How connected is your community?

As Dorset prepares for significant housing growth, new government data raises awkward questions about whether villages are the right places to build

Government data suggest that ares of rural Dorset are among the least connected in England. At the same time, many of the county’s biggest proposed housing developments are planned for villages with some of the lowest transport scores.
The Department for Transport recently produced an interactive online tool which measures how easily people can reach jobs, schools, healthcare, shops and other everyday services when walking, cycling, driving or using public transport.
While, thanks to social media and the internet, many of us might feel more connected than ever digitally, this tool highlights some serious gaps for Dorset – and why more questions need to be asked of planning.

Connected?
The connectivity tool is colour coded: the easier it is to get around, the higher the score and the brighter the colours on the map (above). As you would expect, major conurbations score highly (above 90) because of their highly connected transport systems. The Department for Transport considers 67 to be the average score on sustainable transport and connectivity – the higher the score, the more sustainable a place is to live.
There are a few caveats – they make allowances for rural areas which might be poorly connected by transport, but have good facilities. However, when it comes to Dorset, the vast majority of the county outside the BCP conurbation scores below 46.
Dorset CPRE says: ‘Most of Dorset’s villages score below the county’s overall average of 46. Yet the council’s Options Consultation proposes building nearly 20,000 homes in villages – if actually built, that would decrease the average connectivity in Dorset. Such sites are not sustainable.’
When the Dorset Local Plan went through a consultation process last year, thousands of residents registered their concerns.
Apart from the sheer volume of homes proposed, most were about infrastructure and facilities to support both current and new residents.
Just about every village in Dorset has been asked to accommodate significant housing growth to help meet Government targets. But does the new connectivity data reveal a mismatch between where homes are planned and how well those communities are connected?
In many places, something radical will need to change if people are expected to travel to work or simply get from A to B. Up the road in Wiltshire, Tisbury has implemented a community-run bus which gets people to hospital appointments and local towns. Those who drive might think this issue doesn’t apply to them, one life event or illness can change everything. Some people retire to an area and then discover five years later that they need to stop driving for health reasons – and they are marooned with poor access to services. Others move to an area for a new start – only to realise there is no public transport to workplaces, or the service is not compatible with their shift work– any of these issues can reduce a person’s independence.
Dorset Council has been using the government’s data when developing the local plan for the county. A spokesperson told Dorset Life: ‘The Connectivity Tool has been available to local authorities for around a year, and Dorset Council is increasingly using it to better understand how well communities are connected to jobs, education, healthcare and other essential services. It helps us identify areas with lower levels of connectivity and where there may be unmet transport needs.
‘One example is our work on the new Dorset Local Plan. We have used the Connectivity Tool – alongside local transport and socio-economic data – to reassess settlements from a transport sustainability perspective. This is helping to inform decisions on the most suitable locations for future housing and employment growth, and how future public transport networks could support new development.’

Useful insights
The tool is also useful for communities to argue for better transportation infrastructure and to consider how a new and improved service would work. Can this data help to stop or slow down the relentless building in villages? What happens when a planning team finds a low-scoring area?
The Dorset Council spokesman said: ‘We look beyond ‘We look beyond the headline score to understand factors such as access to local facilities, public transport links and opportunities for walking and cycling.
We also consider how growth can help improve connectivity. This may include better bus services, new walking and cycling routes and improved access to local facilities. We aim to create sustainable communities where people have real travel choices and can access everyday services without being wholly reliant on the private car.’
However, for those people who live in a village with no public transport, dependent on cars, any large development must surely come with a requirement for better infrastructure and transport to services? Communities are also expected to be open to new ways of travelling – but how safe would you feel on a bicycle on the A3030 in winter?
Dorset CPRE are keen to encourage sustainable development. However there are concerns that without supporting connectivity, this simply won’t work. A spokesperson said: ‘Dorset CPRE supports our communities in wanting a balanced Local Plan – for the right housing in the right places, including the genuinely affordable homes that Dorset needs. We all want a thriving, successful, sustainable future for Dorset’s communities, economy and countryside – at a sensible scale.’
The Government’s Connectivity Tool won’t decide where homes should be built. But it does provide another piece of evidence for communities asking whether new housing should be matched by equally ambitious investment in transport and local services.
Explore the Connectivity Tool (Lite) here – connectivity-tool-lite.dft.gov.uk/index