Final Version Proposed Quarry at , Environmental Impact Statement (Traffic & Highways)

13.0 TRAFFIC & HIGHWAYS

Introduction

13. 1 This section of the Environmental Impact Statement assesses and considers the possible environmental impacts derived from the traffic and transport patterns associated with the proposals for the excavation of sand and gravel and associated processing facilities at Manor Farm, Haddiscoe.

13. 2 This section considers the site location, the proposed means of access and the level of vehicular traffic that is likely to be generated by the excavation proposal, and assesses the impact in terms of the current flows on the local highway network and the observed accident record for the area.

13. 3 The proposed means of vehicular access to the application site from the public highway, including the proposed upgrading, is described in detail, and the suitability of the design to accommodate the traffic associated with the development is examined.

13. 4 Scoping discussions were held with Norfolk County Council Highways (NCC) during May 2010 to discuss their requirements and identify the necessary components of the transport report. It was agreed that a Transport Assessment (TA) would be required to support the application as part of an Environmental Statement (ES). In terms of traffic assessment, NCC advised that suitable consideration of a study area comprising the A143 Church Hill/A143 Beccles Road/B1136 Loddon Road would be necessary.

13. 5 A full Transport Assessment has been prepared that is appended to this Environmental Impact Statement and concludes with a summary of the impact assessments carried out and an overview of the mitigation measures proposed, together with drawings detailing the proposed access works described within this chapter (refer to Part IV, V11). Site Location and highway network

13. 6 The application site, which comprises two parcels of land, is located immediately north and south of the B1136 Loddon Road, just west of the village of Haddiscoe, Norfolk.

13. 7 The northern parcel of land is bounded by the B1136 Loddon Road to the south, Crab Apple Lane to the west and Church Road to the north. Agricultural land forms the eastern boundary. The southern parcel is bounded to the north by the B1136 Loddon Road, with the remainder of its boundary flanked by farmland. The application site is currently grassland and agricultural use and has no established vehicular trip generation with the exception of the occasional agricultural vehicle.

13. 8 The B1136 Loddon Road is a single carriageway rural road. At the proposed access point into the southern parcel of land, the road is subject to the national speed limit of 60mph. Travelling east towards the village of Haddiscoe, the speed limit reduces to 30mph.

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13. 9 As a typical rural road, the carriageway is flanked by soft edging and although without formal street lighting benefits from centreline markings throughout with cats eyes to aid visibility for vehicles travelling in both directions. In keeping with its rural function, the road in close proximity to the application site does not have pedestrian footways and is bounded by intermittent hedgerows.

13. 10 With an average width of 5.5 metres, B1136 Loddon Road is predominantly of straight alignment from A143 Beccles Road up to its junction with Crab Apple Lane, after which the road becomes more winding with signage to advise of an approaching double bend. SLOW road markings are also provided to warn westbound drivers to lower their speeds. As a result, forward visibility on the road to the west of the proposed development site is reduced in places.

13. 11 Loddon Road, which becomes Yarmouth Road to the west, serves as a main east-west route for traffic travelling between Haddiscoe and and links to the A146 Beccles Road to the west and the A143 Beccles Road to the east. There are a number of side roads and private access points joining the B1136 at regular intervals, all of different standard. The junctions are lightly trafficked; mainly serving small pockets of residential development and generally appear to operate to an acceptable level.

13. 12 To the east, B1136 Loddon Road forms a staggered priority junction with A143 Beccles Road and the opposing minor road, Rectory Road. The junction was subject to improvements to the Loddon Road approach in 2008 which have included local widening, the introduction of a new splitter island, new bi-directional road studs and new signage.

13. 13 The A143 Beccles Road serves as the main county distributor road between Great Yarmouth to the north and A146, Beccles and Bungay to the south. Beccles Road as it passes through the village is subject to a 30mph speed limit and the centreline is marked with no-overtaking markings through the series of shallow bends at this location. There is no street lighting, and footways are only provided on the opposing side of the carriageway to the Loddon Road arm, around the Rectory Road junction radii.

The Proposed Development

13. 14 A full breakdown of the development to which this assessment relates is included within the description of the development, contained within Part I, Section 4.0. However, for the purposes of the Traffic and Transport Assessment, the development proposals may be summarised as follows. 13. 15 The development proposals comprise the extraction of around 1,450,000 tonnes of sand and gravel of which 1,311,000 will be extracted from the parcel lying north of Loddon Road, with the remaining 139,000 tonnes sourced from the southern parcel of land which will also form the Plant Site area.

13. 16 Upon commencement, extraction is expected to be undertaken at a rate of 75,000 tonnes per annum (tpa). Assuming that operations will begin sometime in 2012, extraction will take place over a 19 year period finishing in 2031 after which the restoration of the site is scheduled to take place over 12 months with the entire quarry restored during 2032.

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13. 17 Extraction of mineral will initially take place on the southern parcel of land, to the south of the B1136, which will be accompanied by the setting up of the Plant Site. This will include delivery of plant to the site, installation of the weighbridge and erection of the offices on the eastern part of the southern parcel. Operations will then transfer to the northern parcel of land where the extraction will continue in 10 planned phases.

13. 18 The development proposals include a new access junction onto the B1136 Loddon Road, which will serve the proposed plant area. This access would be a standard priority T- junction located at towards the north east corner of the site. As requested by Norfolk County Council and in accordance with guidance contained within TD 42/95 – ‘Geometric Design of Major / Minor Priority Junctions’, visibility splays measuring 4.5 metres x 215.0 metres will be provided.

13. 19 All mineral dug from the northern parcel will be transported to the Plant Site area on an underground conveyor which will be constructed beneath the B1136 Loddon Road. This will remove the need for any transfer of materials from the northern parcel to the southern parcel via the highway.

13. 20 After processing, mineral will be sold directly from the Plant Site Area. All material sold from the southern parcel will leave via an improved access point located onto Loddon Road. The average payload of vehicles leaving the site will be 20 tonnes. Once fully operational, the site is predicted to generate an average of approximately 32 HGV movements per day, all of which will be arriving and departing the Plant site to the south of the Loddon Road.

13. 21 To enable machinery and plant to access the northern parcel, the existing informal field access on Crab Apple Lane will be upgraded. No material will be transported via this access.

Predicted Traffic Generation

13. 22 It is anticipated that the Quarry will operate on an annual output of some 75,000 tonnes of aggregate. On the basis of an average daily tonnage leaving the site of 300 tonnes, and with regards to the operation of another site operated nearby by the application, the projected traffic generation figures are as follows:-

• 4 x 25t = 100t • 5 x 20t = 100t • 7 x 10t = 70t • 7 x 4.5t = 30t

13. 23 Thus there will be typically 23 aggregate vehicles per day leaving the site, of which 16 will be HGV and 7 MGV.

13. 24 It is anticipated that there will be some 30 movements of cars and light goods vehicles associated with staff, site operatives and deliveries working at or visiting the quarry site per average working day.

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Baseline Conditions Review

Current Transport Policy

13. 25 The site operation involves a relatively small workforce, and the site location is governed by the suitability for such a development. The suitability of the site for promoting non-car modes of travel is therefore strongly affected by the location of the site, the hours of working and the nature of the operation. However, it is still considered relevant to examine the policy background to determine the context within which the application will be assessed.

National Policy

13. 26 The UK Government is committed to reducing congestion and promoting more environmentally-friendly and sustainable modes of transport through the 1998 Transport White Paper entitled ‘A New Deal for Transport: Better for Everyone’.

13. 27 In the White Paper, the way forward is seen through an integrated transport policy as outlined below:

• Integration within and between different types of transport so that each contributes its full potential and people can move easily between them. Integration with the environment so that our transport choices support a better environment; and • Integration with land use planning at national, regional and local level, so that transport and planning work together to support more sustainable travel choices and reduce the need to travel.

13. 28 Over the last decade Government’s efforts to promote alternatives to single-occupancy car travel have included various policy initiatives which have supported higher density development near to good quality public transport.

Planning Policy Statement 1 – Delivering Sustainable Development (2005)

13. 29 Planning Policy Statement 1 (Delivering Sustainable Development) sets out the overarching planning policies on the delivery of sustainable development through the planning system: Paragraph 5 states

‘Planning should facilitate and promote sustainable and inclusive patterns of urban and rural development by ensuring that development supports existing communities and contributes to the creation of safe, sustainable, liveable and mixed communities with good access to jobs and key services for all members of the community.’

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Paragraph 13 states

‘Regional planning bodies and local planning authorities should ensure that development plans contribute to global sustainability by addressing the causes and potential impacts of climate change - through policies which reduce energy use, reduce emissions (for example, by encouraging patterns of development which reduce the need to travel by private car), promote the development of renewable energy resources, and take climate change impacts into account in the location and design of development.’

Regional Policy

13. 30 National planning policy guidance, which sets the context for local planning policy, is complemented by regional planning guidance. The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 introduced Regional Spatial Strategies and Local Development Frameworks to replace existing Structure Plans and Local Plans. Regional Spatial Strategy for the East of (RSS14) (May 2008)

13. 31 The Regional Spatial Strategy for the was published on 12 th May 2008, and the majority of the Norfolk Structure Plan (1999) has now been superseded. However, a few policies remain in force until they are replaced by Development Plan Documents adopted by district planning authorities, and one of these policies (T2) is relevant to this application. Several policies contained within the Local Plan were saved beyond the 2007 expiry date and will remain in force until they are replaced by the Local Development Framework and the associated development plan documents.

13. 32 One of the objectives of the East of England Plan is: (i): To reduce the region’s impact on, and exposure to, the effects of climate change by (inter alia):

• locating development so as to reduce the need to travel; • effecting a major shift in travel away from car use towards public transport, walking and cycling; • Ensuring adequate and sustainable transport infrastructure.

13. 33 The East of England Plan contains a Regional Transport Strategy which provides a framework for the delivery of transport investment and policy priorities to support the aims of the spatial strategy.

13. 34 The objectives of the Regional Transport Strategy are outlined in Policy T1 as follows: Policy T1: Regional Transport Strategy Objectives and Outcomes

To implement the vision and objectives of the Regional Spatial Strategy, the following objectives of this RTS give a clear priority to increase passenger and freight movement by more sustainable modes, while reflecting the functionality required of the region’s transport networks:

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• to manage travel behaviour and the demand for transport to reduce the rate of road traffic growth and ensure the transport sector makes an appropriate contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions; • to encourage efficient use of existing transport infrastructure; • to enable the provision of the infrastructure and transport services necessary to support existing communities and development proposed in the spatial strategy; • To improve access to jobs, services and leisure facilities.

The successful achievement of the objectives will lead to the following outcomes (inter alia):

• improved journey reliability as a result of tackling congestion; • increased proportion of the region’s movements by public transport, walking and cycling; • sustainable access to areas of new development and regeneration; • safe, efficient and sustainable movement between homes and workplaces, education, town centres, health provision and other key destinations; • economic growth without a concomitant growth in travel;

13. 35 The overall task of the Regional Transport Strategy is to improve accessibility to jobs, services and other activities in line with the development proposals of the Regional Spatial Strategy while aiming to reduce the overall amount of travel in order to minimise the environmental impact.

13. 36 To this end, Policy T2 outlines the necessity to change travel behaviour:

Policy T2: Changing Travel Behaviour

To bring about a significant change in travel behaviour, a reduction in distances travelled and a shift towards greater use of sustainable modes, regional and local authorities, transport providers and other delivery agencies should implement policies to:

• raise awareness of the real costs of unsustainable travel and the benefits and availability of sustainable alternatives; • encourage the wider implementation of workplace, school and personal travel plans; • introduce educational programmes for sustainable travel; • investigate ways of providing incentives for more sustainable transport use; and • Raise awareness of the health benefits of travel by non-motorised modes.

Policy T8: Local Roads

Local Authorities should manage the local road network in accordance with their local transport plan objectives to complement the aims of Policy T2 with the following priorities: • tackling congestion and its environmental impacts;

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• facilitating the provision of safe and efficient public transport, walking and cycling; • Providing efficient vehicular access to locations and activities requiring it, particularly in areas of growth and where regeneration is dependent on improved access; and improving safety.

13. 37 The Strategy states that while the promotion of walking and cycling and other non motorised transport is largely a matter for local planning, the cumulative effects on the environment, the level of car traffic, health and quality of life make it a regional issue.

13. 38 Accordingly, Policy T9 outlines the draft Strategy’s vision for walking, cycling and non- motorised transport:

Policy T9: Walking, Cycling and other Non-Motorised Transport

Provision for walking, cycling and other non-motorised transport should be improved and developed as part of an integrated strategy for achieving the RTS objectives. Pedestrian, cycle and other non-motorised transport networks should be managed and improved to enhance access to work, schools and town centres, and provide access to the countryside, urban greenspace, and recreational opportunities. Support should be given to completing the National Cycle Network in the region by 2010, and to linking it to local cycle networks.

Policy T13: Public Transport Accessibility

Public transport provision, including demand responsive services, should be improved as part of a package of measures to improve accessibility. Public transport use should be encouraged throughout the region by increasing accessibility to appropriate levels of service of as high a proportion of households as possible, enabling them to access core services (education, employment, health and retail).

County and Local Policy

Norfolk Local Transport Plan (2006 – 2011)

13. 39 The Second Local Transport Plan describes Norfolk County Council's transport strategy for the period 2006 to 2021, including an implementation programme for the period 2006 to 2011.

13. 40 The strategic approach of the plan is stated as being to reduce the need to travel and help people and businesses get where they need to get to, enabling them to do this in a more sustainable way, while reducing congestion, protecting and enhancing the environment, and improving road safety.

13. 41 Amongst the Thematic Strategies of the LTP are the following, which have particular relevance to the proposed development;

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Delivering sustainable growth - Integrating spatial, economic and transport planning • Improve strategic accessibility to reduce the remoteness of Norfolk and improve economic performance. At a strategic level this is expected to reduce the need to travel by balancing jobs and housing growth, thereby reducing the need for people living in Norfolk to travel longer distances to jobs outside the county. • Improve connections by road and particularly public transport within sub-regions. • Make the housing and jobs growth that is accommodated more sustainable by ensuring it is located so as to minimise the need to travel, especially by car, and that this is supported by appropriate transport improvements. • Decisions across the County Council will take into account their transport consequences and the need to reduce travel demand.

Improving Accessibility

• Improve local connections and promote better accessibility to jobs and services, especially by public transport, cycling and walking. Prioritise accessibility improvements in those more deprived areas of the county with low car ownership and poor public transport.

13. 42 The LTP prepares, or commits to preparation, strategies for individual areas within the County. In these, the emphasis will be placed upon promoting walking, cycling and public transport. South Norfolk Local Plan (adopted 2003)

13. 43 The South Norfolk Local Plan was adopted in 2003 and is will shortly be replaced by the South Norfolk Local Development Framework upon its completion. During this interim period, the following policies from the Local Plan will remain valid until the LDF is formally adopted.

13. 44 The Plan’s main objective for transport is outlined in Strategic Principle 10 as follows:

Strategic Principle 10: Main objective for transport and movement

The main objective of the Local Plan for transport and movement is to ensure the safe and free movement of traffic and promote the principles of sustainable development.

13. 45 The policies that specifically address transportation issues are as follows:

Policy TRA 17: Off site road improvements

Developers will be expected to meet the cost of necessary off-site road improvements specifically required to facilitate their proposals, in order that traffic generated by the development will not:

i) Endanger highway safety; ii) Prejudice the free flow of traffic on the highway network

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Planning conditions may be imposed or planning obligations sought accordingly, in compliance with the provisions of Annex “C” to PPG 13 and Circular 1/97 respectively.

Pedestrian Access

13. 46 The pedestrian environment in close proximity to the proposal site is typical of a rural area in that footway provision is limited or disjointed. The B1136 Loddon Road which serves the southern parcel of land, is without formal footways to either side and whilst pedestrians could feasibly walk along the edge of the carriageway or the verge the 60mph speed limit poses safety implications. Similarly, the northern parcel accessed via Crab Apple Lane is without footways and its reduced width of 3.0 metres is unlikely to be attractive for pedestrians.

13. 47 As pedestrian journeys are typically up to 2 kilometres, the catchment of the site has been examined. The settlement of Haddiscoe is located within a 0.5km walking distance, however given the remote location of the site and the lack of suitable pedestrian facilities available, access to the site by foot is unlikely. The villages of Raveningham and Hales are in excess of 3 kilometres away and therefore beyond a reasonable walking distance.

13. 48 A public footpath runs across the northern part of the site, and is to be accommodated within the layout of the excavation, with realignment as appropriate.

Cycle Access

13. 49 As recognised by PPG13 ‘Cycling also has the potential to substitute for short car trips, particularly those less than 5 km and to form part of a longer journey by public transport’.

13. 50 Cycle access to the proposal site has been considered. For the purposes of cycle accessibility, a cycle time of 10 minutes which equates to 2.5km at an average speed of 15kmh has been assumed.

13. 51 At present there are no formal national or local cycle routes within the vicinity of the application site. However, the site is located within 5 kilometres of several villages including Haddiscoe, Raveningham and Hales, which is an approximate cycle ride of 20 minutes for locally based staff as opposed to using a car.

13. 52 For staff that live further away there is also the potential to link cycle trips in with rail network, particularly as Haddiscoe Rail station is situated approximately 2.3 miles from the proposal site and therefore an acceptable cycle distance away. This station offers regular train services between Lowestoft and , stopping at intermediate stations, with the ability to change lines to access Great Yarmouth, Felixstowe and the rest of the national rail network.

13. 53 Whilst formal cycling provision does not exist in the vicinity of the proposal, the site remains accessible by cycle and offers significant opportunities to combine this mode with public transport services.

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Public Transport Access

Bus Access

13. 54 Bus accessibility is measured by reference to the number and frequency of bus services available within easy walking distance of the development. Reasonable walking distance is considered to be up to 400 metres in the case of accessing bus based public transport. This distance equates to a 5 minute walk time assuming a walk speed of 80 metres a minute.

13. 55 The nearest bus stops to the development site are the Thorpe Road and Crown bus stops which are located in the centre of Haddiscoe village approximately 600 metres north east of the application site. Whilst there are no designated footways providing access to the stops which are accessed via Church Road and Thorpe Road, the stops are well positioned and offer a good means of access from Haddiscoe into the surrounding area for those without access to alternative means of travel.

13. 56 A summary of the bus routes and services serving the nearest bus stops is set out in Table 4-1 of the Transport Assessment. As that table illustrates, the bus stops located in Haddiscoe village offer several local services which travel via neighbouring villages and larger towns further afield. The 581 service in particular operates on an hourly basis between Monday-Saturday, offering a reasonable alternative to car based travel.

Rail Access

13. 57 The nearest rail station to the site is Haddiscoe Rail station located approximately 2.3 miles north-east of the site. This station is served by train services which operate between Norwich and Lowestoft stopping at intermediate station including Reedham and Brundall.

13. 58 Services on weekday morning and afternoon peaks run hourly whilst the off-peak frequency is one train every 2 hours. The level of service on Saturdays is similar to the weekday frequency. On Sundays trains run every 2 hours starting at 10:03 and ending at 22:03 in the evening.

13. 59 As the rail line forms part of the National Express East Anglia rail network, connections are therefore available to a wide range of destinations across East Anglia and into the Midlands and South East of England including services into London Liverpool Street.

Current Traffic Flow Conditions and Speeds

13. 60 To determine the current traffic flows and speeds on Loddon Road and Beccles Road for the purposes of the access design, splay provision and traffic impact assessments, traffic surveys by Automatic Traffic Count (ATC) were undertaken in June 2008. In addition, peak hour turning counts were undertaken at the junction of Loddon Road with Beccles Road at this time to determine the impact of the turning movements associated with the development on the current traffic flows.

13. 61 The results of the ATC traffic surveys are attached at Appendix 2 of the Transport Assessment, and may be summarised as follows:

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Table 13-1: Traffic Flows and Speeds – Local Highway Network

Total Flow (24-hr weekday AM Peak Hour PM Peak Hour average) Link (weekday (weekday 85%ile speed average) average) % (mph observed) Vehicles HGV Loddon Road (eastbound) 224 213 1911 2.3 60.1 Loddon Road (westbound) 163 199 1772 2.1 56.1 Beccles Road (northbound) 439 372 4043 3.1 49.6 Beccles Road (southbound) 296 340 3684 3.3 51.3

13. 62 Peak hour turning counts were also undertaken at the junction of Loddon Road with Beccles Road to determine the current traffic flows through the junction. This data is also attached at Appendix 2 of the Transport Assessment

Accident Data

13. 63 Accident data covering a three year period from 1 st November 2007 – 31 st October 2010 was obtained from Norfolk County Council. The accident study area includes the B1136 Loddon Road and Yarmouth Road in its entirety together with its junctions with the A413 Beccles Road in the east and the A416 Beccles Road to the west. The study area also incorporates the section of A143 Beccles Road lying immediately to the south of B1136 Loddon Road and the A143 The Street in the village of Haddiscoe.

13. 64 The accident data plot and full accident data is contained in Appendix 3 of the Transport Assessment .

13. 65 A total of 17 accidents were recorded during this period; 2 of which were fatal, 2 serious and 13 slight in nature. A summary of the accident data by categories of vehicle is provided in Table 13-2.

Table 10-2 Accident Data Summary (1 st November 2007 – 31 st October 2010)

Months To/Severity Fatal Serious Slight Total 1/11/07 - 31/10/08 0 0 6 6 1/11/08 - 31/10/09 1 1 4 6 1/11/09 – 31/10/10 1 1 4 6 Total Accidents 2 2 14 18

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13. 66 Table 13-2 shows that over the three year period, 85% of the accidents that took place involved motor vehicles only, the remaining 15% involved 2-wheeled motor cycles.

13. 67 To establish whether any particular vehicle type is commonly involved in accidents in the study area, the accident data has been further categorised by vehicle type with a summary provided in Table 13-3.

Table 10-3 Accident Vehicle Summary (1 st November 2007 – 31 st October 2010)

Accidents Involving: Fatal Serious Slight Total Pedal cycles 0 0 0 0 Motorcycle <50cc 0 0 0 0 Motorcycle >50<=125cc 1 0 0 1 Motorcycle >125<=500cc 0 0 0 0 Motorcycle >500cc 0 2 0 2 Car 0 1 15 16 Agricultural 1 0 1 2 Goods Vehicle <3.5t 0 0 3 3 HGV 0 0 0 0 Bus/Coach 0 0 0 0 Other Motorised Vehicle 0 0 0 0 Pedestrian 0 0 1 1 Total Accidents 2 3 20 25

13. 68 Table 13-3 shows that over the three year period, accidents involving cars were most significant, followed by Goods Vehicles (less than 3.5 tonnes) and two-wheeled motor vehicles.

13. 69 Of particular relevance to this report are accidents which involved commercial goods vehicles and HGVs. Upon closer inspection of the data, the accident data indicates that a total of 3 accidents occurred which involved goods vehicles weighing under 3.5 tonnes. The data confirms that there was no particular concentration in terms of the location of these accidents. One accident involved a Goods Vehicle turning right from B1136 Yarmouth Road onto A146 Beccles Road and colliding with an oncoming vehicle. The second accident took place just west of the village of Raveningham, which is located over 2 miles west of the proposal site on Yarmouth Road. An eastbound Goods Vehicle was involved in a rear shunt when the car it was following slowed down/stopped. The final accident was recorded on The Street in Haddiscoe. Whilst the accident circumstances are unclear it appears that a HGV travelling east clipped a pedestrian. All three incidents were recorded as Slight in severity.

13. 70 Within the immediate proximity of the proposal site and its access points onto the B1136 Loddon Road and Crab Apple Lane respectively, there were no accidents recorded in the three year period.

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13. 71 The nearest accident to have occurred took place on the B1136 Loddon Road, a distance west of its junction with Crab Apple Lane. Two cars travelling in opposite directions were involved in a head on collision caused by speeds inappropriate for the wet road conditions. This accident was ranked as slight its severity.

13. 72 As part of the proposal, HGV traffic will access the southern parcel of land by means of a new vehicular access located on Loddon Road. The accident data has been further assessed to identify whether any accident trends are linked to traffic turning on/off the B1136 to side roads/private accesses.

13. 73 The data indicates that 2 accidents related specifically to vehicles turning onto the B1136 into the paths of oncoming vehicles. In both cases, the vehicle undertaking the turn was responsible due to failing to look properly. Both accidents were classed as Slight in severity.

13. 74 A further two accidents occurred as vehicles turned right off the B1136. One accident occurred as a driver under the influence of alcohol turned into the path of an oncoming westbound vehicle. This resulted in a Slight severity accident. A Fatal accident also occurred when a motorcyclist tried to overtake an agricultural vehicle which had started to turn right into a farm track. The motorcyclist was deemed to be at fault for carrying out a poor manoeuvre.

13. 75 On the B1136, 4 accidents were caused by vehicles losing control causing them to collide with stationery objects off the carriageway. In three of these incidents, slippery conditions due to inclement weather were contributing factors. In the remaining accident which resulted in a fatality, the driver lost control after being distracted by something in the vehicle.

13. 76 The remaining 6 accidents occurred at the junction of the A146 Beccles Road/B1136 Yarmouth Road in Hales. Two of the accidents were Serious in nature and involved cars colliding with motorcyclists as they turned right out of the junction. Similarly the remaining 4 Slight accidents taking place at the junction occurred due to poor driver decision making, leading to collisions between vehicles entering or exiting from the minor arm. In each case the drivers were criticised for failing to judge the path of the approaching vehicle or not looking properly before manoeuvring.

13. 77 Although included in the accident study area, it is anticipated that only a small proportion of staff trips will arrive at the proposal site via this junction. No HGV movements associated with the development will travel via this junction.

13. 78 In summary, over the three year period from 1 st November 2007 – 31 st October 2010 no accidents (fatal, serious or slight) were recorded on either the B1136 Loddon Road or Crab Apple Lane where the site access points are proposed to be located.

13. 79 Furthermore, no accidents were recorded at the junction of Loddon Road with the A143 Beccles Road in Haddiscoe itself which will be the main route for HGVs accessing the site. Of the accidents that did take place in the study area, the majority were classed as Slight in severity and occurred as a result of drivers not looking properly, driving inappropriately for the road conditions or speed or a lack of concentration.

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TRAFFIC GENERATION AND TRAFFIC IMPACT

13. 80 In identifying the relative impact of the application on the surrounding highway network, it is necessary to provide a comparison of movements associated with the existing site conditions and those that will occur under the proposal.

13. 81 Both parcels of land included in the application site are currently grassland/agricultural use and therefore have a limited trip generation. Other than occasional agricultural vehicles which may access the site periodically, it is assumed that there is no regular vehicle trip generation. This offers a robust base scenario against which future impact can be measured.

Traffic Generation

13. 82 It is anticipated that the Quarry will operate on an annual output of some 75,000 tonnes of aggregate.

13. 83 It is proposed the site is worked Monday to Fridays and Saturday mornings (discounting bank holidays). The daily trip generation has therefore been based upon 275 working days per year.

13. 84 On the basis of an average daily tonnage leaving the site of 300 tonnes, and with regards to the operation of another site operated nearby by the application, the projected traffic generation figures are as follows:- • 4 x 25t = 100t • 5 x 20t = 100t • 7 x 10t = 70t • 7 x 4.5t = 30t

13. 85 Thus there will be typically 23 aggregate vehicles per day leaving the site, of which 16 will be HGV and 7 MGV. The application site would therefore generate an average of some around 16 HGV loads per day (32 movements).

13. 86 Exports would be evenly spread throughout the working day and would not peak in line with traffic on the surrounding highway network. Assuming robustly that one-eighth of all HGV movements occur in any one hour, a maximum of 4 movements per hour could be expected.

13. 87 The application site would generate a small number of cars, light and medium goods vehicle movements, primarily associated with site staff, HGV drivers and visitors. The site would employ around five to eight staff, which allowing for visitors would generate around 10 – 15 light vehicle trips per day (30 movements), together with 7 MGV movements associated with aggregate export. To provide a rigorous assessment all staff arrivals have been assigned to the AM peak and all staff departures assigned to the PM peak.

13. 88 The predicted trip generation of the proposed quarrying operations daily and within the peak hours may therefore be summarised as follows:

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Table 13-4 Predicted Weekday Peak Hour Trips

Weekday AM Peak Hour Weekday AM Peak Hour (08:00 – 09:00) (17:00 – 18:00

Arrivals Departures Total Arrivals Departures Total (% HGV) (% HGV) (% HGV) (% HGV) (% HGV) (% HGV) Exportation 2 2 4 2 2 4 Traffic (100%) (100%) (100%) (100%) (100%) (100%) Staff/Operative 10 0 10 0 10 10 Traffic (0%) (0%) (0%) (0%) 12 2 14 2 12 14 Total Traffic (17%) (100%) (29%) (100%) (17%) (29%)

Table 13-5 Predicted Weekday Trips - Total

Arrivals Departures Total % HGV Sand and Gravel Exports HGV 16 16 32 100% Staff/Operative Traffic & Sand and 17 17 34 0% Gravel Exports MGV Total 33 33 66 48%

Traffic Assignment

13. 89 It is anticipated that demand for products of the type that the quarry will produce can be expected from the Norwich area to the north-west, the Beccles/Bungay area to the south and the Great Yarmouth area to the east.

13. 90 However, in light of the availability of other sources of similar materials closer to Norwich and Beccles/Bungay, it is anticipated that the majority of exportation traffic will depart and arrive towards the east and therefore by way of the junction of Loddon Road with the A143 Beccles Road in Haddiscoe. Information from the site operator indicates that a split of 66% towards the east and 34% towards the west is an appropriate assignment of traffic from the quarry.

13. 91 Staff and operatives are expected to arrive from both directions, and so an equal split of 50% to and from both direction is assumed for the purposes of this assessment in the peak hours.

Traffic Growth

13. 92 In order to provide a detailed assessment of the local highway network the junction modelling has considered the following scenarios:

• 2008 Base Year • 2011 Opening Year of Development (‘without’ and ‘with’ development)

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• 2021 Horizon Year - 10 years after the Development Opening (‘without’ and ‘with’ development traffic)

13. 93 In order to calculate future levels of traffic for the assessment years it has been necessary to forecast traffic growth using local TEMPRO (V6.2) data for South Norfolk and the National Traffic Model forecasts. These rates are those defined in the ‘TEMPRO Guidance Note (April 2009)’ as stated on the DfT’s webTAG information site.

13. 94 Growth factors have been extracted from TEMPRO (V6.2) for the AM and PM peak periods. For each period, factors relating to national growth (GB) and local growth South Norfolk (rural) were obtained. These growth factors were then normalised using figures obtained from the National Traffic Model 2008 (NTM). NTM 2008 data sets have been used as opposed to 2009 as the 2009 version are still subject to draft status and tend to be more robust.

13. 95 To generate traffic growth factors for each of the peak periods, the following formula was applied: Local TEMPRO Rate = NTM 2008 x National TEMPRO Rate

13. 96 Forecasted traffic growth is likely to be robust in the face of the real-term rising costs of motoring. Therefore, the assessment provides a rigorous allowance of traffic growth that is also likely to take account of other nearby future developments. The calculated traffic growth factors are shown within Table 13-6 below.

Table 13-6 TEMPRO & NTM growth rates for the local road network

Opening Year Horizon Year Period 2008 - 2011 2008 - 2021 AM Peak 1.0276 1.1952

PM Peak 1.0295 1.2048

Likely Significant Impacts

Traffic Impact

13. 97 The existing 2-way flows on Loddon Road and Beccles Road for the weekday AM, PM and full day are set out in Table 13-1 of this chapter.

13. 98 With the addition of the predicted traffic to be generated by the proposed quarrying operations, the impact on this road can be summarised as follows:

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Table 13-7 Traffic Impact on Loddon Road and Beccles Road – AM Peak Net Percentage Increase

Link 2011 2021 2011 Base 2021 Base 2011 + Dev. 2021 + Dev. B1136 Loddon Road 377 439 382 444 1.33% 1.14% (West of Site Access) B1136 Loddon Road 377 439 391 453 3.71% 3.19% (East of Site Access) A143 The Street 1003 1165 1012 1172 0.70% 0.60% (North of B1136 junction) A143 Beccles Road 657 764 657 764 0% 0% (South of B1136 junction)

Table 13-8 Traffic Impact on Loddon Road and Beccles Road – PM Peak Net Percentage

Increase Link 2011 2021 2011 Base 2021 Base 2011 + Dev. 2021 + Dev. B1136 Loddon Road 427 500 432 505 1.17% 1.00% (West of Site Access) B1136 Loddon Road 427 500 436 509 2.12% 1.80% (East of Site Access) A143 The Street 1112 1301 1121 1310 0.81% 0.69% (North of B1136 junction) A143 Beccles Road 741 867 741 867 0% 0% (South of B1136 junction)

13. 99 The analysis of the traffic impact of the proposed quarrying operation in the morning and evening weekday peak hours indicate that the potential increase in traffic flows is minimal.

13. 100 As demonstrated in Tables 13-7 and 13-8, only the B1136 Loddon Road (east and west of the site access) and A143 The Street (north of the B1136 junction) will see an increase in flow as a result of the proposal. In both the AM and PM peak periods, the increase in traffic flow on any link is predicted to be less than 4%.

13. 101 The guidelines for the Environmental Assessment of Road Traffic (IEA, 1993) suggest two broad rules to define where there would be a need for an environmental impact analysis. These are as follows:-

• Highway links where traffic flows will increase overall by more than 30% (or the number of HGVs will increase overall by more than 30%); or

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• Sensitive areas where traffic flows will increase overall by 10% or more.

13. 102 The results provided in Tables 13-7 and 13-8 demonstrate that the proposed development would not result in traffic increases of more than 10% on any part of the local highway network within the weekday peak hours.

13. 103 In terms of the impact on the observed daily flows through the local highway network, this can be determined as follows:

Table 13-9 Traffic Impact on Loddon Road and A143 The Street – Weekday

Net Percentage

Increase Link all veh HGV Observe d way) (2- HGV (2-way) Dev Traffic (Total) Dev HGV B1136 Loddon Road 3683 81 19 9 0.52% 11.1% (West of Site Access) B1136 Loddon Road 3683 81 40 21 1.09% 25.9% (East of Site Access) A143 Beccles Road 11,042 364 40 21 0.36% 5.8% (North of B1136 junction)

13. 104 Table 2.1 of Department of Transport Departmental Standard TD 46/97, Traffic Flow Ranges for Use in the Assessment of New Rural Roads, sets out the design flows for rural roads. Reference to this table indicates that the 'Design Flow' for an all-purpose rural single carriageway road is 13,000 vehicles per day (2-way).

13. 105 The observed weekday peak hour flows therefore indicate that the A143 to the north of its junction with Loddon Road is currently operating at around 85% of its capacity, whilst Loddon Road is operating at substantially less than 30%. The impact on The Street is determined in Tables 13-7 to 13-9 as very limited, whilst that on Loddon Road is only approaching a material impact for the increase in HGV volumes between the site access and the A143 junction, mainly due to the very low base levels. However, as the capacity of Loddon Road is clearly well above the current usage, there is clear scope for the additional development generated traffic to access the road network without adversely affecting the capacity or operation of this link.

13. 106 In light of the restricted impact in terms of percentage increase in vehicles turning through the Loddon Road junction with the A143, and in light of the lack of any observed pattern of accidents at this junction, the Highway Authority has concluded that further investigation in terms of capacity assessment is unnecessary.

Road Safety Impact

13. 107 The review of personal injury accidents within the study area network concluded that the salient point for this assessment was whether an increased number of heavy goods vehicles would materially worsen the existing safety risk on the road network.

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13. 108 The review concluded that over the three year period from 1 st November 2007 – 31 st October 2010 no accidents were recorded on either the B1136 Loddon Road or Crab Apple Lane where the site access points are proposed to be located. Furthermore, no accidents were recorded at the junction of Loddon Road with the A143 Beccles Road in Haddiscoe itself which will be the main route for HGVs accessing the site.

13. 109 Of the accidents that were recorded in the study area, the majority were classed as Slight in severity and occurred as a result of drivers not looking properly, driving inappropriately for the road conditions or speed or a lack of concentration.

13. 110 Of particular relevance to this assessment are those accidents which involved commercial goods vehicles and HGVs. Detailed examination of the data indicates that a total of 3 accidents occurred which involved goods vehicles weighing under 3.5 tonnes, although there was no particular concentration in terms of the location of these accidents.

13. 111 One accident involved a Goods Vehicle turning right from B1136 Yarmouth Road onto A146 Beccles Road and colliding with an oncoming vehicle. The second accident took place just west of the village of Raveningham, which is located over 2 miles west of the proposal site on Yarmouth Road. An eastbound Goods Vehicle was involved in a rear shunt when the car it was following slowed down/stopped. The final accident was recorded on The Street in Haddiscoe. Whilst the accident circumstances are unclear, it appears that a HGV travelling east clipped a pedestrian. All three incidents were recorded as “Slight” in severity.

13. 112 Having regard to the trip generations and impacts calculated within Sections 5 and 6 of this report, it is concluded that the projected limited increase in the number of heavy goods vehicles on the highway network would not be of sufficient magnitude to significantly or materially worsen the existing safety record. Therefore, it is concluded on this basis that the development proposals are acceptable from a highway safety perspective.

Summary and Conclusions

13. 113 This Chapter has been prepared to assess the traffic and transport impacts of the proposed development at Loddon Road, Haddiscoe. The report is summarised as follows:

• In accordance with national guidelines, the parameters of this assessment have been fully scoped with Norfolk County Council, acting as Highway authority.

• The development proposals comprise the excavation of sand and gravel and associated processing facilities at Manor Farm, Haddiscoe.

• The proposed development is unlikely to attract a significant number of non-car trips due to the type of use, its geographical location and the proximity to non-car infrastructure. Therefore this assessment robustly assumes that all staff trips will result in a new car trip.

• The existing safety record of the highway has been reviewed and it has been concluded that there is no pattern of accidents that is suggestive of a highway

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layout deficiency that leads to unacceptable safety risks. Furthermore, the impact of development traffic would be immeasurably small. Consequently, the proposed development is acceptable from a highway safety perspective.

• The trip attraction potential of the development proposals has been considered on a first principles basis and the traffic flow increases do not justify full environmental impact assessment.

• Therefore, the development proposals are acceptable from a highway capacity perspective.

13. 114 Having regard to the above, it is considered that the development proposals are acceptable in traffic and transport terms.

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