Economic Appraisal:
- Develop a baseline/existing transport, demographic, and economic situation for Ayr.
- Build a holistic evidence base considering key social groups, and businesses.
- Provide clear, and unbiased recommendations accounting for uncertainties in the economic climate.
- Capture a broad range of benefits arising from improved quality of movement and urban realm through the use of a bespoke methodology.
- The IIA produced was cognisant of all design elements produced by the Active Travel Team, feeding into the analysis, results, and findings within the final report. The IIA report serves as a critical piece of evidence required to aid the project and design transition to the next stage of work.
Independent Review:
- Independent academic review of methodology and findings from industry experts/sub-consultants at Institute for Transport Studies at the University of Leeds.
Multi-Disciplinary Involvement:
- The overall project had been design-led via Sweco’s Active Travel Team in Scotland
The breadth of evidence reviewed by our team clearly illustrated a substantial vacancy in terms of established guidance and methods for comprehensively appraising urban realm schemes. With no established or industry-recognised approach outlined for evaluating the impacts of urban realm schemes, the IIA sought to utilise a combination of the most pertinent appraisal tools available, taking a nuanced approach to providing the most robust appraisal of the improvement to both links and places given the resources available and the scope of the assessment.
The bespoke appraisal methods packaged and carried out within the IIA act as a notable effort to close the existing gaps within the economic appraisal of urban realm. With this advancement, the diverse range of direct and indirect impacts can be better captured and quantified in order to more effectively demonstrate the benefits associated with sustainable urban realm schemes and the overall impact they have on local communities.
The more thorough and robust the appraisal of urban realm schemes becomes, the more confidence this will provide to funding bodies to support similarly innovative and sustainable urban realm schemes. The outcomes and clarity provided by the IIA have allowed the project to transition though a key decision point which means work can now progress into detailed design and delivery. This serves as a significant step towards achieving the goal of improving accessibility for all while making Ayr an attractive and vibrant place to live, work and visit.