Burford Grange, Ickleford Transport Statement
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London Burford Grange, Ickleford 1– 5 Offord Street London N1 1DH Telephone 020 7700 6666 Transport Statement Norwich 6 Upper King Street Norwich NR3 1HA Telephone 01603 628 074 Cambridge 47 – 51 Norfolk Street Cambridge CB1 2LD Telephone 01223 656 058 [email protected] www.conisbee.co.uk Directors Alan Conisbee BA BAI CEng MIStructE Conservation accredited engineer (CARE) Ref: 160651/H Jenkins Chris Boydell BSc CEng MIStructE MICE Tim Attwood BSc CEng MIStructE Approved By: Bob Stagg BSc (Hons) CEng FIStructE MICE Tom Beaven BEng (Hons) CEng MIStructE Date: 30 November 2016 Allan Dunsmore BEng (Hons) CEng MIStructE MICE Richard Dobson MEng CEng MIStructE Version: 1.2 Paul Hartfree IEng MICE MCIHT FGS Associates David Richards BEng (Hons) CEng MIStructE ACGI Gary Johns Terry Girdler BSc (Hons) Eng MSc CEng FICE MIStructE Conservation accredited engineer (CARE) Ben Heath BEng CEng MIStructE Keith Hirst BEng CEng MIStructE Tom Lefever BEng (Hons) CEng C.WEM MICE MCIWEM Conisbee is a trading name of Alan Conisbee and Associates Limited 2010/586 London branch Registered in England No. 3958459 Table of Contents 1.0 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 3 2.0 Existing situation and accessibility ......................................................................................... 5 3.0 Development proposals ........................................................................................................ 14 4.0 Transport characteristics ...................................................................................................... 20 5.0 Summary and conclusions ................................................................................................... 22 Page 2 of 23 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background 1.1.1 Conisbee has been appointed by CALA Homes to produce a Transport Statement to support the allocation of a site at Burford Grange in Ickleford, Hertfordshire within the emerging Local Plan. It is proposed to develop the site to provide 51 dwellings. The site is currently occupied by a single large dwelling, outbuildings and open space and the site location is shown in Figure 1.1 below. Figure 1.1 Site location 1.1.2 The site is to the west of Ickleford, approximately 2km north of the centre of Hitchin and less than 5km west of Letchworth Garden City. 1.1.3 The purpose of this Statement is to assess the transport characteristics of the proposed development and consider any impact on the surrounding highway network. 1.2 Scope of the report 1.2.1 The scope of this report has been discussed with Hertfordshire County Council as Highway Authority and the following agreed: Page 3 of 23 Produce a Transport Statement including providing an indication of trip generation and considering the sustainability of the site; No junction capacity analysis at the site access or wider highway network is necessary; Carry out a speed survey to determine the appropriate visibility splay at the site access. An automatic traffic counter will be laid in August (during the school holidays) and can be relied on for speed data but not traffic flow data. 1.3 Structure of the report 1.3.1 Following this introductory section, the report is structured as follows: Section 2 describes the existing transport conditions surrounding the site including accessibility by all modes of transport together with a review of personal accident data within the study area; Section 3 outlines the development proposals including the access design; Section 4 predicts the likely travel demand generated by the proposed development; Section 5 identifies any impact of the proposals on the surrounding transport network; and, Section 6 summarises the findings of the report. Page 4 of 23 2.0 EXISTING SITUATION AND ACCESSIBILITY 2.1 Site location 2.1.1 The development site is located off the A600 Bedford Road in Ickleford. It is bounded by the A600 Bedford Road to the east; the rear gardens of properties fronting Westmill Lane to the north; agricultural land to the north, open land to the west and the residential property The Paddocks to the south. 2.1.2 The location of the development site in relation to the local highway network is shown in Figure 2.1 below. Page 5 of 23 Figure 2.1 Local highway network Page 6 of 23 2.2 Accessibility by walking and cycling Walking 2.2.1 There is a footway on the eastern side of Bedford Road and a short section of footway on the western side to the north of the site. Approximately 150m to the south of the site past the bridge over the River Oughton, there is a footway on the western side. This footway continues south along Bedford Road towards Hitchin and connects to the restricted byway that runs east through playing fields (south of and parallel to) the river. 2.2.2 There are no crossing facilities on Bedford Road in the vicinity of the site. At the roundabout with Turnpike Lane, there are informal crossings in the form of dropped kerbs on the Turnpike Lane (south) arm and Bedford Road (north). 2.2.3 The Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation (CIHT) guidelines ‘Providing for Journeys on Foot’ indicates that the desirable walking distance for commuting and school journeys is 500m, the acceptable walking distance is 1km and 2km is the preferred maximum. 2.2.4 The CIHT guidelines indicate that the desirable walking distance for ‘Elsewhere’, including local amenities, is 400m, the acceptable walking distance is 800m and 1.2km is the preferred maximum. 2.2.5 There are local shops and pubs in the centre of the village of Ickleford, within 800m of the site. There are also public transport and education facilities within easy walking distance. 2.2.6 The centre of the market town of Hitchin is less that 2km to the south of the site and provides access to a wide range of retail, cultural and leisure facilities. 2.2.7 The local amenities surrounding the site are shown in Figure 2.2 over the page. Page 7 of 23 Figure 2.2 Local amenities within walking distance Page 8 of 23 Cycling 2.2.8 The nearest cycle routes to the site are: a local route approximately 3km to the south of the site at Charlton (south of Hitchin); a local route 4km to the west at Pirton; and, National Cycle Network Route 12 the Great North Way that runs from Enfield to Spalding via Stevenage, St Neots and Peterborough, approximately 5km to the east at Letchworth. 2.3 Accessibility by public transport Bus services 2.3.1 The nearest bus stop with services heading south is located 70m north of the site and 200m from the site for services heading north. Of these services, route 89 passes Hitchin Railway Station. Further bus stops are available outside The Priory School (approximately 400m south of the site access) and further south along Bedford Road. Table 2.1 below shows a summary of the routes serving the nearest bus stops. Table 2.1 Summary of bus routes Nearest bus Route no. Route Weekday frequency stop to site (m) 71 70 Bedford – Hitchin 1 per hr 89 70 Henlow Camp - Hitchin 1 per hr 188 70 Hitchin – Sandy 1 per 2 hrs 190 70 Hitchin – Sandy 1 per 2 hrs 80 400 Hitchin - Stevenage 1 per hour 2.3.2 The local public transport network is highlighted in Figure 2.3. Page 9 of 23 Figure 2.3 Public Transport Infrastructure Rail services 2.3.3 The nearest railway stations to the site are Hitchin (approximately 2.5km to the south east) and Letchworth (approximately 6km to the east). These stations are on the East Coast Main Line managed by Great Northern. At Hitchin, services run between London Kings Cross (four per hour) and Cambridge (two per hour) and Peterborough (two per hour). There are further services that run between Moorgate (one per hour) and Letchworth Garden City (one per hour). At Letchworth, there are two services per hour to Kings Cross, two to Cambridge and two to Moorgate, via Hertford North. 2.3.4 Hitchin Railway Station has 176 secure cycle storage spaces and 362 chargeable car parking spaces including 16 accessible spaces, is served by local bus routes and both platforms have step free access. 2.3.5 Letchworth Railway Station has 96 cycle stands and bus services stop outside the station. It has step free access to both platforms. 2.4 Local highway network 2.4.1 The site fronts the A600 Bedford Road, a main distributor running north-south from Hitchin, by-passing Shefford and heading to Bedford. The A1(M) can be reached either continuing south from the A600 on the A602 (7.5km away) or heading east on the A505 (7km away). Bedford Road in the immediate vicinity of the site connects to Turnpike Lane approximately 150m north of the existing site access at a 4-arm mini-roundabout junction. Page 10 of 23 2.4.2 Bedford Road is a single carriageway road, approximately 7.3m wide and subject to a 30mph speed limit. It has residential properties fronting it and the Priory School to the south of the site. Passing the site, it has a footway on the eastern side only. There is a short section of footway on the western side between the junction with Turnpike Lane and the northern edge of the site. Approximately 150m to the south of the site past the bridge over the River Oughton, there is a footway on the western side. Bedford Road has street lighting and is a bus route. There are no parking restrictions. 2.4.3 The highway network in the vicinity of the site is shown in Figure 2.1. 2.5 Accident analysis 2.5.1 Personal injury accident data has been obtained for the period 2011 to 2015 (inclusive) for the study area and Figure 2.4 below shows the location and severity of accidents that occurred during this period.