ON average, it takes Cheshire East and West residents more than 45 minutes to reach a hospital on foot or by public transport, figures suggest.

In its recently-published Levelling Up white paper, the Government pledged to bring public transport connectivity across the country in line with London standards by 2030.

Each year, the Department for Transport calculates journey times from neighbourhoods across England to eight local services by walking or via public transport.

DfT data shows in Cheshire East, journey times to these services, which include large workplaces, secondary schools, hospitals, food shops and town centres, averaged 20 minutes in 2019 – the latest data available.

In Cheshire West, it is 21 minutes.

Meanwhile, the average journey time to reach the same key services in the capital – which boasts the fastest travel times nationally – was around 12 minutes.

The figures show it took Cheshire East residents 45 minutes to reach a hospital, 21 to get to a secondary school, 11 to reach a food store and 13 minutes to get to the nearest large employment centre on foot or via public transport in 2019.

Cheshire West and Chester residents took 47 minutes to reach a hospital, 21 to get to a secondary school, 10 to reach a food store and 13 minutes to get to the nearest large employment centre.

In comparison, it would have taken Londoners around 27 minutes to reach a hospital, 13 to get to a secondary school, six to get to a food shop and seven minutes to get to work.

Paul Tuohy, chief executive of the Campaign for Better Transport, said the figures showed there is a ‘long way to go’ in ensuring everyone can access the places they need to go by public transport.

He said: "There has to be the funding available to introduce services where there currently aren't any, and improve services where they aren't good enough."

A DfT spokesman said the Government is committed to levelling up all modes of transport and driving up standards across the UK.

He added: “Our £96 billion Integrated Rail Plan is boosting train travel in the North, we’re investing £5.7 billion to improve city links, £3 billion to build greener and more reliable bus services, and £4.8 billion through the Levelling Up Fund for vital services and infrastructure.”