Applying for a Local Highway Improvement (LHI)

Evidence should be provided that demonstrates that there is an existing safety issue or problem. This can be with reference to:

• Existing recorded road traffic collision data which can be found on Cambridgeshire Insight.
• Anecdotal evidence of accidents including reference to photographs or emails where an injury accident may not have occurred.

Evidence should be provided in the application of how the scheme will make it safer for different user groups. Specific reference should be made to the expected safety improvements the requested changes will have for groups such as pedestrians, cyclists, or vulnerable users.

An example could include the installation of speed cushions outside a primary school to reduce vehicle speeds in an area with a high number of vulnerable users, or the installation of parking restrictions to prevent vehicles parking too close to a junction and increase visibility for those seeking to cross the road.

Your application should detail the expected benefits of your improvement for: users of non-motorised forms of transport, users of public transport, and to health and wellbeing.

For example, you could refer to or highlight how your proposal would encourage an uptake in healthy activities such as walking, cycling, and horse-riding. Improvements could include areas of widened foot or cycle path, warning signs making it safer for horse riders or cyclists to use a section of road, or a pedestrian crossing linking two areas of a village and providing a safe place for people to cross.

Does the wider community, particularly those directly affected, support this scheme proposal? How important is this issue on a local level? Evidence that your proposal is supported by the local community including your local county councillor, along with the level of local consultation that has been carried out.

For example, you should provide a detailed summary of what consultation you have undertaken to date, for example a parish newsletter, online survey, or presentation at a council meeting. You will need to satisfy those scoring your application that should it be successful local stakeholders will be in support of the scheme and are aware of what has been applied for.

Examples of this could include but aren't limited to the following: an anticipated improvement in air quality near a school, an expected reduction in noise pollution, or a positive reduction in vehicle speeds.

For non-complex applications the process will be as follows

1. The applicant will submit a completed online LHI form
2. Applications are then sifted by officers into either complex or non-complex projects
3. Non-complex applications are reviewed on a district wide basis and assigned to individual officers to progress
4. Officers will review their assigned non-complex applications and produce a high-level cost estimate for each application
5. If needed, officers will liaise with the applicant to confirm the exact amount the applicant will be contributing to the project if the estimated cost exceeds the amount the applicant has indicated they are able to contribute on their application form, or if anything about the application is unclear
6. The officer group will reconvene to score all non-complex applications as a group for each district using the prioritisation matrix
7. The non-complex scheme scores are then ranked for delivery up to budget available for the relevant district area and the prioritised list is shared with the LHI member working group to review and approve.

For complex applications your proposal will be as follows

1. Applicant submits the completed online LHI form
2. Countywide applications are sifted by officers into either complex or non-complex projects
3. The complex applications are reviewed on a district wide basis and assigned to individual officers to progress. A road safety and policy review will also be undertaken with the Highway Project Team. Jointly officers will consider the options available that best meet the objectives of your application, including any solutions you have suggested
4. The assigned officer will then review assigned complex applications individually in more detail. At this stage they may contact the applicant to discuss their application further if anything is unclear. Following this a draft feasibility report will be produced for each separate application
5. The officer will then liaise with the applicant and share a copy of the feasibility report and budget estimate for the project. This will outline the agreed scheme objectives, extents, and key project risks
6. The applicant will review the report. They will likely need to have the budget implications approved at a council meeting before formally approving the contents and the third-party contribution
7. Once the feasibility report has been formally accepted by the applicant officers will produce a technical appraisal report in advance of the district member panel day. This will detail the costs and key project risks agreed with the applicant
8. The member panel day will then take place. The complex applications will be presented by the applicants and district member panel will score the applications based on set criteria
9. Once all the district member panel days are complete the complex project scores are collated and ranked by officers for delivery up to the budget available for relevant district area and presented to the Highways & Transport Committee for review and approval.