Swindon Driving Range Limited Swindon Driving
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SWINDON DRIVING RANGE SWINDON DRIVING RANGE LIMITED APPENDIX I SWINDON GOLF COURSE TRANSPORT ASSESSMENT DATED MARCH 2010 (REPORT REFERENCE 81176/002AHS REVA.REP) ALL/SW/SPS/1539/01/FIN April 2010 pl13647 CLIENT: M J Carter Associates Ltd PROJECT TITLE: Swindon Golf Course REPORT TITLE: Transport Assessment DOC REF: 81176/002ahsRevA.rep DATE: March 2010 M J Carter Ass ociates Ltd W A Fairhurst & Partners Baddesley Colliery Offices Wellesbourne House Main Road Walton Road Baxterley Wellesbourne Atherstone Warwick 81176/ahs002repWarwickshire CV9 2LE CV35 9JB CONTROL SHEET CLIENT: M J Carter Associates Ltd PROJECT TITLE: Swindon Golf Course REPORT TITLE: Transport Assessment PROJECT REFERENCE: 81176 Issue and Approval Schedule: ISSUE 1 Name Signature Date FINAL Prepared by A SPENCER 29/10/2009 Reviewed by G SPELLER 17/12/2009 Approved by G SPELLER 17/12/2009 Revision Record: Issue Date Status Description By Chk App 2 19/02/10 FINAL Amended following client comments JLS GNS GNS 3 4 5 6 7 8 This report has been prepared in accordance with procedure OP/P03 of W A Fairhurst & Partners' Quality Assurance System. 81176/ahs002RevA.rep CONTENTS Page 1.0 Introduction 1 2.0 Site location and the local transport network 2 3.0 Transport policies 4 4.0 Development proposals and traffic 7 5.0 Safety 11 6.0 Proposed actions 14 7.0 Conclusions 15 Figures Figure 1 – Site Location Plan Appendices Appendix A – Correspondence from Staffordshire County Council Appendix B – Summary of accidents on the B4176 81176/ahs002RevA.rep 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 W. A. Fairhurst & Partners have been commissioned to undertake, on behalf of M J Carter Associates Ltd, a Transport Assessment to support planning proposals for improvements to the driving range at Swindon Golf Course near Wombourne, Staffordshire. The planning application proposes work to raise the level of the driving range and to extend its length from 230 to 320 metres. This will involve the importing of inert waste material to the site. 1.2 The existing use of the golf course will continue. The traffic associated with the improvements will cease when they are completed and this transport assessment therefore focuses on the two year period during which the works will take place. 1.3 This assessment has been prepared to provide the planning and highway authorities with sufficient information to assess the impact of the proposed improvement works on the local transport network. 1.4 The analysis includes an assessment of the traffic that will be generated during the proposed improvement works and the subsequent impact on the local highway network. 1.5 This assessment has been prepared in accordance with recommendations set out in the Department for Transport (DfT) Guidelines on transport assessment (2007), Staffordshire County Council’s guidance on Transport assessments and travel plans for private developments (2008) and their Code of Practice on assessing the impact of heavy commercial vehicles generated by minerals and waste developments (2002). 1.6 The assessment concludes that the traffic generated during the proposed improvements can be satisfactorily accommodated on the local transport network and that the proposals are consistent with local transport policy. 81176/ahs002RevA.rep 1 2.0 SITE LOCATION AND THE LOCAL TRANSPORT NETWORK 2.1 The proposed development site, on Swindon Golf Course, is located at National Grid Reference SO 843918 about 1.5 kilometres west of Wombourne. It is bounded to the north by the B4176 Bridgnorth Road. Access to the course is by a narrow but surfaced road leading south from the B4176 immediately west of the former Blackhill Quarry. Figure 1 shows the location of the site. 2.2 The B4176 is a single carriageway road that links Dudley town centre with the A442 on the outskirts of Telford. South of Wombourne it intersects the A449, a former trunk road that links Wolverhampton with Stourbridge and Kidderminster, at a signalled junction. From here the B4176 continues northwest, fringing the residential areas of Wombourne on its north side with mainly open countryside but some industrial premises on its south side. The national speed limit of 60mph applies along the B4176 except through Wombourne village where the limit is 40mph. 2.3 There is a signalled junction with Wombourne Road and Common Road in Wombourne village. The other junctions in this area are priority junctions with routes leading into Wombourne and also to the industrial areas. The last junction before reaching the site entrance from the east is a priority crossroads with Feiashill Road and Smestow Road. 2.4 The site entrance is a surfaced driveway that is 6.1 metres wide as it approaches the B4176. There is a shallow flare to 14 metres where it meets the carriageway, from which it is demarcated by a single dashed line. There are low planted areas on either side of the flare to improve sight lines and the visual splays. Observations by a Transport Development Control officer from Staffordshire County Council have confirmed that in his judgement the visibility splays are acceptable for the level of traffic using the access, provided that the shrubbery in the planted areas is trimmed to no more than 0.9 metres in height above the carriageway level. The correspondence relating to the confirmation is shown in Appendix A. 2.5 About 300 metres west of the site entrance the B4176 bears away to the northwest at a priority junction, though priority is in fact given along the minor 81176/ahs002RevA.rep 2 road that continues to the west (Tom Lane). After crossing into Shropshire the B4176 intersects the A454 Wolverhampton – Bridgnorth road at a roundabout and then continues towards Telford. Apart from Wombourne there are no towns on the road between the A449 and Telford; it passes through open countryside with occasional buildings alongside or reached along side lanes. 2.6 The B4176 has no footways or cycleways in the vicinity of the site. There is a footway, initially along the south side and then on the north side, from just west of Smestow Bridge to the junction with Common Road. In addition a cycle path is marked out on the footway from just northwest of Heath Mill Road to turn left into Brickbridge Lane. 2.7 The Cycle Map for South Staffordshire shows the B4176 as an advisory cycle route between Smestow Bridge and the junction with Tom Lane. Tom Lane is also so designated, as is New Road to the west and south of the site. 2.8 There are no rail or conventional bus services past the site but Staffordshire County Council supports various “Ruralink” minibus services. Route 585 runs from Mondays to Fridays between Bobbington and Wolverhampton, passing the site entrance, with an eastbound journey in the early morning returning in the late afternoon. Two additional journeys operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays only, one mid-morning and the other mid-afternoon, between Wombourne, Bobbington and Kinver, also passing the site. Route 584 runs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays between Bobbington, Wombourne and Wolverhampton with two eastbound journeys mid morning and mid afternoon and one westbound journey mid-day. The services are operated by Codsall Cars and Wombourne Private Hire. 81176/ahs002RevA.rep 3 3.0 TRANSPORT POLICIES 3.1 National and regional policies Planning Policy Statement 10 (PPS10): Planning for sustainable waste management (2005) 3.1.1 This sets out Government planning policies to promote sustainable development through limiting and managing waste so as to protect human health and the environment and using it as a resource wherever possible. 3.1.2 Paragraphs 24 and 29 state that a proposed waste management site should be considered favourably, even if it has not been identified in a development plan, provided that it is consistent with the Waste Planning Authority’s Core Strategy and that due regard has been paid to its likely impact on the local environment and on amenity. Annex E(f) notes that considerations will include the suitability of the road network and the extent to which access would require reliance on local roads. Planning Policy Guidance Note 13 (PPG13) Transport (updated 2001) 3.1.3 Paragraphs 43 and 44 recognise the importance of promoting adequate employment opportunities in rural areas, while paragraph 6 states that employment related development should offer a realistic choice of access by public transport, walking and cycling, recognising that this may be less achievable in some rural areas. West Midlands Regional Freight Strategy (2007) 3.1.4 This calls on local authorities and freight quality partnerships to identify suitable HGV routes (action RH3) and to take appropriate traffic management measures to increase the efficiency and reliability of goods vehicle operations (action RH4). 81176/ahs002RevA.rep 4 3.2 Staffordshire County Council Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Structure Plan (2001) 3.2.1 Policy T13 on local roads, saved in 2007, sets out the priorities of improving safety for all users; improving facilities for people with disabilities, pedestrians, cyclists and buses; and reducing the impact of motor vehicle traffic on people and environmentally sensitive areas. Policy MW8 supports mineral or waste development proposals which reduce the impact of mineral or waste transport on people, the highway network and the environment, though the supporting text (paragraph 12.18) recognises that the majority of waste materials will be transported by road. Staffordshire Waste Local Plan (2003) 3.2.2 Of the policies that were saved in 2007, Policy 3 lists considerations to be taken into account in determining whether a waste management facility will have harmful impacts. These include impacts on the highway network and on other public rights of way such as traffic generation and affecting the enjoyment of people making recreational journeys.