and several market towns, with links planned via the National Cycle Network and other trail schemes.

The team has engaged with 15 schools across Norfolk and is running a pilot with two GP surgeries, where doctors can prescribe free Beryl Bike minutes to patients as part of a social prescribing initiative. The scheme is run in collaboration with the Walk, Wheel, Cycle Trust.

Active Travel England — the national body — holds statutory consultee status on planning matters, though the local authority's Active Travel team does not.

A separate project, the Norfolk Cargo Bikes scheme, is identifying physical barriers along paths that make active travel difficult for people using mobility aids or prams.

Residents with ideas or feedback can contact the team at active.travel@norfolk.gov.uk.

One outstanding question raised at the meeting was whether Active Travel grants come with conditions requiring the removal of vehicular access. Lead Project Manager Jason Richardson said he would investigate and report back.