Environment and sustainable transport

High and medium flood risk zones

This map shows the areas of Wiltshire that are at risk of flooding, ignoring the presence of flood defences. Flooding can have a large impact on the health and wellbeing of the population. Floods can damage buildings and belongings, cause direct health impacts such as drowning and also cause indirect effects on health such as mental health impacts. Vulnerable groups such as older people, children, people with pre-existing medical conditions and people experiencing homelessness are at most risk of the impacts of flooding.

For local flood warnings you can visit https://check-for-flooding.service.gov.uk/

Definition: Flood Zone 3 (high risk) describes areas of land that, when the presence of flood defences is ignored, have a 1 in 100 (1%) or greater chance of flooding each year from rivers; or have a 1 in 200 (0.5%) or greater chance of flooding each year from the sea. Flood Zone 2 (medium risk) describes areas that have more than a 1 in 1000 (0.1%) chance of flooding each year, but less than a Flood Zone 3 risk.

Data source and time period: Environment Agency, Flood Map for Planning (Rivers and Sea) - Flood Zone 2 and Flood Map for Planning (Rivers and Sea) - Flood Zone 3. November 2023.

Passenger journeys on local bus services

Public transport is important to a community as it offers an affordable and accessible mode of transport to those who do not have access to a car or find it difficult to walk longer distances. Ensuring a community is well served with a reliable service is important. In addition, getting more people to replace car journeys with public transport can contribute to the reduction of carbon emissions.

Wiltshire is a large county, and a lot of the interurban bus journeys can be slow as these services also go through villages and housing estates. Wiltshire Council has a Bus Service Improvement Plan in place and acknowledges the need for faster services between the major towns in Wiltshire for bus travel to be a more realistic alternative to using a car. More information can be found on the Bus Service Improvement Plan webpages.

Definition: Number of passenger journeys on local bus services per head population.

Data source and time period: Department for Transport, Bus statistics data tables: Passenger journeys on local bus services per head by local authority: England, from 2009/10. Table BUS01f. 2012/13-2021/22.

Car or van availability

Having access to a regular method of transport is important for work opportunities, accessing health services, staying connected and socialising and general wellbeing. In a predominantly rural area like Wiltshire where bus travel is not as commonly used or as accessible, having access to a car or van is a key mode of transport.

In Wiltshire, only 13% of households do not have a car or van. This is a different picture to England as a whole, where 24% of households have no car or van. The figure for England is likely to be affected by more urban areas where car ownership is less common. Across our community areas, we do see a slightly higher percentage of households without cars in our more urban areas, such as Salisbury at 23% and Trowbridge at 17%.

Definition: Percentage of households by number of cars or vans available to household members.

Data source and time period: Office for National Statistics, 2021 Census. Table TS045 - Car or van availability. March 2021.

Method used to travel to work

The methods used by Wiltshire residents to travel to work are reflective of previous indicators in this section as nearly half (49% of people) use a private motor vehicle as their mode of transport. With the increase of people working from home following the pandemic, the working population in Wiltshire reflects this change, with 34% of employed people working mainly at or from home.

Public transport is the least common method used to travel to work across Wiltshire, with only 2% of the working population using this mode of transport. Across Wiltshire, active travel to work is used by 10% of the working population. There is variation in this across the community areas, ranging from 17% in Salisbury to 6% in Southern Wiltshire. Wiltshire Council have several active travel schemes, such as introducing new cycleways and cycling and walking facilities to link up different areas. More information can be found on the New Active Travel Schemes webpages.

Definition: Percentage of 16+ employed persons by method of travel to work. People who were furloughed at the time of the 2021 Census (about 5.6 million people) were advised to answer the transport to work question based on their previous travel patterns before or during the pandemic. This means that the data may not accurately represent what they were doing on Census Day.

Active travel: Bicycle, on foot

Public transport: Train, bus, minibus, or coach, underground, metro, light rail, tram

Motor vehicle: Driving a car or van, motorcycle, scooter or moped

Work mainly at home (place of work indicated as home address)

Other: Taxi, passenger in a car or van, other method of travel to work

Data source and time period: Office for National Statistics, 2021 Census. Table RM077 - Method used to travel to work by distance travelled to work. March 2021.

Air Quality Management Areas

Local authorities are required to review and assess the air quality in their areas by measuring air pollution and predicting how it might change over the next couple of years. The aim of this air monitoring is to protect both the population's health and the environment by meeting the national air quality objectives.

If it is found that objectives are unlikely to be achieved, an Air Quality Management Area (AQMA) must be declared. An AQMA can range from being one or two streets to a much larger area.

In Wiltshire there are four AQMAs, each one in a different community area. To view the AQMAs on a map, and to see the monitoring data, please visit Wiltshire Council's pages on the Air Quality England website.

Definition: Active local authority funded air quality monitoring sites.

Data source and time period: Air Quality England, Wiltshire Council - Air Quality monitoring service. October 2023.

End-user carbon dioxide emissions

In 2019, the UK became legally committed to reaching net zero emissions by 2050. Global temperatures are increasing through the release of greenhouse gases, as a result of the way we currently live, from heating our homes to filling our cars. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the primary greenhouse gas emitted through human activities. Looking at the total CO2 emissions by emission source, transport emissions contribute a large proportion of Wiltshire's total emissions, at 48%. Of these transport emissions, we can see that 96.1% are from road transport.

Definition: End-user carbon dioxide emissions by emission source, where emissions related to energy use emissions are distributed according to point of energy consumption.

Data source and time period: Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, UK local authority and regional greenhouse gas emissions national statistics. 2021.

Electric vehicle public charging points

As illustrated through the car or van availability and method used to travel to work indicators, car ownership is important for the residents of Wiltshire. The majority of households own a car and the rural landscape of the county makes it an important addition to a household. However, it is clear that road transport is having an impact on the environment and climate through the carbon dioxide emitted.

As well as having lower running costs and no congestion charges, electric vehicles offer a more environmentally friendly option to petrol or diesel vehicles. Zero emissions transport is a priority in the Wiltshire Climate Strategy 2022 – 2027, and so ensuring that there are sufficient charging points for electric vehicles is an important step in the transition to the population adopting zero emission vehicles.

There are 227 public electric vehicle charging points across Wiltshire, and this chart shows the distribution of these charging points across the community areas. An objective in the Wiltshire Climate Strategy is to increase the number of electric vehicle charging points. The Wiltshire Council Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Plan has set out as a priority for 2021-2024 for every urban area with a population above 10,000 in Wiltshire to have at least one Council sponsored public electric vehicle charge point.

Definition: The number of publicly accessible electric vehicle charging points in Wiltshire.

Data source and time period: Data supplied by Zapmap. 31st August 2023.

Walk Safe, Scootability and Bikeability training

Encouraging children to walk, scoot or cycle to school instead of travelling in a car is part of Wiltshire Council’s sustainable travel agenda. It contributes to the reduction of transport carbon emissions and promotes active travel from a young age. The Walk Safe, Scootability and Bikeability schemes provide children with the knowledge to take part in these activities safely.

'Walk Safe' supports schools in their involvement with the Wiltshire Healthy Schools Programme, making sure children receive sound pedestrian training and are able to experience traffic and roads in a controlled environment, helping them to become safe, independent road users.

Scootability is delivered by a qualified Road Safety Officer from Wiltshire Council's Road Safety Team and is a one hour fun-filled practical session focusing on balance, control and responsible use of a scooter.

Since 2007, the national Bikeability scheme has given thousands of children the chance to learn to ride a bike and develop the skills needed to ride safely.

For further information on these schemes, please visit the Wiltshire Healthy Schools Programme's Road Safety webpages.

Definition: Number of children in school years 1-6 completing Walk Safe and Scootability training, and number of children in school year 6 completing Bikeability training in 2022/23, by the location of the school or training centre.

Data source and time period: Sustainable Transport, Wiltshire Council. 2022/23.

Community transport schemes

Community transport groups are run for the local community on a not-for-profit basis. Most vehicles are wheelchair accessible and are provided by registered charities that are volunteer-led with a number of paid drivers. They offer scheduled public transport services as well as services for day trips, as well as pre-bookable services for regular trips.

Link schemes aim to support elderly and disabled people and those in need of extra support by helping them to access vital services in their local area, such as health appointments, as well as offering more practical help with home or garden tasks.

Shopmobility groups allow people with permanent or temporary mobility issues to take part in day-to-day activities such as shopping, by providing the hire of electric scooters, power chairs and manual wheelchairs.

Definition: Number of community transport schemes supported by Community First.

Data source and time period: Community First, Transport Directory. June 2023.

Energy Performance Certificates

An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) is required for properties when constructed, sold or let. Low energy ratings of D-G mean householders spend more on energy bills and release more CO2 into the atmosphere than A-C rated homes. This chart shows all EPCs from 2020-22 and suggests a pattern of notably lower energy efficiency among homes in the Pewsey, South West Wiltshire and Malmesbury areas than in the rest of Wiltshire. Warm and Safe Wiltshire is a commitment from Wiltshire Council, Swindon Borough Council and their partners to help residents live in healthier, safer and more energy efficient homes. It aims to do this through, for example, the installation of draught-proofing measures, providing advice on reducing energy use, reducing condensation and damp problems, and controlling heating. For more information, please see the Warm & Safe Wiltshire website.

Definition: Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) describe the energy performance of a property and what can be done to improve it. The chart includes EPCs for all properties that were constructed, let or sold or where a certificate was requested, including those that were certificated more than once.

Data source and time period: Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities, Energy Performance of Buildings Data: England and Wales. 2020-2022.

Household waste management

A total of 208,551 tonnes of household waste was managed in Wiltshire during 2022/23. Each household produced an average of 549.2kg of residual household waste. This residual waste is typically comprised of non-recyclable household waste collected at the kerbside, or non-recyclable waste disposed of at the household recycling centres. It excludes household waste sent for re-use, recycling and composting, but includes any household waste that is subsequently disposed of through a landfill diversion treatment, i.e. energy from waste production. Of the residual waste collected at the kerbside, less than 1% of this material was sent directly to landfill with the remainder going to energy from waste production.

Of the total 208,551 tonnes of managed household waste:

• 83,451 tonnes (40%) recycled, composted or reused (of this, 98% was recycle, composted and reused in the UK).
• 92,585 tonnes (44%) diverted from landfill using waste treatment and energy from waste facilities, and
• 32,515 tonnes (16%) sent to landfill.

Wiltshire Council has launched a new awareness campaign to provide people with more information about what can and can't be recycled using its kerbside collection services, and how to correctly dispose of potentially hazardous items. The council's campaign, called Recycling - let's sort it!. aims to improve recycling rates and reduce contamination. This follows an increase in items that can't be recycled through the council's kerbside scheme being put in blue-lidded bins.

Definition: Total household waste by outcome. Household waste is a subset of 'municipal solid waste', and excludes some materials that are not classified as household waste, such as soil and rubble, DIY waste disposed of at the HRCs, and commercial waste.

Data source and time period: Waste Management, Wiltshire Council. 2022/23.

Fly tipping reports

Fly tipping has a negative impact on the environment. It can impact wildlife and biodiversity, and some of the materials that are fly tipped can be hazardous and are usually not biodegradable.

There were 2,631 reports of fly tipping made to Wiltshire Council in 2022/23. The number of reports does vary across the community areas of Wiltshire. Tidworth, Pewsey and Bradford on Avon all saw the lowest number of fly tipping reports, while Southern Wiltshire had the highest number at 281.

Definition: Reports of fly tipping made to Wiltshire Council.

Data source and time period: Highways and Transport, Wiltshire Council. 2022/23.