Transport assessment guidance

What are Transport Assessments and Transportation Statements?

A Transport Assessment (TA) is required for most large developments where there is the potential for a major traffic impact on the surrounding transport network.  These developments will typically include the following;

• Food and non food retail stores of over 1,000m² Gross Floor Area
• Hotels with more than 50 beds
• Residential developments with 100 dwellings or more

Transportation Statements which are a slimmed down version of a full TA are usually required in the following circumstances:

• Hotels with less than 50 beds
• Residential developments with between 50 and 99 dwellings

Please note however, that these are only guidelines and that a full TA can be asked for if the Council considers that the traffic impact of a proposed development merits such an investigation.

A TA should examine the potential impact of a development on the surrounding transport network.  This includes all transport modes such as walking, cycling, public transport and the private car. It should aim to show that the site is a sustainable site in terms of transport usage and that private car usage can be minimised.  A TA should include the following:

1. A description of the proposed development, including plans showing the site location and site layout
2. A description of the current and existing transport network in the area that should include current footways and cycle routes (both off-road and on road)
3. A description of the current public transport provision in the area.  Current guidance states that the development should be no more than 400m (a 5 minute walk away) from a bus stop.  It is important that the most accurate information is provided and public transport information can be found on the Council's Public Transport  bus timetable web pages.
4. A forecast of the likely vehicle trip generation figures for the year of opening of the proposed development.  This is normally provided by using the industry standard TRICS trip generation database.  It is imperative that the current version is used and that all outputs are included as an appendix in the final report and all assumptions made are clearly stated in the report.
5. Committed development in the vicinity of the development should be included within the report
6. Full traffic counts and junction analysis for all junctions 'in scope' of the development.  Junctions in scope are usually those within the vicinity of the proposed development or those which will be impacted by traffic travelling to and from the proposed development. Junction analysis can be carried out by using several industry standard packages such as ARCADY, OSCADY and PICCADY.
7. A Travel Plan (or Travel Plan Framework) showing what measures will be taken to reduce the dependence on the private car for trips made to and from the development.

The first step would be to appoint a firm of transport consultants to carry out the assessment.  Most transport planning consultancies are able to fulfil this task and applicants should therefore obtain a number of quotations before deciding on which firm should undertake the work.  The consultants should produce a 'scoping report' stating the methodology that they propose to adopt in carrying out the full assessment.  This must be agreed by the Council before they can proceed to undertaking the full report. It is strongly recommended that the consultants actively engage in discussions with Council officers at the outset to agree the parameters for the study.

A full study should then be prepared and this should be agreed with the Council.  The final report should be submitted as part of the planning application in order for the application to be determined fully by planning officers of the Council.