Councils get to grips with delivering a Big Society approach to transport

Lots of people are talking about the Government’s Big Society agenda but what does it actually mean for transport? Lee Baker spoke to two of the Government’s Big Society vanguard local authorities who are trying to put the idea into practice

21 December 2010

The London Borough of Sutton is giving residents a bigger role in clearing snow from roads and footpaths

Residents rather than transport professionals will decide how capital budgets on highways and transport are spent and how transport schemes are designed, under plans by ‘Big Society vanguard’ local authorities.

The Prime Minister announced in July that four local authorities would test ways of devolving power over services to local residents and community groups under a ‘Big Society’ approach: Windsor & Maidenhead, the London Borough of Sutton, Eden Valley in Cumbria...