Consultation Response

Wiltshire Council Application No 19/05824/OUT: Land south of Netherhampton Road June 2019

Introduction

This document represents a formal response by regarding the above Planning Applications.

Go South Coast operates across the south coast with its core networks based in , Salisbury, , Swindon and the with smaller depots at , Swanage, Ringwood and Totton. With a fleet of over 800 vehicles across all brands, we help our customers make over 47 million journeys annually. We are a major employer in the south of with over 1900 colleagues delivering services every day of the year.

Bus services are provided primarily through the route networks of more bus, Salisbury Reds, SwindonBus and serving the , , Swindon and areas and on the Isle of Wight. These networks are in the majority commercially operated but there is significant involvement in the tendered local bus market, together with school and college movements. The prestigious contracts to operate bus services for the University of Southampton - & Bournemouth University - UNIBUS are currently held, together with contracts for other higher education providers. We also have coaching operations running under the brands of Excelsior, Damory and Tourist Coaches as well as operating several National Express contracted services through Ringwood towards Gatwick, Heathrow and Central London.

We aim to provide customers with the best experience possible when they travel with us. In order to achieve this we are constantly investing in our fleet and staying ahead of competitors with innovative on-board technology from free wifi to USB charging points, smart ticketing and cashless payments.

Go South Coast have a history of working with public and private sector partners on developing initiatives in new vehicle technology. In 2017 we invested over £11.5m on 70 new vehicles with Clean Diesel VI engines reducing particulates from these vehicles significantly. In Bournemouth and Poole we have continued this investment in a modern fleet, in the spring of 2018 we introduced 41 Euro VI buses on our Bournemouth and Poole cross- conurbation routes m1 and m2, representing an investment in excess of £6m. Within the last year we have rolled out, in partnership with County Council a contactless ticketing project across our fleet in Hampshire which has assisted us to introduce payment by card on our network.

At the routeone Awards 2017 Go South Coast were crowned as Large Bus Operator (operating over 200 vehicles) of the Year for 2017. There is intense competition for these prestigious awards. Go South Coast were singled out for their customer service, innovative facilities (like free WiFi, USB charging points and contactless ticket payments), community relations, employee engagement, sustainable transport initiatives and passenger growth. In addition, at the UK Bus Awards in 2017 Go South Coast were awarded Top Shire operator and also Bus Operator of the year with the Eastleigh Bluestar being named depot of the year. This demonstrates the high achieving approach to a team making every journey count.

Our Response

We would comment as follows:-  Permission is only granted with a site specific developer contribution towards extending the current Salisbury Reds 5 to the site for the period of seven years;  For sustainable travel choices to be made from the start of a development a travel pack provided for each dwelling on both developments secured by a travel plan should be conditioned to include a travel voucher towards the purchase of a bus ticket to the equivalent of one 90 day freedom pass per unit;  Carriageway widths within new development proposed to be used by a bus should have a minimum of 6.5 metres;  High quality bus stop should be conditioned, as set out below.

Application No 19/05824/OUT: Land south of Netherhampton Road Salisbury Response of Go South Coast June 2019

The Proposal

The development proposal is for a mixed use development comprising of residential (Class C3) up to 640 dwellings, local centre (Class A1), primary school (1.8 ha), employment (2 ha) public open space including country park (10 ha), landscaping, 2 vehicular accesses, estate roads including loop road in detail and associated infrastructure and landscaping.

Local Plan Policy

We note the allocation in as site S1028 in the Wiltshire Housing Site Allocations Plan.

A combined site of site of 640 dwellings in terms of bus service operation is poor for service enhancement – indeed the site would need to be nearly ten times larger to support an additional bus commercially. This site is by its very nature on the edge of the settlement and any proposals would need to ensure good walking distances to bus provision, infrastructure and service level. The proposed level of developer contributions at £1,000 per house suggested in the Local Plan Hosing Needs Assessment suggests viability assessment (Page 13 table 3.10.1) would therefore only yield a strategic site specific contribution of £640,000. This would not sustain a bus service for the amount of time it would need for seed funding to enable it to be commercially viable.

If the development(s) were large enough to justify an extension, the road layout is such that to serve them, buses could be forced to operate two-way along Netherhampton Road and not enter the existing estates - this would detract from the existing customer base. Whilst both existing estates within 400m of the main road, the Richards Way / Middle St area is particularly badly designed and laid out in terms of walking routes to Netherhampton Road – this will need to held in regard when considering the development of these sites and bus access.

We note the statement at Para 5.37 of the Wilshire Housing Needs Assessment (Community Area topic paper – Salisbury, page 20) that “A refresh of the Salisbury Transport Strategy can occur alongside a detailed Transport Assessment to address the sites traffic impacts. Measures in the current strategy may be brought forward and new ones identified. Measures necessary to enable development to go ahead appear capable of being delivered...... therefore a site specific viability assessment s necessary”. We are concerned that the provision of school and highways works will mean the site is not catered for in terms of the delivery of sustainable transport initiatives. The current STS is silent on the issue of Neterhapmpton Road but does point to improvements a Harnham gyratory. It is therefore hard to see how the plan can guide sustainable transport provision at this location.

Indeed, it is noted within the Sustainability Appraisal (page P244/245) that the site will have an adverse effect on transport with measures that can be overcome – although no such measures are identified.

Further, the sustainability appraisal text around transport states that the area is of high affluence with sites offering the potential for walking and cycling. The bus is not mentioned. This is surprising as within Salisbury there are pockets of deprivation and indeed the profile of elderly people (some of which may reside in this development) could be at risk of social isolation. In 2011, 19.5% of the population of Salisbury was of retirement ages (Source, Wiltshire Council, Census Data Tool, May 2013).

Principles of Development

It is critical that any new infrastructure introduced to facilitate housing and economic growth is mindful of the public transport network and any new infrastructure should be designed to enhance rather than impede this. Engagement with bus operators on each development as planning applications are made is absolutely essential and we are more than willing to help shape developments and thus what infrastructure is required to facilitate commercial bus operation in the medium to long term after initial ‘pump priming’ using section 106 funds.

We support the use transport assessments and statements to inform development and identify suitable transport interventions. Further, we are keen to ensure a high quality bus stop with superior facilities that might be expected on a high quality bus corridor, funded by the developer. A typical stop should be provided with: -

 Good bus stop design including real time passenger information display as set out above, printed timetable and service information, local map and way finding;  High visibility bus stop flag and pole with appropriate and consistent branding;  An enhanced maintenance regime to maintain the quality feel of infrastructure investment;  A higher kerb to reduce the step height between the bus and the footway, minimum 125mm;  Higher quality footway and carriageway paving materials;  A stop cage marking of sufficient length to enable buses access close to the kerb with a minimum of 15m per bus if unobstructed (to cater for maximum likely vehicle lengths).

2 Application No 19/05824/OUT: Land south of Netherhampton Road Salisbury Response of Go South Coast June 2019

It is critical that any new infrastructure introduced to facilitate housing and economic growth is mindful of the public transport network and any new infrastructure should be designed to enhance rather than impede this and we would urge the LPA to condition this from the first occupation so that sustainable travel habits can form.

The planning of development sites should consider the walking distance to bus stops and the corresponding bus catchment areas. This affects the distance between adjacent bus routes and hence the street layout as a whole. CIHT guidance “Buses in Urban Developments” highlights the distances to bus routes from proposed development. This is set out in figure 1.

Development should also promote quality development and quality bus provision that is attractive to users with improved access to main corridors, less deviations off route and reduces potential delays with carriageway widths within new development a minimum of 6.5 metres – this needs to be reflected by the applicant.

Moreover it is essential that if developments are to be made sustainable public transport services are provided and funded from very early in the development to create transportation habits.

Figure 1: Recommended Walking Distances to Bus Routes (Source CIHT Buses in Urban Developments, 2018)

For sites to accommodate buses we would advise that the general layout should be as highlighted in figure 2 below.

Figure 2: Example of Bus Stop Layout (Source CIHT Buses in Urban Developments, 2018)

The site is close to Salisbury Reds Route 5. This service operates half hourly Monday-Saturday daytime and hourly evenings and Sundays. We note the proposed bus route through the site is acceptable if developed as set out above.

Transport & Bus Access

The National Planning Policy Framework states that transport has an important role to play in facilitating sustainable development but also in contributing to wider sustainability and health objectives. The transport system needs to be balanced in favour of sustainable transport modes, giving people a real choice about how they travel. Encouragement should be given to solutions which support reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and reduce congestion.

Only by taking advantage of the main existing public transport corridors can development be provided at the outset with relevant and credible alternatives to private car use. It has been shown that a greater uptake of public transport is the case when provision is provided very close to site occupation.

Some parts of these sites lie within DfT guidance of 400m from existing bus routes, however, the vast majority of the sites do not. We are therefore unconvinced this site can be sustainable in bus operation terms which we would

3 Application No 19/05824/OUT: Land south of Netherhampton Road Salisbury Response of Go South Coast June 2019 like to discuss with the site promoters and Local Planning Authority. The circular nature of the service towards its terminus means that the service would need to be amended to accommodate any additional development. The nature of development on either side of the Netherhampton Road would mean that whilst we generally do not like to “call in” at new developments and prefer to pass extremely closely by we would need to be able to call in to the southern and northern site so as to create a terminus turning point for these services.

The size of the proposal also makes it unlikely that it will support key local facilities, such as a substantial district centre. The result is that, to a very great extent, any bus route created to serve this site would have to rely only on the new demand generated by the development itself.

Currently there is no commercial market in the short-medium term for any service enhancement to Salisbury Reds 5. The developer, consultant and Local Planning Authority should not presume that we would be able to provide this on a commercially viable basis, at least until the development is substantially built out. Therefore it seems reasonable that a development of this size should kick-start the service enhancement with the operator taking the commercial risk after the kick start period. Any enhancement to bus services should be clearly set out by the LPA and included in the Section 106 Agreement as part of any outline planning consent.

If a service is not uplifted/rerouted in the early years to serve the development we have learnt from elsewhere that this is likely to result in lower levels of us usage amongst residents of the development which can lead to higher levels of driving and traffic congestion contrary to planning an transport policy. Whilst this is not something we would wish to see we cannot justify commercially providing this service at a loss effecting the overall viability of the route which is already sub-optimal.

Therefore, we would recommend that permission is only granted with a site specific developer contribution towards extending the current Salisbury Reds 5 to the site for the period of seven years. This is clear and avoids uncertainly. It also reflects the current stage of discussion with the developer’s agent and as proposed at sections 4.3-4.6 inclusive of the Travel Plan submitted with the Planning Application.

Travel Planning & Behaviour Change

We consider to enable sustainable travel choices to be made from the start of a development a travel pack provided for each dwelling on both developments secured by a travel plan should be conditioned to include a travel voucher towards the purchase of a bus ticket to the equivalent of one 90 day freedom pass per unit. This is currently priced at £127.

Based on the number of houses this should either be secured through a section 106 contribution or for a commitment for Travel Plan to secure tickets for each house as part of a sustainable travel option for bus and/or bike purchase tokens at current prices plus an allowance for RPI.

Paul Walker BA (Hons) BTp (Dist) MRTPI Head of Strategic Development Go South Coast mobile 07980 923256 email [email protected] Poole Bus Station, 1 Dolphin Centre, Kingland Road, Poole, BH15 1SN

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