Jesse Norman MP, who is the Minister of State for Transport, recently gave a talk to members of the Association of Directors of Environment, Economy, Planning and Transport (ADEPT) where he discussed local transport issues and how to shape places for thriving communities. ADEPT is an organisation that represents local authority strategic directors responsible for the environment, economy, planning and transportation.

The MP for Hereford and South Herefordshire also put forward the view that local communities should have and need an ecology of the road in which all modes can prosper.

Currently, the local authorities are using around 12% of infrastructure budgets on cycling and walking. Jessie Norman presented a challenge to ADEPT members to try and increase it to 15%.

One person who attended the talk tweeted Jesse Norman MP afterwards and said: “Really energetic presentation at ADEPT conference from Department for Transport Minister, Jesse Norman, challenging the sector to increase how much infrastructure funding we invest in cycling and walking.”See this week’s paper for more stories like this, available in shops and as a Digital Edition now.