A Better Connected Essex - Local Transport Plan
Background
The Local Transport Act 2008 requires all local transport authorities to have a Local Transport Plan (LTP), which covers all aspects of travel and transport.
Essex County Council is the local transport authority for Essex, which means we are responsible for maintaining, planning and overseeing transport in the county.
A Better Connected Essex
‘A Better Connected Essex’ is our fourth Local Transport Plan and new evidence-led transport strategy.
It sets out our vision and priorities for transport across Essex and how we plan to deliver our desired outcomes. It will guide future transport decisions and investment, and help us in unlocking future funding opportunities.
We formally adopted the new strategy in October 2026.
A new ‘Greater Essex’ Local Transport Plan will ultimately be needed by the new Mayoral Combined County Authority, but this is likely to take several years.
In the meantime, the new strategy will:
- Ensure we meet our statutory duty and have an updated plan covering the transition period
- Provide clear and up-to-date policy direction, particularly for Local Plans, which set out how and where areas should be used and developed
- Help support funding bids
- Provide a starting point for the development of a new Greater Essex Local Transport Plan by the new Mayoral Combined County Authority.
Vision and key themes
Our new transport strategy is led by both our vision for transport in Essex and what evidence tells us we need to do and where.
‘Our vision is for a safe transport system that supports economic growth and prosperity; provides access to our homes, services, education, work and leisure; contributes positively to our places and people’s health; and enables more sustainable choices and journeys to be made.’
The strategy is focused around three key themes, each with three outcomes which will help us in delivering the transport network Essex residents need and want.
Supporting people, health, wellbeing and independence
- People have inclusive, equitable and affordable access to key services
- People enjoy improved physical and mental health and wellbeing
- The transport network is safe, and feels safe, for all users
Creating sustainable places and communities
- All places support the transport needs of all residents
- New developments are designed to be sustainable from the start
- Transport has a reduced impact on the environment, with adverse impacts on natural habitats avoided, and biodiversity enhanced
Connecting people, places and businesses
- The business potential of Essex is maximised
- People have inclusive, equitable and affordable access to employment, education and training
- The transport network has a secure and long-term future
We will undertake monitoring of these outcomes to understand the impacts of the strategy.
For more information about the strategy, please read our summary document. The full strategy is also available.
Place-based strategies
Alongside the transport strategy, we have developed 13 supporting place-based strategies. These plans set out how we aim to deliver our vision and outcomes in different parts of Essex.
The areas have been identified based on transport movements within and beyond Essex, recognising that transport of people, goods and services moves between and beyond boundaries.
The areas are:
Each place-based strategy includes an introduction to the area and current travel. They also set out our transport ambitions in the area and the outcomes we want to achieve.
Finally, the place-based strategies outline our plan for improving transport in each area and an initial list of potential projects.
Public consultation
Developing a transport strategy takes several years: we carried out a first (part one) public consultation in summer 2024, focused on our initial draft key themes and outcomes.
After reviewing feedback from that consultation and developing the full draft Essex Transport Strategy, we then ran a second (part two) public consultation in summer 2025. The second consultation provided an opportunity for people to comment on the full draft strategy, as well as the 13 draft place-based strategies.
Thank you to everyone who shared their views during the consultations. Feedback from the two consultations showed a good level of overall support for our new transport strategy. It also helped us in refining and finalising the strategy.
Our full consultation report and a summary version are available in the documents section below.