Brook House, Fleet Transport Topic Paper June 2017

Prepared by

1 Introduction

1.1 The purpose of this topic paper is to provide supporting information to demonstrate that the Brook House, Fleet site is available, deliverable and suitable for residential development. The topic paper will demonstrate that there are no high level technical constraints that would prevent the site progressing.

2 Site

2.1 The Site is located off Minley Road to the north of Fleet in the Hart District of Hampshire. The site is bounded by M3 to the south and B3013 Minley Road to the west. To the north and east of the site is the MOD Minley training areas.

Figure 1 – Site Plan

2.2 A baseline review of the transport network and infrastructure has been completed for the Site. Information on the current local and strategic highway network, public transport network and pedestrian and cycle networks has been collated.

3 Policy

Draft Hart Local Plan: Strategy and Sites 2011-2032

3.1 The Draft Hart Local Plan sets out the vision for growth and development within Hart District over the next 15 years. The Draft Local Plan sets out the policies by which development will be considered, including policies related to transport and sustainable travel.

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Brook House, Fleet Transport Topic Paper June 2017

3.2 ‘Policy MG3: Housing-led’ sets out four allocated sites for development, stating that the developments must address the following key issues related to transport:

 The provision of a comprehensive package of on and off-site transport measures to encourage the use of sustainable transport modes and mitigate impacts on the local road network. Proposals must be supported by a Transport Assessment and a Travel Plan.  The provision of an on-site movement layout that is safe and suitable for all potential users with links into surrounding networks including public rights of way. Safe routes to school should be provided where applicable, and wherever appropriate, the development should be laid out such that it is capable of being served by public transport.  The provision of adequate, well designed parking for residential and other uses on the site. The provision of facilities for charging electric vehicles, in both public and private parking is encouraged.

3.3 Development of the site would also satisfy the above policy requirements though targeted capacity enhancements to the local highway network, improvements and/or extensions to public bus services, enhanced connectivity with Fleet station and town centre, and improvements to walking and cycling routes.

3.4 Through the co-location of residential development and primary education on site, safe routes to schools can be easily incorporated in the design of the development. Parking would be designed considerately, ensuring sufficient car parking is provided to meet local policy requirements.

3.5 A planning application for development at the site would be accompanied by a comprehensive Transport Assessment and Travel Plan to ensure that the impacts of the development can be properly considered and appropriate mitigation provided.

3.6 ‘Policy I1: Infrastructure‘ ensures the appropriate provision of infrastructure for new developments through either on-site provision or though financial contributions secured by means of a s106 Agreement. Any off-site improvements and enhancements required as a result of development of the site would be provided in conjunction with the local authorities and key stakeholders through an appropriate Planning Obligation to ensure the impacts of development are mitigated.

3.7 ‘Policy I3: Transport’ details the measures required to be incorporated within developments to ensure the use of sustainable travel modes is maximised, access to facilities is improved, and the transition to a lower carbon future can be accommodated. The Policy states that development proposals will be supported if they include the following:

 integrate into existing movement networks;  provide safe, suitable and convenient access for all potential users;  provide an on-site movement layout compatible for all potential users;  provide appropriate parking provision, in terms of amount, design and layout, in accordance with the Council’s published parking standards;  provide appropriate waste and recycling storage areas and accessible collection points for refuse vehicles; L:\107xxx\Fleet\Delivery\Reports\TN1-1 Transport Topic paper_v5.docx 3

Brook House, Fleet Transport Topic Paper June 2017

 do not have a severe impact on the operation, safety or accessibility to the local or strategic highway networks;  mitigate impacts on the local or strategic highway networks, arising from the development itself or the cumulative effects of development; and  protect and where possible enhance access to public rights of way will be supported subject to compliance with other relevant policies

3.8 As detailed above, development of the site would fully comply with Policy I3 through the provision of improvements and enhancements to public transport, connections with walking and cycling routes, and provision of increased highway capacity where necessary to mitigate the impacts of the development.

Hampshire Local Transport Plan (2011-2031)

3.9 The key measures outlined within the Hampshire LTP in relation to Fleet are:

 Targeted measures to improve capacity at congestion bottlenecks and optimise management of the highway network  Delivery of the Fleet Town Access Plan  Measures to reduce the need to travel at peak times in Fleet  Improvements to Fleet railway station  Mitigation of the travel impacts arising from new development  Investment in developing walking and cycling routes

3.10 Providing residential development at the site co-located with primary education will make a significant contribution to reducing the need to travel during peak times. Any improvements required to mitigate the impact of development at the site would be provided, including capacity enhancements at congestion bottlenecks, as explained in Section 7 of this Paper.

3.11 A development of circa 500 dwellings would provide the critical mass necessary to take up opportunities to enhance walking and cycle routes between the north of Fleet and the rail station and key facilities in the town centre. Therefore, development of the site will assist with achieving the aims and objectives of the Hampshire LTP.

Hart District Transport Statement September 2012

3.12 The Hart District Transport Statement sets out the transport objectives and delivery priorities for the Hart DC area, including setting a transport strategy and framework for delivery of improvements. The Statement is aligned to the previous draft version of the Local Plan, but it is considered that the overarching aims of the Statement still apply.

3.13 In paragraph 3.6, the Statement sets out that

“Improving transport accessibility by all modes of transport would help enable residents and visitors to the District to better access services and facilities. It would also help promote lower-carbon transport choices.”

3.14 Residential development at the site would enable improvements to all modes of transport to be provided which will benefit not just new residents, but the wider community also.

3.15 Para 3.9 sets out the main transport challenges facing the District, such as: L:\107xxx\Fleet\Delivery\Reports\TN1-1 Transport Topic paper_v5.docx 4

Brook House, Fleet Transport Topic Paper June 2017

 Managing existing and forecast road congestion especially on the main A road routes and accessing the M3 J4A particularly during peak periods;  Planning for, and mitigation of travel impacts arising from new developments;  Continuing to provide for transport access in the rural areas;  Improving transport accessibility to the town centres, and local services and facilities;  Helping to facilitate lower-carbon transport choices.

3.16 Any development planned for the site would mitigate the impacts on the highway network as is required by National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). Development of the site would also assist with improving accessibility to the town centres and local facilities through enhanced public transport services and improved pedestrian and cyclist links.

3.17 Para 4.4 Objective 3 ‘Facilitate and enable new developments to come forward’ aims for developments to

“Mitigate the impact of forecast congestion on the highway network through reducing the need to travel and providing good quality walk, cycle and public transport links from new developments.”

3.18 The provision of a primary school on the site would accommodate the needs of the residents of the site, and would thereby reduce the need to travel away from the site for primary education, which is a major generator of morning peak hour vehicle trips. The co-location of the residential and education uses on the site would thereby contribute to achieving Objective 3.

4 Constraints and Opportunities

4.1 The local highway network around the site consists predominantly of rural single carriageways subject to National Speed Limit (60mph) to the north and west, and urban single carriageways to the south subject to 30mph or 40 mph speed limits.

4.2 Minley Road to the south of the site is a classified ‘A’ road, A3013 to Ancells Roundabout. From Ancells Roundabout northwards, Minley Road is a classified ‘B’ road, B3013.

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Figure 2 – Site Location

4.3 The nearest connection from the site to M3 is at J4a, approximately 2.5km to the east. J4 is around 5km to the east and J5 is approximately 10km to the west. Minley Road bridges over M3 immediately south-west of the site, with a wide verge/hard standing alongside the carriageway.

4.4 The nearest public transport can be found to the south on Minley Road at Ancells Business Park, with bus route 10 operating a half hourly service on Mondays to Saturdays between Farnborough and Church Crookham, via Fleet. Bus route 10 also connects with Fleet Rail Station, as shown on Figure 3.

4.5 Approximately 1.2km to the south, within walking distance of the site, is the main London Waterloo-Basingstoke rail line and Fleet Rail Station. Trains call at Fleet with services every 15 minutes in each direction Monday-Saturday, and hourly on Sundays. Direct trains are also available from Fleet towards Southampton and Poole.

4.6 There are local pedestrian and cycle routes in the vicinity of the site. A public bridleway exists along the northern boundary of the site, which connects B3013 Minley Road with A327 Minley Road. There is open access for the public across the MOD Minley training areas. There are short sections of off-road cycle route connecting Minley Road to Ancells Road at Ancells Roundabout.

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Figure 3 – Existing Site Connectivity

4.7 The Site is well placed to provide enhanced connections for all modes of travel for the development.

5 Proposed Movement Strategy

5.1 The overarching principles of movement are predicated on the provision of a high quality sustainable links to serve development land parcels within the site and to improve accessibility to the wider area. In this regard, the proposed development would provide an improved access junction to Minley Road probably in the form of a ‘ghosted tight turn’. There are a number of options for the location of the junction; it could be in the location of the existing site access, or alternatively further south of the existing access to tie in with the existing on-site road. Both options are shown in Appendix A.

5.2 A spine road would route through the development site to provide access to the individual development parcels. It is anticipated that, if required by Hart District Council, a primary school could be located towards the west of the site to ensure good accessibility to/from Minley Road.

5.3 Connections to public transport would be made through enhancing existing routes as described above. Local bus services could be extended into the site and would run along the development spine road. The local bus connections will provide access to the local rail stations, including Fleet for rail travel towards London and the south coast.

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Brook House, Fleet Transport Topic Paper June 2017

5.4 A study of the mitigation required for Local Plan growth in the district was completed for Hart DC in 20131. Regarding public transport in and around Fleet, the study concluded that additional demand could be accommodated on existing routes through provision of larger buses with more capacity, and through frequency improvements. The capacity of the local bus network and any associated required improvements to support residential development at the site would be considered with Hart DC and Hampshire County Council/bus operators in the preparation of detailed proposals for the development of the site.

5.5 Connections to Fleet rail station would also be via walking/cycling along B3013 Minley Road. To accommodate these movements, new footway will be required to make the connections with the Ancells Road Roundabout. The highway verge is sufficiently wide along B3013 from the site access to and over M3 that provision of a footway would be feasible, as shown in Figure 4. The bridge over M3 would therefore not prevent connections being made to the south for pedestrians and cyclists.

Figure 4 – B3013 Minley Road Bridge over M3

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5.6 Additional secure and covered cycle parking at the rail station would be provided if demand exceeds current capacity, to enhance the opportunity for combined cycle/rail trips.

Figure 5 – Potential Site Connectivity

5.7 The movement strategy aims to create a sustainable community which is less reliant on the private car and is accessible to all modes of travel. The strategy will be implemented in the context of a Travel Plan Framework.

6 Access to local Facilities

6.1 Local facilities are available within walking/cycling distance of the site, including pre-school education, healthcare and retail. The local facilities and their distances from the site are shown in Table 1 and on Figure 6.

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Amenity Facility Distance (km) Employment Ancells Business Park 0.6 Education Ancells Farm Community Pre-School Community Ancells Farm Community Centre Ancells Farm Local Centre: - Tesco Express - Post Office 1.3 Retail - Takeaway - Café - Public House Health Fleet Medical Centre/Community Hospital 2.5 Retail Sainsbury’s, Fleet Town Centre 2.8 Table 1 – Access to Facilities

6.2 Primary education is remote from the site, with the nearest primary school at Elvetham Heath some 3.5km away. However, it is proposed that a new primary school would be provided on- site which would accommodate children from the development without the need to travel further afield.

Figure 6 – Access to Local Facilities

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Brook House, Fleet Transport Topic Paper June 2017 7 Impact of development

7.1 The impact of residential development for 500 dwellings on the site would need to be reviewed in detail within a Transport Assessment to accompany a planning application. Within this topic paper, a broad vehicle trip generation, distribution and assignment has been estimated to provide an idea of the impact of the development on the local highway network.

Travel Mode

7.2 Census 2011 data shows that residents within Fleet travel to work mainly by car, although with a relatively high proportion of train users and pedestrians, as shown in Table 2. However, sustainable travel has increased within the town since the 2001 Census with less car use by commuters.

Travel Mode Census 2011 Census 2001 Driving a car or van 74% 75% Train 11% 9% On foot 7% 7% Passenger in a car or van 3% 4% Bicycle 2% 3% Bus, minibus or coach 1% 1% Motorcycle, scooter or moped 1% 1% Underground, metro, light rail, tram 0% 0% Taxi 0% 0% Table 2 – Travel Mode of Residents of Fleet, Census 2011

7.3 It is therefore important that good quality, attractive links are made between the site and the rail station by bus, cycle and walking. This includes connecting the site with the local footway network, via a new footway link across M3 on Minley Road, as described in Section 5. By making these new and improved connections, the current levels of sustainable travel within Fleet can be replicated, and improved upon for new residents at the site through the implementation of a comprehensive Sustainable Travel Strategy and Travel Plan.

Vehicle Trip Generation and Distribution

7.4 It is intended that approximately 500 dwellings could be provided on the site. In order to establish the impact of the dwellings on the local and strategic highway network, the number of vehicle trips from the site need to be estimated.

7.5 At this stage, a broad trip rate of 0.5 trips per dwelling in the peak hours has been assumed, split between arrivals and departures on a 20%/80% basis in the tidal direction. The number of trips estimated for 500 dwellings shown in Table 3.

Time Period Arrivals Departures Total AM Peak (0800-0900) 50 200 250 PM Peak (1700-1800) 200 50 250 Table 3 - Potential Site Trip Generation – 500 dwellings

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7.6 From traffic surveys completed in 2016, traffic distribution on Minley Road at present is tidal, with the majority of traffic (57.3%) travelling away from Fleet in the AM peak. In the PM peak the majority of traffic (56.4%) travels towards Fleet, as shown in Table 4.

Time Period AM Peak PM Peak Minley Road (Northbound) 56.5% 42.8% Minley Road (Southbound) 43.5% 57.2% Table 4 - Potential Distribution of Site Trips

7.7 The estimated vehicle trips generated by the site can be assigned to the local road network in the above proportions, as shown in Table 5.

Time Period AM Peak PM Peak Minley Road (Northbound) 141 107 Minley Road (Southbound) 109 143 Total 250 250 Table 5 - Potential Assignment of Site Trips

7.8 The assignment of trips in the proportions shown in Table 3 equates to approximately two vehicles per minute travelling towards Fleet during peak times. This level of increase in trips will not noticeable amongst the existing traffic along Minley Road.

Potential Mitigation

7.9 Given the existing traffic conditions along the B3013/A3013 corridor, it is likely that a detailed capacity assessment of the junctions at A327/B3013 Minley Road, B3013 Minley Road/Ancells Road Roundabout and A3013 Fleet Road/B3013 Minley Road Roundabout will be required, with the potential for capacity improvements along the corridor to ensure that the impact of residential development at the site cannot be considered to be severe.

7.10 A study of the A3013/B3013 corridor including Local Plan growth was completed for Hart DC in 20132. This study highlighted that the A3013 Fleet Road/B3013 Minley Road Roundabout (south of the site) would be approaching around 90% capacity in 2026 with development growth in the district. The report concluded that improvements should be considered at this junction, with the potential for converting the roundabout to a traffic signal junction. The study also highlighted that A327/B3013 Minley Road Roundabout would be approaching around 80% capacity in 2026 with development growth. The report concluded that improvements should be considered at this junction, with the potential for a filter lane for southbound movements on A327.

7.11 With an increase in trips at this junction as a result of residential development on the site, it is likely that improvements will be required at the A3013 Fleet Road/B3013 Minley Road Roundabout and potentially at A327/B3013 Minley Road Roundabout, as shown on Figure 7. Assessment of these junctions, and consideration of necessary mitigation measures will be provided in a Transport Assessment to support a future planning application for development at the site.

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Figure 7 – Potential Locations for Highways Improvements

8 Next Steps

8.1 Consultations will be progressed with Hampshire County Council (HCC) regarding access to the proposed development site. A full assessment of the impacts of the development on the local and strategic highway networks will be completed. The assessment will include modelling of the local highway network at specific junctions to ensure that any mitigation required can be developed within the context of the masterplan proposals, in consultation with Highways England and HCC.

8.2 Discussions with public transport operators, public rights of way officers and cycling officers will also be undertaken to ensure that suitable options are available for sustainable travel. Public transport services, pedestrian and cycle networks will be enhanced and developed in consultation with the key stakeholders to ensure that local infrastructure is both suitable and attractive to new and existing residents.

8.3 A comprehensive area wide Travel Strategy will be developed and implemented to minimise the number of private car based trips to/from the site, particularly single occupancy vehicle trips, and to increase travel by sustainable modes. The developer is fully committed to

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implementing, monitoring and reviewing the Travel Plan and will implement remedial measures to ensure future mode share targets are achieved.

8.4 In time, a comprehensive planning application will be supported by a full suite of transport documents, including inter alia: a Transport Assessment, and a site wide Travel Plan Framework in accordance with current Government policy.

9 Summary

9.1 In summary, the site at Brook House, Fleet is available and deliverable and offers a great opportunity to enhance local transport infrastructure with wider benefits to the existing community, thereby creating a sustainable integrated community for local people. There are no high level technical transport or highways constraints which would prevent the site from progressing, therefore the site is available, deliverable, and suitable for new residential development.