Jim Holt Ltd

Jim Holt Ltd Transport Statement Proposed Crematorium and Memorial Gardens Poundstock, Bude On behalf of The Atlantic View Crematorium Consortium November 2020 Proposed Crematorium and Memorial Gardens Table of Contents Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................ 3 Existing Transport Conditions ............................................................................................................................. 6 Policy and Guidance ......................................................................................................................................... 10 Proposed Development .................................................................................................................................... 14 Conclusions ....................................................................................................................................................... 19 Appendix A – Traffic Survey .............................................................................................................................. 20 Jim Holt Ltd Page 2 of 20 Proposed Crematorium and Memorial Gardens Introduction This Transport Statement (TS) has been undertaken to identify and analyse the potential transport impacts of a proposed Crematorium and Memorial Gardens at Poundstock, Bude. At present the existing crematoriums in Cornwall and Devon are all in excess of a thirty minute travel time from the Bude area. The nearest crematoriums are located in Barnstaple and Bodmin, which are 37 miles and 27 miles away, respectively. This can often result in funeral journey times of up to an hour or more for people travelling to funeral services. The map below shows the approximate distance that can travelled by car in thirty minutes from each existing crematorium. These areas are shaded in grey. This leaves a significant gap in the Bude area. The proposed Atlantic View crematorium would fill this gap and provide coverage in the area shaded in green. Jim Holt Ltd Page 3 of 20 Proposed Crematorium and Memorial Gardens The proposed site is 4 miles south of Bude on land at Poundstock adjacent to the A39. It has been chosen as it is in an accessible and convenient location and would help to provide a more local service for the community. Importantly, a crematorium in North Cornwall would significantly reduce funeral journeys and prevent people from having to travel long distances. This would result in the generation of significantly less levels of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere which would accord and contribute to the Council’s Climate Change emergency agenda. The images below demonstrate the location of the site and its relationship to the A39: Jim Holt Ltd Page 4 of 20 Proposed Crematorium and Memorial Gardens A Transport Statement was requested to be submitted with a planning application following detailed pre- application advice and discussion with the Local Planning Authority and Local Highway Authority. The Highway Officer stated in their pre-application comments: “should any subsequent application demonstrate safe and suitable access, in line with the access arrangement and infrastructure improvements agreed in recent pre-application discussions with the Transport Consultant, it is unlikely an objection would be raised on highway safety grounds. This comment is offered without prejudice to the assessment of, and subsequent conclusions made in the event an application is submitted.” This report will outline and assess any transport issues in relation to the site and will consider the proposed access arrangements and sustainability of the development with regard to current local and national planning policy. Overview of Guidance and Standards A Transport Statement sets out the transport issues relating to a proposed development site (existing conditions) and details of the development proposals (proposed development). This Transport Statement is produced in accordance with, and in recognition of, local and central government guidance and follows our understanding of the requirements set out in the National Planning Practice Guidance (2014) and the National Planning Policy Framework (February 2019). Jim Holt Ltd Page 5 of 20 Proposed Crematorium and Memorial Gardens Existing Transport Conditions This section provides a review of the existing highway conditions at the site in relation to transport. It includes analysis of the site location, a study of the existing local highway network and traffic conditions and includes a road safety review. Site Location and Description The proposed development site is located to the north of Poundstock in North Cornwall. It is bounded on its eastern side by the A39 and on its southern side by the C029. The A39 is a primary route. This section of the A39 is known as the Atlantic Highway which runs from Barnstaple in north Devon to Fraddon and the A30 Trunk Road in Cornwall. The C029 forms a priority junction with the A39 and travels west and then north to connect with Widemouth Bay. The A39/C029 junction has an existing right turn lane and is demonstrated below: Existing A39/C029 junction with right turn lane Jim Holt Ltd Page 6 of 20 Proposed Crematorium and Memorial Gardens The existing A39/C029 junction has excellent emerging visibility in both directions taken from 2.4m back from the edge of the carriageway and is in accordance with the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (DMRB). The emerging visibility is demonstrated in the photographs below: Emerging visibility to the right from 2.4m Emerging visibility to the left from 2.4m Jim Holt Ltd Page 7 of 20 Proposed Crematorium and Memorial Gardens The C029 is single carriageway with white centre line markings. Pre-application advice from the Planning Authority was that access to the crematorium should be provided from the C029. The Highway Authority requested that visibility splays for the new access were based on the speed of traffic and in accordance with DMRB. Speed readings were taken for 7 days from the week beginning the 21st March 2019 (Appendix A). These were taken from 2 points to obtain the 85th percentile speed for both eastbound and westbound traffic as demonstrated below: The speed survey found that the 85th percentile speed of traffic for westbound traffic (approaching a new access) was 25mph and for the eastbound traffic (approaching a new access) was 44mph. The survey also counted the traffic flow over the 7 day period. This found that there are around 700 vehicles travelling eastbound and westbound each day on average (total 1400). In terms of volume from a highway perspective, these are not particularly high traffic flows for a classified road. In terms of highest traffic flows, the survey identified that Sunday experienced the greatest volume of traffic with over 900 vehicles travelling in both an eastbound and westbound direction (total over 1800). Jim Holt Ltd Page 8 of 20 Proposed Crematorium and Memorial Gardens Road Safety Three-year personal injury collision statistics were analysed for the A39 and C029 in the vicinity of the development site and including the existing A39/C029 junction. The data shows that there were no recorded collisions for the C029 and only 1 slight injury collisions at the A39/C029 junction for this period which is very low considering the number of vehicles which are travelling along the A39 each day. The analysis demonstrates that there are no collision trends or clusters, and it can therefore be concluded that there are no existing road safety concerns along the highway or at the A39/C029 junction. Public Transport There is a regular bus service operated in the area by Transport for Cornwall. This provides the 95 bus service between Bude, St Columb Major and Truro. At Bude there are further opportunities for travel using other bus services and at Truro destinations by bus and rail for wider journeys. Jim Holt Ltd Page 9 of 20 Proposed Crematorium and Memorial Gardens Policy and Guidance National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) Relevant current government guidance is contained in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) 2019. This promotes development in locations that are accessible by means other than the private car. Chapter 9 of the NPPF is titled “Promoting sustainable transport” in which the principles of sustainable transport in relation to development are promoted. It states in paragraph 102 that: Transport issues should be considered from the earliest stages of plan-making and development proposals, so that: a) the potential impacts of development on transport networks can be addressed; b) opportunities from existing or proposed transport infrastructure, and changing transport technology and usage, are realised – for example in relation to the scale, location or density of development that can be accommodated; c) opportunities to promote walking, cycling and public transport use are identified and pursued; d) the environmental impacts of traffic and transport infrastructure can be identified, assessed and taken into account – including appropriate opportunities for avoiding and mitigating any adverse effects, and for net environmental gains; and e) patterns of movement, streets, parking and other transport considerations are integral to the design of schemes, and contribute to making high quality places. It also states in paragraph 103: The planning system should actively manage patterns of growth in support of these objectives. Significant

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