2013-07-08 Badger Cottage, Langport TScip.southsomerset.gov.uk/Planning/StreamDocPage/obj.pdf?DocNo=... · pedestrians can cross safely using the zebra crossing to access the footway

LAND TO THE REAR OF BADGER COTTAGE,

NEWTOWN ROAD, LANGPORT

TRANSPORT STATEMENT

PREPARED FOR

Norman Parfitt

FMW CONSULTANCY LIMITED TRYM LODGE

1 HENBURY ROAD WESTBURY-ON-TRYM

BRISTOL BS9 3HQ

JULY 2013

CONTENTS

1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 1

2 EXISTING CONDITIONS .......................................................................................... 2

3 ACCESSIBILITY OF THE SITE ................................................................................. 4

4 PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT ................................................................................... 7

5 TRIP GENERATION ................................................................................................. 9

6 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS ........................................................................... 12

FIGURES

Figure 1: Site Location Plan Figure 2: 2km Walking Radius and Local Facilities

APPENDICES

APPENDIX A: Local Bus Routes APPENDIX B: Site Layout Plan APPENDIX C: Correspondence on Visibility Splays APPENDIX D: Vehicle Track Plots APPENDIX E: Measures Only Travel Plan APPENDIX F: TRICS Data APPENDIX G: Census Travel to Work Data

Land to the Rear of Badger Cottage, Newtown Road, Langport Transport Statement

FMW0982 1 July 2013

1 INTRODUCTION

Brief 1.1 FMW Consultancy has been appointed by Norman Parfitt to prepare a Transport

Statement (TS) in support of a planning application for the proposed redevelopment

of land to the rear of Badger Cottage, Newtown Road, Langport. The development is

proposed to consist of up to 25 residential units and will be accessed directly from the

A372 Newtown Road.

1.2 This TS is prepared in order to assess the transportation, traffic, parking and highway

implications associated with the development proposals.

1.3 The structure of the report is summarised below:

v Section 2: Provides a description of the existing highway network surrounding

the development site;

v Section 3: Provides a summary of the existing accessibility of the site by non-

car modes of travel;

v Section 4: Outlines the relevant characteristics of the proposed development

including access arrangements and parking proposals.

v Section 5: Outlines the predicted number of vehicular trips from the site

following its development; and

v Section 6: Presents a summary of the report and identifies the main

conclusions that can be drawn from the Transport Statement.


FMW0982 2 July 2013

2 EXISTING CONDITIONS

Site Location 2.1 The development site is located on the eastern side of the A372 Newtown Road

approximately 400m north of the junction of the A372 Newtown Road and the A378

Somerton Road in Langport, Somerset. The site is currently in agricultural / rear

garden use.

2.2 The site is located near to the northern boundary of the village of Langport where the

predominant development form is residential. The western boundary of the site is

formed by the A372. To the north of the site are five existing residential dwellings

which lie on the outskirts of Langport and front onto the A372. To the south, are the

residential streets Newton Park, Walnut Road and Maple Road. Phase 1 of the Old

Kelways committed development site is located to the southeast. To the east is the

site of the proposed Phase 2 of the Old Kelways development for which a planning

application is expected to be submitted shortly.

2.3 The location of the site is illustrated within Figure 1.

Local Highway Network 2.4 The site currently has no direct vehicular access from the A372 Newtown Road.

2.5 The A372 Newtown Road is a single carriageway road and runs north-south past the

site. It varies in width between approximately 6.0m and 7.0m at the northern end.

The road is street lit and the alignment is approximately straight and level, with the

road being subject to the standard 30mph urban speed limit past the proposed site

access location.

2.6 Further to the north and once beyond the last house the road descends Swallows Hill

to Combe Lane before rising again as White Hill towards the north.

2.7 Newtown Road provides a continuous footway of approximately 1.8m width on its

eastern side only, with a 1.1m footway on the western side as well once to the south

of Kennel Lane. The two footways are linked via a zebra crossing just to the north of

the Newtown Road / Somerton Road junction and then both link into a footway on the

northern side of Somerton Road which then continue towards the east and the west.


FMW0982 3 July 2013

2.8 The junction between the A372 Newtown Road and the A378 Somerton Road is

located approximately 400m to the south of the proposed site access and takes the

form of a simple priority junction with Somerton Road having the priority. Visibility

from the Newtown Road side arm is generally good.

2.9 The A372 / A378 Somerton Road is a single carriageway road with a width of

between 6.5m and 7.0m. To the west of the junction with Newtown Road, the A378

travels under a railway bridge and into the town centre with a continuous footway on

the northern side only but with a footway on both sides once south of Eastover. The

A378 continues west through the town centre before joining with the A358 to the east

of Taunton.

2.10 To the east of the Newtown Road junction, the A372 continues east across the Old

Kelways site frontage before forming a roundabout junction with the B3153 which

continues towards Somerton. The A372 continues south from this roundabout before

passing through Huish Episcopi and Pibsbury, to the north of Long Sutton, and joining

the A303 at the Podimore Roundabout. A continuous footway is provided on the

western side of the A372 towards the local Secondary School with intermittent

footways of varying widths on the eastern side of the road.


FMW0982 4 July 2013

3 ACCESSIBILITY OF THE SITE

Introduction 3.1 As previously mentioned it is proposed that the site be redeveloped to provide 25

residential units. This section reviews the accessibility of the site by sustainable

modes of transport in the context of the proposed land use.

Walking and Cycling 3.2 Walking is the most important mode of travel at the local level and offers the greatest

potential to replace short car trips, particularly those under 2km. Cycling also has the

potential to substitute for short car trips, particularly those under 5km. Both modes of

travel have the potential to form part of a longer journey by public transport.

3.3 The proposed development site benefits from a lit footway link on its western edge

which runs south adjacent to the eastern side of the A372 Newtown Road from the

proposed site access to the junction with Somerton Road in the south. From here

pedestrians can cross safely using the zebra crossing to access the footway on the

northern side of Somerton Road which runs into the centre of Langport.

3.4 Figure 2 illustrates that Langport town centre is only approximately 800m to 1.1km to

the south of the proposed development with the entire settlement area being within

1.7km. As a result a great number of important everyday services and facilities are

accessible within a 2km walking distance, as indicated in Figure 2, including:

• The nearby Esso petrol filling station, auto services and convenience store;

• Huish Episcopi Primary School (750m) and Huish Episcopi Academy

Secondary School (1.4km);

• Numerous retail and employment opportunities including a Tesco

Supermarket (750m) and Romford Wholesale Meats processing factory

(2km);

• Langport Doctor’s Surgery (900m) and two Dental Surgeries (1.2km);

• A Post Office (950m) and banking facilities (1km); and

• A wide range of leisure opportunities including playing fields, pubs, cafes and

restaurants.


FMW0982 5 July 2013

3.5 Local convenience shopping is available at either the Esso petrol filling station at the

junction of the A378 and A372 approximately 400m to the south of the proposed

site’s access road, or at the Tesco supermarket on North Street which is a

comfortable 800m walk.

3.6 Good quality footways with street lighting provide safe and convenient linkages

between the site and the town centre, other residential areas and beyond. For the

most part, dropped kerbs are also provided where footways cross side roads and at

the major junctions within the town including the new roundabout junction between

the A372 and the B3153 and at the Tesco’s site access road.

3.7 To assist pedestrian movements, there are several zebra crossings within the town

including one located at the southern end of Newtown Road, one on, Somerton Road

outside Tesco’s, and two on Bow Street within the town centre.

3.8 Although there are no dedicated cycle routes within the immediate vicinity of the site,

there is an on-street route (regional route 30) which runs along Somerton Road and

Wearne Lane approximately 400m to the south of the site. This route links with the

National Cycle Network Route 339 in Langport town centre. NCN 339 is

approximately 1.6km to the southwest of the site and runs between Bridgwater and

Martock with an off-street section running to the south of Langport.

Public Transport 3.9 The nearest bus stops to the site are located on the A372 Somerton Road, a 500m

walk from the sites’ access road. There are no facilities at either stop, with the

marker post itself only present for the eastbound stop.

3.10 Services available from both the Somerton Road stops are summarised in Table 3.1.

The routes of these services within the local area are illustrated on the plan attached

as Appendix A of this report.

3.11 There are two regular bus routes that operate from the bus stops located on

Somerton Road. The 38 bus route operates an hourly service between Taunton and

Street with the 54 bus route providing an hourly service between Taunton and Yeovil.

Both of these regular services operate Monday to Saturday from the early morning to

early evening with no services on Sundays or Bank Holidays.


FMW0982 6 July 2013

Service Operator Route First Bus Last Bus Frequency

38 Berry Coaches Taunton – Langport – Somerton - Street

07:47 (EB) & 07:45 (WB)

18:47 (EB) & 18:31 (WB) Hourly

54 First Taunton - Yeovil 06:15 (EB) & 07:37 (WB)

18:30 (EB) & 19:52 (WB) Hourly

16 Hatch Green Coaches Bridgwater - Huish Episcopi 07:45 (EB) &

08:00 (WB) 17:52 (EB) 18:05 (WB) 1 e/w

850 Somerset

County Council

Langport – West Lambrook 09:38 (EB) & 11:19 (WB)

09:38 (EB) & 11:19 (WB)

Thurs only – 1 service

903 Somerset

County Council

High Ham – Aller - Langport 09:38 (WB) & 10:01 (EB)

09:38 (WB) & 11:19

(WB)

3 services on Monday

and Monday /Wednesday

Table 3.1: Bus Services from Somerton Road

3.12 Additional less frequent services are operated by Somerset County Council in the

morning on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays and provide routes to High Ham

and West Lambrook. The 16 service operates via Somerton Road during Bridgwater

College term times but also provides a more general two-hourly services between

Langport and Bridgwater across the week.

3.13 The nearest railway station to the site is located within Bridgwater, approximately a

17.6km journey from the site. Bridgwater is located on the main Taunton to Bristol line

with twice hourly services in both directions during the day.

Summary 3.14 The above section identifies that the proposed development site is accessible by non-

car modes of travel and is located within walking distance on a number of key local

facilities including local bus stops. Development of the proposed site will therefore

provide future residents with a viable choice of travel modes which in turn will help to

reduce the use of the private car.


FMW0982 7 July 2013

4 PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT

Development Proposals 4.1 It is proposed to construct 25 new residential units arranged as semi-detached or

detached dwellings. The proposed site layout plan is attached in Appendix B.

Vehicle Access 4.2 Vehicular access to the site will be via a new priority junction access road on the

eastern side of Newtown Road running between the existing residential properties of

Badger House and Ivydene. An access road of 5.0m width with a 1.8m footway on its

southern side will link between Newtown Road and the site within which will be

created a loop road to serve the various properties. Appropriate drop kerbs will be

provided on either side of the access road to ensure continuity of the footway along

Newtown Road/Swallow Hill.

4.3 There have been previous discussions with Somerset County Council regarding the

appropriate levels of visibility to be provided at the site access junction. An Automatic

Traffic Count survey was undertaken on Newtown Road in May 2011 with the

required splays then being calculated based on the recorded 85th percentile speeds.

These distances were then plotted on the topographical survey and considered in

both the horizontal and vertical planes taking into account the realignments of the

boundary walls that are possible across the frontage of both Badger Cottage to the

north and Ivydene to the south. Somerset County Council (Jon Fellingham)

subsequently confirmed that the levels of visibility that could be provided were

appropriate. The associated correspondence is attached as Appendix C.

4.4 To assist in reducing southbound traffic speeds on Newtown Road as vehicles enter

the built up area, the applicant would be willing to provide a financial contribution

towards the provision of additional road markings such as rumble strips and a 30mph

reminder roundel.

4.5 A swept path analysis of the proposed site layout has been undertaken to ensure that

a large refuse vehicle can appropriately service the site. This is attached as

Appendix D.


FMW0982 8 July 2013

4.6 The proposed development will also provide a 3m wide paved link between plots 14

and 15 to connect the site the existing public footpath than runs north – south just to

the east of the site boundary. If the proposed second phase of the Old Kelways

development comes forward (subject to planning) then this link could be fitted with

removable bollards such that it could act as a link for emergency vehicles between

the two sites should the need arise. With the second phase of Old Kelways

developed this link will also aid the wider permeability of both sites in terms of

pedestrian and cycle movements.

Parking 4.7 Parking levels on the site will be in accordance with Somerset County Council’s

parking standards for residential developments. The proposed dwellings will be

provided with either two, three or four parking spaces depending on the number of

bedrooms provided in each.

4.8 Garage provision will be of minimum dimensions 6m by 3m with all properties where

there is a driveway or garage directly adjacent to the property being provided with a

16 amp external plug socket to enable the charging of an electric vehicle.

4.9 Cycle parking will also be provided in accordance with the SCC’s standards.

Travel Plan Measures 4.10 The scale of the proposed development is such that it warrants introduction of a

measures only Travel Plan. An initial draft of such a document is attached as

Appendix E.


FMW0982 9 July 2013

5 TRIP GENERATION

Proposed Development Trip Generation 5.1 Trip rates for the proposed development have been obtained using the industry

standard TRICS 2013(b) trip rate database. The database was interrogated for

‘houses privately owned’ to provide a robust assessment of the possible worst case

scenario in terms of vehicle trips to and from the site.

5.2 Within the analysis, sites in Ireland and Greater London have been excluded and only

sites in ‘Edge of Town’ or ‘Suburban areas’ have been included. The range of sites is

limited to those with between 6 and 100 dwellings for weekday surveys. The

residential population within a one mile radius is restricted to less than 15,000 and

within a 5 mile radius of the survey sites has also been limited to a maximum of

75,000 so as to replicate the site location while also retaining sufficient survey sites to

allow appropriate average trip rate values to be calculated.

5.3 The TRICS assessment results in 12 sites being identified which is sufficient to

generate suitable average person trip rates for the proposed development. The

resultant person trip rates and person trip generation based on 25 residential units

are shown in Table 5.1 with the full TRICS data being attached as Appendix F.

5.4 Table 5.1 demonstrates that 25 residential units would generate approximately 28

two-way person trips during the morning peak hour, 25 two-way person trips during

the evening peak hour with a two-way person trip generation of 230 over the course

of a 12 hour day.

Proposed

Residential

Morning Peak Hour Evening Peak Hour Daily

Arrivals Deps Arrivals Deps Two Way

Trip Rate (per unit) 0.258 0.885 0.692 0.332 9.201

25 units 6 22 17 8 230

Table 5.1: Total Person Trips Generated by the Proposed Development


FMW0982 10 July 2013

Existing Residential Modal Split 5.5 The modal split of the person trips identified for the development has been based on

2011 national census ‘Method of Travel to Work’ data for Langport and Huish Ward

Area. A summary of this census data is shown in Table 5.2 with the Census outputs

being attached as Appendix G.

Mode of Travel Persons Percentage of Total People

Percentage of Travellers

All People 2031 100.0% 100.0%

Work Mainly at or From Home 87 4.3% n/a Underground, Metro, Light Rail, Tram 0 0.0% n/a

Train 8 0.4% n/a

Bus, Minibus or Coach 13 0.6% 1.0%

Taxi 2 0.1% 0.2%

Motorcycle, Scooter or Moped 13 0.6% 1.0%

Driving a Car or Van 923 45.4% 73.1%

Passenger in a Car or Van 61 3.0% 4.8%

Bicycle 30 1.5% 2.4%

On Foot 208 10.2% 16.4%

Other Method of Travel to Work 16 0.8% 1.3%

Not in Employment 670 33.0% n/a

Table 5.2: Langport and Huish Ward ‘Method of Travel to Work’

5.6 In order to accurately identify the modal split of journeys to work, it is necessary to

discount those who work mainly at or from home and also those who are not currently

working as these two categories do not generate work related trips. Similarly,

Langport has no railway station so journeys by train or underground etc. are first likely

to involve a car journey to a railway station. The third column of the above table

therefore identifies the appropriate adjusted modal split values.


FMW0982 11 July 2013

5.7 Table 5.2 demonstrates that the majority of people who travel to work from the

Langport and Huish Ward do so by car / van with a majority split of 73.1%. Travel to

work by more sustainable modes such as public transport, walking and cycling

equates to a total of 19.8%.

5.8 Applying the 73.1 % car driver value from Table 5.2 to the person trip values given in

Table 5.1 allows the vehicular trip rates for the proposed development to be

identified. These are shown in Table 5.3 below.

Land Use Direction Vehicle Trips

AM Peak PM Peak Daily

25 Units Arrival 4 12 83

Departure 16 6 85

Table 5.3: Proposed Development Predicted Peak Hour Vehicle Trips

5.9 From the Table it can be seen that the proposed development is likely to generate 20

two-way vehicle trips in the AM peak, 18 two-way vehicle trips in the PM peak and

168 two-way vehicle trips across the day as a whole.

5.10 Overall the analysis reveals that the development proposals would only generate an

additional one vehicle movement in one direction or the other on Newtown Road

every three minutes on average across the highway peak hours. This level of traffic

follow increase is considered to be insignificant and does not warrant a more detailed

assessment of the operation of the site access junction or of the traffic impact on the

wider highway network.


FMW0982 12 July 2013

6 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

6.1 This Transport Statement has been prepared in support of a planning application to

develop land to the rear of Badger Cottage, Newtown Road, Langport for 25

residential units. The report has been prepared to examine the highway, traffic and

transportation issues associated with the redevelopment proposals and to

demonstrate the accessibility of the site by a range of transport modes.

6.2 The conclusions of this report are:

• The site is located within a short walking distance of a number of important

everyday services and facilities, including Langport town centre, employment

opportunities, various leisure activities, food retail, bus stops, health services and

education facilities;

• The site is accessible by non-car modes of transport. Two services per hour

operate from the Somerton Road stops to Taunton, one an hour to Street and

Yeovil with a two-hourly service to Bridgwater being available from the town

centre. Pedestrian links to the town centre are also good with a continuous

footway linking the site access road to the local bus stops and Langport town

centre;

• Including garages, a total of 75 car parking spaces will be provided across the

development which represents an average of three spaces per property. This

level of provision is considered acceptable given the site’s location and

accessibility by non-car modes and also complies with Somerset County

Council’s car parking standards;

• Vehicular access to the site will be taken from Newtown Road, between the

existing residential dwellings Badgers Cottage and Ivydene. The levels of

visibility available from the site access have been assessed against recorded

traffic speeds and have previously been deemed acceptable through pre-

application correspondence with the Highway Authority;

• Trip generation analysis suggests that peak hour traffic flows to and from the site

associated with the proposed housing development is forecast to generate a

maximum of 20 two-way movements in the highway peak hours;


FMW0982 13 July 2013

• Traffic flows on Newtown Road are currently low therefore additional traffic from

the site would not result in any operational issues on the local highway network..

6.3 It is concluded therefore that there are no highway or transportation reasons that

would preclude the proposed 25 dwelling residential development of the Badger

Cottage site.


FMW0982 July 2013

FIGURES

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2013-07-08 Badger Cottage, Langport TScip.southsomerset.gov.uk/Planning/StreamDocPage/obj.pdf?DocNo=... · pedestrians can cross safely using the zebra crossing to access the footway