South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard: 15 minute cities are not radical

Cities such as Sheffield, Bristol and Oxford are looking to adopt the controversial planning model, so residents can reach everything they need, including shops, schools and GP surgeries, within 15 minutes and without driving.

A series of measures are introduced to discourage people from driving and make it easier for them to walk, cycle and travel by public transport.

However, the plans have sparked a series of protests, led by people who claim their personal freedom will be impacted if driving is restricted.

Speaking at the South Yorkshire Transport Summit, Mr Coppard said: “Being able to wander down the road from your home and see a GP, send off your post, get to a bus stop, green space, a nursery and somewhere for a tea or coffee.

"It’s almost as though 15 minute cities might be a good idea.

“This is not radical. This is the world our parents or our grandparents took for granted. This is the world our children and grandchildren deserve.”

He added: "My vision is for public transport as a public service, the clue is in the title; trains, buses, bike lanes that create and sustain our communities rather than being at the mercy of officials in London or shareholders in Dubai.

"A baby being born today in Doncaster should grow up breathing clean air. By 2030, when she turns seven, we want her to be able to walk or cycle safely to school with her friends; jump on a cheap, reliable bus to see her grandparents or play football at the weekends.”

It comes after three-time Olympic champion Ed Clancy was appointed to take charge of active travel in South Yorkshire and help deliver more than 620 miles of walking and cycling routes that link various towns and cities.

Mr Clancy said: “We know South Yorkshire has some of the deadliest roads in the UK.

“We end up having this classic situation where we’re using cars to protect people from other cars. This is a cycle we can only break if we continue to improve our active travel network.”

During his speech at the summit in Doncaster, Mr Coppard also said he is committed to fixing South Yorkshire’s “broken” public transport system.

The Labour mayor has already decided that Sheffield’s tram network will be brought back into public control from 2024, and he is now looking to nationalise bus services, to prevent more routes from being cut and stop passenger numbers from falling.

He is urging the Government to upgrade and electrify the railway line linking Sheffield and Leeds – to cut journey times and improve reliability – and reverse the decision to cut both cities from the HS2 route.

He has also been urging Peel Group to sell Doncaster Sheffield Airport to a company which can reopen it, after he arranged meetings with several investors.