10 Transport and Highways

Environmental Statement | Land at Cotes, Loughborough 10 Transport and Highways 10.1 Introduction 10.1.1 This Chapter has been prepared by Phil Jones Associates Ltd and sets out the results of an assessment of the traffic-related environmental effects of the development on Land at Cotes, Loughborough. The purpose of a traffic and transport chapter within an Environmental Statement (ES) is to assess those environmental effects that are potentially significant where a proposed development is likely to give rise to changes in traffic flows. 10.1.2 Data used in the assessment has been drawn from the Transport Assessment (TA) and Framework Travel Plan (FTP) for the Proposed Development contained in Appendix 10.1 in Volume 2. The TA sets out transport issues relating to the Proposed Development and identifies measures to deal with the anticipated transport effects and to improve accessibility and safety for all modes of travel. Consideration has also been given to the impact of traffic generated by a number of other committed developments within Loughborough, the details of which are contained within the TA and referred to in Chapter 1 of the ES. The assessments within this chapter have been undertaken on the assumption that the committed developments are fully operational and therefore the volume of vehicles associated with these schemes has been added to the baseline traffic flows. 10.1.3 A description of the amended Proposed Development is presented in Chapter 2 of this ES. An assessment has been undertaken of the of the likely magnitude of effects that may occur as a result of the Proposed Development and consideration has also been given to the effectiveness of a number of mitigation measures that have been incorporated into the scheme as they form part of the proposals. 10.1.4 The approach to the assessment has been based on the 1993 Institute of Environmental Assessment (now the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment - IEMA) publication Guidance Notes No. 1: Guidelines for the Environmental Assessment of Road Traffic, hereafter referred to as the IEA guidelines, and the 2007 Welsh Assembly Government, Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) and the Department for Transport (DfT) publication Guidance on Transport Assessment. Reference has also been made within this assessment to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) as well as other relevant local planning policy documents. 10.2 Assessment Approach Methodology Potential Receptors 10.2.1 The methodology used in this ES chapter (adopting that advocated by the IEMA guidelines) includes evaluating: Potential effects on local roads and the users of these roads, including public transport users, pedestrians and cyclists; and Potential effects on land uses and environmental resources fronting those roads, including the relevant occupiers and users. 10.2.2 The IEMA guidelines also identify groups, locations and areas which may be sensitive to changes in traffic conditions and which should be considered for assessment. These potentially affected parties are summarised in Table 10.1. Transport and Highways | 1 Land at Cotes, Loughborough | E n v i r o n m e n t a l S t a t e m e n t Table 10.1 Sensitive groups, locations and areas People at home Pedestrians People in work places Cyclists Children Open spaces Elderly Recreational sites Disabled Shopping areas Hospitals Sites of ecological/nature conservation value Churches Sites of visitor/tourist attraction Schools Accident hotspots Historical buildings Source: IEA (1993). Guidance Notes No. 1: Guidelines for the Environmental Assessment of Road Traffic. Potentially Significant Effects 10.2.3 The IEMA guidelines also recommend that the following environmental effects may be considered to be potentially important when considering traffic from an individual development. Table 10.2 Traffic related environmental effects Noise Fear and Intimidation Vibration Accidents and Safety Visual Effects Hazardous Loads Severance Air Pollution Driver Delay Dust and Dirt Pedestrian Delay Ecological Effects Pedestrian Amenity Heritage and Conservation 10.2.4 Of these effects, many are considered in chapters elsewhere within this Environmental Statement due to the specialist skills required (e.g. Air Quality - Chapter 11; Noise - Chapter 12). The remaining relevant effects (highlighted above in Table 10.2) are defined and discussed below with recommendations on significance criteria for each (based on the IEMA guidance where possible). 10.2.5 The following effects, highlighted in bold in Table 10.2 above, have been included in the scope of the assessment: Potential effects on the community associated with severance caused by an increase in traffic levels during construction and occupation of the Proposed Development. Potential effects on drivers associated with driver delay caused by additional traffic generated by the Proposed Development. Potential effects on pedestrians associated with delays caused by changes in traffic volume or speed of traffic. Potential effects on pedestrian amenity caused by the increase in traffic flow, traffic composition and pavement width/separation from traffic. Potential effects on pedestrians associated with fear and intimidation caused by increase in volume of traffic and its HGV composition. Potential effects of highway safety caused by the increase in traffic flow as a result of the Proposed Development. 10.2.6 The following effects have been excluded from the scope of the assessment: Potential effects on sensitive receptors associated with hazardous loads. Hazardous loads are not expected during the construction or post construction phases; therefore this effect has be scoped out; Potential effects of additional traffic on the highway network further afield than the highway network in the vicinity of the site and the eastern side of Loughborough. 2 | Transport and Highways Environmental Statement | Land at Cotes, Loughborough Effects are likely to be negligible as development traffic becomes diluted by other traffic flows and is dispersed through a variety of locations. Data Gathering Methodology 10.2.7 In order to establish the baseline situation, existing traffic flows on the local highway network have been derived from commissioned traffic counts at junctions throughout the surrounding area. For the purposes of the future year assessments DfT TEMPRO growth factors have been applied to the 2013 survey data to derive the base year traffic flows for 2016 and 2026. 10.2.8 For the with development scenarios, data has been obtained from the Leicester and Leicestershire Integrated Transport Model (LLITM) which has been used to identify the distribution of development trips and any re-assignment of baseline trips that may occur as a result of the proposed development. This information has then been applied to the calculated future base flows to provide a ‘with development’ scenario. Full details of the methodology used are provided in the TA. 10.2.9 Personal Injury Accident (PIA) data for the study area was also obtained from Leicestershire County Council and Nottinghamshire County Council and has been used to determine if there is a history of accidents in the vicinity of the site. 10.2.10 A detailed site audit has also been undertaken, the purpose of which was to review the local road network in the vicinity of the Site and identify key pedestrian trip attractors, pedestrian and cycle crossing points and other areas of pedestrian activity. Other groups, locations and areas, which may be sensitive to changes in traffic conditions, were also considered. Additionally, the site visit considered road links and junctions that may have queuing and capacity issues or the potential to be an accident hotspot. Methodology for Prediction of Effects 10.2.11 The estimated traffic generation resulting from the construction and operation phases of the Proposed Development has been compared with baseline traffic flows in order to determine the percentage increase in traffic on each road that has been taken forward for assessment. 10.2.12 In order to define the scale and extent if this assessment, the IEMA guidelines identify the following rules by which to undertake and assessment of potentially significant traffic- related environmental effects: Rule 1: Include roads where traffic flows are predicted to increase by more than 30%; Rule 2: Include any specifically sensitive areas where traffic flows are predicted to increase by 10% or more. Significance Evaluation Methodology 10.2.13 The significance of each effect will be considered against the criteria within the IEMA guidelines, where possible. However, the IEMA guidelines state that: ’…for many effects there are no simple rules or formulae which define the thresholds of significance and there is, therefore, a need for interpretation and judgement on the part of the assessor, backed-up by data or quantified information wherever possible. Such judgements will include the assessment of the numbers of people experiencing a change in environmental impact as well as the assessment of the damage to various natural resources.’ 10.2.14 The IEMA guidelines also state that: Transport and Highways | 3 Land at Cotes, Loughborough | E n v i r o n m e n t a l S t a t e m e n t ‘…the detailed assessment of impacts is…likely to concentrate on the period during which the absolute level of an impact is at its peak, as well as the hour at which the greatest level of change is likely to occur.’ 10.2.15 The magnitude of each potentially significant effect has also been considered and an assessment has been made as to whether the Proposed Development would result in minor, moderate or major adverse impacts or would be beneficial. The criteria used to determine the significance and magnitude of each of the traffic-related environmental effects is based on the advice given in the IEMA guidelines and is summarised below. Severance 10.2.16 Severance is the perceived division that can occur within a community when it becomes separated by a major traffic artery and is used to describe the factors that separate people from other people and places.

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