Graham Stephens MIHT, I.Eng, FIHIE, DMS Highway Planning & Engineering Consultant

PROPOSED OFFICE AND RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT

51-53 CITY ROAD, ISLINGTON

Transport Assessment & Access Statement

May 2008

CONTENTS Page No. 1.0 Introduction 1

2.0 The Site and surrounding Highway Network 2

Figure 1. Site Location Plan 3

3.0 Sustainable Transport Access 4

Access by train 4

Access by bus 6

Access by bicycle 6

Pedestrian Access 7

4.0 Car free Development 8

5.0 Disabled and Emergency Access 10

6.0 Servicing 11

7.0 Local Plan Policy 12

8.0 Conclusions 14

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 I have been instructed by Munkenbeck and Marshall Architects, on behalf of Willerby Properties, to undertake a Transport Assessment in relation to the proposed re-development of 51 – 53 City Road, Islington, for hotel use

1.2 This is an application for a change of use to a previously consented, but not yet built, scheme. The site is currently occupied by offices which are to be demolished to make way for this new and more accessible development.

1.3 The change of use sought is from B1 to an ‘Apart’ Hotel – a hotel arranged as small self-catering suites rather than as traditional hotel rooms. The ‘Apart’ Hotel would occupy the upper floors of the building, with a lobby at the ground floor. A restaurant space is also proposed for the ground and lower ground floors. The restaurant will be open to the public but will likely also provide some catering to the hotel units.

1.4 The Transport Assessment and Access Statement primarily considers:

• The site in the context of the surrounding highway network • Sustainable transport access. • Car Free Development. • Disabled and Emergency Access • Servicing. • Local Plan Policy.

1 2.0 THE SITE AND THE SURROUNDING HIGHWAY NETWORK

2.1 The site is situated on the east side of City Road in Clerkenwell, approximately 200m from . City Road is a wide single carriageway road that runs north-south from the A5201 Old Street to Finsbury Square and is classified the A501. Olivers Yard is a private road that bounds the site to the north and provides an access to the side and rear of the site for servicing and car parking. The site is within the Central London Congestion Charging Area.

2.2 City Road comprises a mixture of mainly office, retail and residential premises. In the vicinity of the site the carriageway is 11m wide and has been divided into three lanes to accommodate a bus lane on the west side. There are wide footways on either side of the carriageway. The road is subject to a 30mph speed restriction and has the benefit of street lighting. There are several car parks in easy walking distance of the site but there is no on-street parking permitted in City Road in the immediate vicinity of the site. On-street parking in the side roads is restricted to Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) permit holders and short stay meter parking up to a 2 hour maximum. A site location plan is shown at Figure I.

2 SITE LOCATION PLAN The Site

Figure 1.

3 3.0 SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT ACCESS

3.1 The site is accessible to the underground rail network, with Old Street Station a 200m walk from the site, served by the Northern Line and Great Northern mainline rail services. Barbican Station is a kilometre walk and is served by the Circle, Hammersmith and City, and Metropolitan lines as well as mainline rail services. Service frequencies are summarised below.

3.2 Bus stops are located on the west side of City Road, immediately opposite the site, and on the east side approximately 15m north of the junction with Olivers Yard. There are also bus stops in Old Street giving access to other routes. Frequent daytime and night bus services are available from these locations and summarised below.

3.3 The site is in a prime sustainable location with public transport, shops, education and leisure facilities, employment and many local amenities in easy walking or cycling distance. The site is within a 200m walk of the shops in Old Street and there are two primary schools, two colleges a university, a health centre, playing fields and many other local amenities, including the Windmill Theatre, all within a 500m radius of the site.

3.4 Access by train

Old Street Station

Old Street Managed by

Underground Northern Line

4 Mainline Great Northern

Route Frequency Moorgate to Letchworth Hourly but every 30 mins. to intermediate destinations including Welwyn Garden City, Stevenage and Hitchin

Note: There are no disabled or cycle facilities at Old Street. Barbican Station

Aldersgate Street. Tube managed by London Underground Main line managed By First Capital Connect

Underground Circle Line Hammersmith and City Line ( Branch) ( Branch) ( Branch) ( Branch) Mainline Thameslink Route Frequency Bedford to Brighton 30mins but more frequent during peak periods

Luton to Brighton 30 mins but more frequent during peak periods Note: Return journeys stop at Farringdon and not Barbican There are no disabled or cycle facilities at Barbican.

5 3.5 Access by bus

City Road

Route Frequency 21 Lewisham to Newington Green 8 mins. 43 Friern Barnet to London Bridge 3 – 5 mins. 76 Tottenham to Waterloo 8 mins. 141 Palmers Green to London Bridge 6 – 7 mins. 205 Paddington to Mile End 7 – 8 mins. 214 Highgate to 7 – 8 mins. 271 Highgate to Liverpool Street Station 7 – 8 mins. N76 Tottenham to Waterloo 30 mins.

Old Street

Route Frequency 55 Leyton Green to Oxford Circus 8 mins. 243 Wood Green Station to Waterloo Station 6 – 7 mins. 253 Euston Station to Hackney Central Station 8 mins. N35 Clapham Junction to Shoreditch 30 mins. N55 Leyton Green to Oxford Circus 30 mins.

3.6 Access by bicycle

Secure parking is provided for six bicycles on ‘Sheffield Stands’ in a bicycle storage area to the rear of the building. As outlined above there are shops, education and leisure facilities, employment opportunity and many local amenities within a 500m radius of the site that can be reached on a bicycle in less than two minutes.

6 3.7 Pedestrian Access

The restaurant and hotel reception have separate accesses from the City Road frontage but there is a link to the restaurant from the hotel reception area. Bus stops train stations, shops, schools and leisure facilities can generally be reached on foot in less than 10 minutes. There is a pedestrian access from Olivers Yard to the rear of the building for servicing access. 7 4.0 CAR FREE DEVELOPMENT

4.1 Policy T21 of Islington’s Unitary Development Plan (UDP) demands that new non-residential development will only be allowed off-street parking and servicing space to meet essential needs. This is reflected in the Planning Standards Guidelines SPG which states that the maximum number of spaces to be provided for Hotel use is 1 per 2000m2 GFA in Area A which is defined as “the Central London area (approximately the area to the south of Pentonville Road / City Road); and the Angel Town Centre. “

4.2 City Road is located in Area A and one space is provided to the rear of the site in accordance with Policy T21. Two further spaces are provided for disabled use but otherwise the development is to be car- free. 8 5.0 DISABLED AND EMERGENCY ACCESS

5.1 Disabled Access

Area 1 – The Lobby and Restaurant

Both the hotel lobby and the entrance to the restaurant space are at pavement grade.

• All aspects of Part M will be incorporated. • Guardrails and handrails will be Part M compliant. • Paving surfaces will be Part M compliant and slip resistant. • Signage in the lobby will be designed to ensure ease of use and legibility. • Lighting will be designed to provide clear well-lit environments. • Entrance doors will be automatic. • The reception desk is positioned and designed for easy use by wheelchair users or the partially sighted. • WC facilities for wheelchair users are provided. • All areas are accessible. • Visual and audible fire alarms.

Area 2 – The Lower Ground Floor Restaurant

The lower ground floor restaurant will be accessible via the two lifts located in the lobby. These will be available at all times during the restaurant’s hours of operation.

• The lower ground restaurant spaces will provide all the points listed in Area 1.

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Area 3 – ‘Apart Hotel’

The Apart Hotel will be housed on the upper floors of the proposed building.

• The Apart Hotel spaces will provide all the points listed in Area 1. • All floors will be reached via accessible lifts. • Lift lobbies are designed to be Part M compliant. • Corridors are designed to be Part M compliant. • The hotel units are designed with the needs of the ambulant disabled in mind. • Wheelchair accessible units will be provided as required.

5.2 Emergency Access

The building is fully accessible to emergency services. 11 6.0 SERVICING

6.1 Servicing is via Olivers Yard and the rear access to the building.

6.2 A fully enclosed Refuse and Recycling Storage Area is provided adjacent to the entrance to Olivers Yard. 12 7.0 LOCAL PLAN POLICY

7.1 The Unitary Development Plan (UDP) sets out the Council’s planning policies, and provides the basis for all of the Council’s planning decisions. The Islington UDP was adopted on 28 June 2002.

7.2 In September 2004, a major reform of the planning system was introduced through the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act. As part of the reform, the Unitary Development Plan is being abolished and replaced with a Local Development Framework (LDF).

7.3 A number of Policies from the existing UDP (2002) have been deleted by a Direction of the Secretary of State. Those polices expired on 27 September 2007 and are no longer used in determining planning applications.

7.4 In the interim or transition period, many of the policies and Supplementary Planning Guidance are still relevant and are used in the determination of planning applications. All of these policies and guidance were taken into consideration in respect of the planning application. In the context of the traffic assessment and access statement, particular attention was paid to the following:

UDP Policies E1 Business Development T4 Reducing the Need to Travel T18 Parking and Traffic Restraint T21 Off Street Non Residential Parking

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T34 Cycle Parking T45 Land Use Planning T55 New Development T56 Traffic Generation and Public Transport Capacity V2 Hotels and Other Accommodation V5 Local Employment V6 Traffic Generation S8 Servicing S29 Access to Shops

Supplementary Planning Guidance

Planning Standards and Guidelines

Core Strategy Policies

CS1 Sustainable Buildings CS2 Sustainable Travel CS20 Access 14 8.0 CONCLUSIONS

8.1 The site is located within the Central London Congestion Charging Area.

8.2 The site is in a prime sustainable location with public transport, shops, education and leisure facilities, employment and many local amenities in easy walking or cycling distance

8.3 Secure cycle parking is provided in accordance with Islington Borough Council’s cycle parking standards.

8.4 The development will be virtually ‘car free’. This type of development is encouraged and accords with all of the policy criteria set out in the London Borough of Islington’s UDP and SPG’s on ‘Planning Standards and Guidelines’.

8.5 Provision for the disabled has been made with access to and from the building, compliant with Part M of the current Building regulations. Two parking spaces are provided at the rear of the building.

8.6 The building is fully accessible to emergency services.

8.7 The site will continue to be serviced from the rear via Olivers Yard.

8.8 The proposed development has been designed with reference to the Unitary Development Plan, the emerging Local Development Framework and the Supplementary Planning Guidance issued by Islington Borough Council. 15

8.9 The size of this development is likely to support rather than place any undue demand on public transport. As a virtually ‘car free’ development it is unlikely to have any material impact on congestion, cause safety problems or any demonstrable harm to the local environment. Graham Stephens

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6 Park Lane Colney Heath St Albans Herts AL4 0NR Telephone: 01727 825303 Mobile: 07951 742584 Email: [email protected]