Louth’s Active Travel Scheme: Moving Forward

With the start of the Louth Active Scheme now in full swing, it’s a prime time to look back on the history of how one of Lincolnshire’s most welcoming towns became a vital part of the Government’s push toward sustainable transport development.

The Louth Active Travel Scheme is an 18-month-long trial that sees the restriction of traffic along Mercer Row in order to create a larger pedestrianised area feeding into Cornmarket.

Encouraging the town’s blossoming café culture, the scheme is designed to slow down the pace of visitors to the town centre, making it easy for them to walk in, enjoy the businesses and to make the most of the great cafes and food services the centre of Louth is well known for. 

The first steps of the planning and discussion process for the Louth Active Travel Scheme in Louth have been in progress for over a year.

From initial scheme ideas to public consultation and feedback from businesses and residents, the plans for the transport trial have been refined and tweaked directly in response to points raised so far.

Here’s the timeline of the Louth EATF so far:

• March 2021: The open consultation on proposals for pavement café licences, parking restrictions and associated closures to provide Louth with a newly pedestrianised area was started
• May 2021: Consultation period closed following local elections
• June 2021: LCC liaised with local Cllr Sarah Parkin regarding the proposed scheme and options to the original plan after reacting to feedback from residents and businesses. The county council also met with local cycle forums to look at some issues they had raised
• July 2021: LCC met on site to go through issues and agreed solutions
• September/October: LCC liaised with ELDC parking services and Market organisers to clarify all their requirements.
• October: LCC met with Cllr Parkin and a trader where they discussed the scheme from the trader’s perspective. This information was shared with EATF planners to consider in the ongoing design
• October/November: Design elements for the scheme to temporarily widen footways are worked on for the works programme and delivery
• December: LCC met with Cllr Parkin, representatives from ELDC and local traders to share the details of the proposals, explain the rationale behind them and to ensure that they were happy with the restrictions. Plan adjustments were made following the meeting
• March: The scheme begins with changes to Mercer Row and traffic flow in that area of the town. After feedback from those using the area, changes were promptly made to the first part of the scheme’s activation. Barriers that were in place on Mercer Row were removed with planters used instead to close off access to Cornmarket denoting the newly pedestrianised area. Changes to signage was also being undertaken
• May 2022: Parklet seat units that combine bespoke seating options with large planters announced for the area to encourage people to stop and rest in the café culture part of Louth

As a consequence of feedback during this timeline so far, the scheme has already changed from what was first proposed with two roads originally planned for inclusion dropped from the overall design.

Louth’s EATF evolution will continue over the scheme’s 18-month-long timescale.

It’s this fluidity of the scheme and its ability to change - and react to positive and negative elements as they present themselves during its operation - that will ensure that Louth gets a valuable sustainable transport strategy that benefits as many people as possible.

One of the key people who is behind the ambitions of the EATF is Gary Denniss, Chairman of the Louth Independent Traders. He thinks that the EATF is a positive for Louth and said:

“I think EATF will bring to Louth a much more pleasant shopping experience for customers and as a town we have to move forward, we cannot stand still.

“With the vast amount of independent retailers in Louth, it’s this that we do. We change and react to what is needed at the time.

“We have all just been through a very difficult period and now is the time to make some changes to encourage people to use their local towns. We want to make it the very best experience for them that we can.

“Having spoken with members of the public and traders, it’s clear that most of them think that the EATF is a great idea.

"Louth was not designed for the amount of cars we currently see on our streets and the town is well blessed with car parks and some of the cheapest parking in the country, some of it is even free.

“Most car parks are within a 5-minute walk of the town centre. We have disabled parking in the centre of town on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays so I think we have covered all the bases.

“When we speak to people about the cafe culture in the Cornmarket what we hear back is that they love it. And it is a great area to meet up with family and friends in a safe environment, it’s especially good for people who have children with them.

“In my opinion, the EATF can only be seen as a positive for our town and businesses alike.”  

Cllr Richard Davies, executive member for highways at LCC added:

“The Active Travel Scheme is something designed to open up the businesses and café culture to a wider audience.

“As we have right from the very start of this process, we will continue to listen to feedback from everyone who wants to get in touch.

"It’s this response from the people and businesses of Louth that will enable us to fine tune the scheme across the coming year-and-a-half.

“As with any new scheme, there are - and have been - some teething issues and we’re sorry for that but moving forward with the EATF in Louth is a very important step to take to ensure future sustainability for the area.

“We would like to thank everyone who has taken part in the scheme so far. Their input and effort into the future of what a town like Louth can achieve is a real positive.”