Technical Note

PTB Transport Planning Ltd T17598 TTN.docx

Project Number: T17598

Project: Land North of Grantham Road, Radcliffe on Trent

Title: Response to Objection

Date: 28th November 2018

Prepared By: Lianne Brook

Distribution List: Liberty Stones (Fisher German), James Parker (PTB)

1.1 Introduction

1.1.1 This Technical Note has been prepared by PTB Transport Planning Ltd, on behalf of Fisher German LLP, in response to an objection raised by Wood to the Local Plan Part 2(LPP2). The document specifically objects to proposed allocations 5.1(RAD1) and 5.4(RAD5) and suggests that the Crown Estates land north of Shelford Road (RAD12) is ‘more suitable and sustainable’.

1.1.2 This Note therefore provides a review of the comments made by Wood relating to highways matters, and continues further by providing a comparison of RAD12 against the proposed allocation RAD5.

1.2 Comments Raised by Wood

1.2.1 With regards to sustainability and the safeguarding for a footbridge over the railway line, Wood state:

“Site 5.4(RAD5) requires land to be safeguarded for a pedestrian/cycle footbridge over the railway line to access facilities in the northern part of Radcliffe and avoid [sic]. This will be costly and there is no timeframe for when it will be delivered. Similar requirements at RAF Newton to bridge the A46 have had to be publicly funded due to viability issues. In any event cars could not use the bridge and would, therefore, need to drive through the village centre to reach the new facilities proposed on site 5.3(RAD3). Similarly, residents of site 5.1(RAD1) would have to travel through the village centre to reach these facilities.

This suggests that RAD12 is a more sustainable location for residential development than sites 5.1(RAD1) and 5.4(RAD5) which do not promote the most sustainable pattern of development at Radcliffe, and propose the use of land in Flood Zone 2 (5.1).”

“Also, there are no details provided as to when or how the footbridge across the railway this will be delivered. It should, therefore, be discounted.”

Technical Note

PTB Transport Planning Ltd T17598 TTN.docx

1.2.2 This statement is misleading, as RAD5 is not dependent on this link; as a standalone development, it has access to a wide range of facilities within Radcliffe-on-Trent Village Centre via Main Road and Grantham Road. These facilities are located within walking distance of the site, and include a primary school and a doctor’s surgery.

1.2.3 Although the facilities proposed as part of RAD3 will comprise a new primary school and a new doctor’s surgery, residents of RAD5 would not necessarily need to drive to facilities which are already available within walking distance in Radcliffe-on-Trent Village Centre.

1.2.4 The provision of such a link does not substantially change the sustainability of the site, rather it is a local authority aspiration to provide connectivity and cohesion between RAD5 and RAD3, the allocation to the north.

1.2.5 Section 1.3 of this note provides further evidence in respect of the sustainability of the site.

1.3 Sustainability Appraisal

1.3.1 This section considers and compares RAD12 and RAD5 with reference to local facilities, bus services, accessibility by cycle and accessibility by rail.

1.3.2 With regards to accessibility to services on foot, Manual for Streets (MfS) states that ‘walkable neighbourhoods’ are typically characterised by having a range of facilities within 10 minutes (up to about 800m) walking distance of residential areas which residents may access comfortably on foot.

1.3.3 MfS also states that the 800m walking distance is not an upper limit and references the former PPG13 guidance in respect of walking replacing short car trips, particularly those under 2km.

1.3.4 The key local services in the vicinity of both sites are listed in Table 1 and can be identified in Figure 1; the measurements have been taken from the centre of each of the development sites.

Technical Note

PTB Transport Planning Ltd T17598 TTN.docx

Table 1 – Local Amenities

Amenity Distance

RAD5 RAD12

Convenience Store 500m -

Radcliffe Infant & Nursery School 1.3km 2.2km

South Nottinghamshire Academy 1.55km 2.12km

Tesco Express 1.65km 1.76km

Hair Dressers 1.65km 1.74km

Radcliffe Fish Bar 1.67km 1.75km

Library 1.7km 1.68km

Dent Blanche (Dentist) 1.7km 1.80km

Costa Coffee 1.72km 1.86km

The Royal Oak Public House 1.75km 1.84km

Post Office 1.78km 1.81km

Co-op Food 1.8km 1.73km

Pharmacy 1.85km 1.72km

Radcliffe on Trent Health Centre 1.85km 1.92km

Grange Hall 1.86km 1.82km

Radcliffe on Trent Junior School 2km 2.13km

1.3.5 It is clear from the above, that RAD12 is neither more ‘sustainable’ nor better located in terms of distances to local facilities than RAD5. Furthermore, RAD5 benefits from a convenience store within 500 metre of the centre of the development, providing a range of daily goods (such as milk, bread, etc.) within a 6-minute walk. RAD12 does not.

1.3.6 It is generally accepted that there is potential for short car trips to be substituted for cycle trips, and for longer trips to be substituted by a combination of cycle and public transport trips. Guidance suggests that 5km is a useful benchmark for a commutable distance by cycle.

1.3.7 The National Travel Survey 2018, highlights that the average cycle trip for 2017 was 5.65 kilometres.

1.3.8 In terms of accessibility by cycle, all of the aforementioned facilities are located within a 5km distance of both sites.

1.3.9 National Cycle Route 15 runs adjacent to RAD5 along Grantham Road and onto Bingham Road through the village centre, providing connections west to West Bridgford and east to Orston.

1.3.10 It should be noted that there is no cycle route on Shelford Road serving RAD12

Technical Note

PTB Transport Planning Ltd T17598 TTN.docx

1.3.11 In terms of bus services, bus stops are located along the A52 Grantham Road immediately adjacent to RAD5’s southern boundary. Bus stops are provided at either end of the site; adjacent to Northfield Avenue and the St James Business Park access road.

1.3.12 A bus stop serving northbound services is located on the south corner of the RAD12 site whilst the bus stop serving southbound services is located approximately 400 metres south of the site on Sheldon Road, adjacent to Valley Road.

1.3.13 RAD5 benefits from two frequent bus services; the Mainline service which runs every 10 minutes (between 5am and 11pm) to Radcliffe-on-Trent Village Centre and then on to Nottingham; and the number 90 service which runs hourly (between 8am and 9pm), again to Radcliffe-on-Trent Village Centre and then on to Nottingham.

1.3.14 In contrast, RAD12 benefits from just the Rushcliffe Villager hourly service (between 8am and 6 PM) to Radcliffe-on-Trent Village Centre and then on to Nottingham.

1.3.15 RAD5 is located at an approximate 1.7km walk from Radcliffe-on-Trent rail station whilst RAD12 is located at an approximate 1.4km walk.

1.3.16 Whilst RAD5 is located c.300 metres further from the rail station, it is important to note that RAD5 benefits from a frequent 10-minute bus service connecting to the station and running from 5am until 11pm.

1.3.17 Therefore, trips by bus/rail are a realistic choice for travel for future residents, particularly for commuting. In contrast, RAD12 benefits from an hourly bus service running from 8am, which is likely to be too late to be used by a significant number of commuters wishing to travel by bus/rail.

1.4 Traffic Impact

1.4.1 Whilst Wood states that initial technical work was undertaken to demonstrate that the local highway network had capacity for the RAD12 site, this information is not available to us.

1.4.2 As such, an assessment of the traffic impact has been undertaken by looking at the relative distribution and assignment of traffic for the two sites.

1.4.3 Given that the vehicle access point of RAD 12 will be in close proximity to that of RAD3, the assignment and distribution of RAD12 has been assumed to replicate the assignment as presented within the TA for RAD3.

1.4.4 The TA for RAD3 stated that 22.7% of traffic would likely travel to/from the east via Shelford Road, 12.5% would travel to/from Radcliffe Village Centre itself and the remaining 64.7% would continue through the village centre and west along the A52.

Technical Note

PTB Transport Planning Ltd T17598 TTN.docx

1.4.5 The predicted development traffic generated by RAD5 has been distributed across the highway network based on 2011 Census Origin/Destination Travel to Work data (using Radcliffe as the place of residence via MSOA area – Radcliffe 003) and follows a similar methodology as presented within the RAD3 TA.

1.4.6 The analysis indicates that at the St James Business Park access, 32% of traffic will assign east along the A52 and 68% west. Of those trips assigned to the east, 20% will assign north along the A46, 5% south along the A46 and the remaining 7% east along Nottingham Road. Of those trips assigned to the West, 2% will assign south via Stragglethorpe Road with the remaining 66% continuing on to the Gamston Roundabout.

1.4.7 It is evident from the above that RAD5 benefits from access directly onto the strategic highway network, compared to the 77.2% of vehicle traffic to/from RAD12, which will have a direct impact on Radcliffe-on-Trent Village Centre.

1.5 Summary

1.5.1 This Technical Note has been prepared by PTB Transport Planning Ltd, on behalf of Fisher German LLP, in response to an objection raised by Wood to the Local Plan Part 2(LPP2). The document specifically objects to proposed allocations 5.1(RAD1) and 5.4(RAD5) and suggests that the Crown Estates land north of Shelford Road (RAD12) is ‘more suitable and sustainable’.

1.5.2 This note clearly demonstrates that neither site is located more favourably in relation to existing facilities and both sites are located within a reasonable distance to the rail station. However, RAD5 benefits from significantly better bus service provision, including for connections to the rail station at peak commuting times and to Nottingham.

1.5.3 It is clear that the delivery of RAD5 is not dependant on the footbridge over the railway line to north, rather this will provide additional connectivity and cohesion between the Local Plan sites.

1.5.4 In terms of traffic impact, RAD12 has a significant direct impact on Radcliffe-on-Trent Village Centre, whilst RAD5 has a direct access onto the strategic highway network and thus a minimal impact.

1.5.5 It is clear that RAD12 is neither more ‘suitable’, or more ‘sustainable’ than RAD5; in fact, our view is that overall, RAD5 is the better of the two sites due to better connectivity via sustainable modes of travel and a significantly lower impact on the centre of Radcliffe-on-Trent in traffic terms.

Technical Note

PTB Transport Planning Ltd T17598 TTN.docx

FIGURES

Not to Scale

Grantham Road, Radcliffe on Trent

Figure 1

Local Plan Sites

Post Office

Radcliffe Infant & Nursery School

Radcliffe On Trent Pre-School Playgroup

RAD5

Reproduced by permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of HMSO.© Crown copyright and database right 2018. All rights reserved. Ordnance Survey Licence number 100046404.

1

2

3

4

56

7

8

9

10

11

12

1314

15

16

17

Bus stops

Train Station

1 Convenience Store

2 Tesco Express

3 Co-op Food

4 Costa Coffee

5 Library

6 Pharmacy

7 The Royal Oak Public House

8 Manvers Arms Public House

9

Dent Blanche Ltd (Dentist) 10

Ice Surgeries (Dentist)

11 Radcliffe on Trent Health Centre

12

13

14

15South Nottinghamshire Academy

16Radcliffe on Trent Junior School

17 Radcliffe on Trent Day Nursery

RAD12