Burnley Council Proposed Business Hub
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Town & Country Planning Act 1990 (As Amended) Burnley Council Proposed business hub with conference use Former Burnley Grammar School, School Lane in Burnley BB11 1UF Parking & Transport Statement VTC (Highway & Transportation Consultancy) Vision House 29 Howick Park Drive Preston PR1 0LU Tel : 01772 740604 Fax : 01772 741670 E-mail : [email protected] Web : www.vtc-consultancy.co.uk 20th December 2017 Proposed business hub and conference centre Former Burnley Grammar School, School Lane in Burnley BB11 1UF PARKING & TRANSPORT STATEMENT ___________________________________________________________________________ C O N T E N T S 1. Introduction 2. Site Location and Previous Use 3. Existing Highway Network 4. Proposed Conversion Scheme 5. Traffic and Parking impact of the Proposed Conversion 6. Accessibility of the Proposed Development 7. Conclusions and Recommendation References Site Location Plan Appendix 1 – Road Safety Information Appendix 2 – Proposed Conversion Scheme Appendix 3 – Sustainable Transport Information And LCC Accessibility Assessment Photographs Proposed business hub and conference centre Former Burnley Grammar School, School Lane in Burnley BB11 1UF PARKING & TRANSPORT STATEMENT ___________________________________________________________________________ 1. Introduction 1.1 This Parking and Transport Statement has been prepared to accompany the planning application for a proposed business hub, with conference facilities, at the former Burnley Grammar School off School Lane in Burnley town centre. The proposed conversion of the former school will provide new office accommodation and business services in a location that is easily accessible by road or sustainable transport (walking, cycling and public transport). 1.2 During the preparation of the report the following investigations have been carried out : - an examination of the existing site and the adjoining highway network, - an examination of the road safety records for the existing highway network, - consideration of the parking provision for the proposed business hub within the site and in the surrounding area (on-street and off-street), - an examination of the proposed conversion plans, - an assessment of the traffic and parking impact of the proposed conversion scheme on the existing highway network, and - consideration of the accessibility of the proposed business hub by sustainable transport (walking, cycling and public transport), in accordance with the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF – Ref. 1). The Lancashire County Council Accessibility Assessment has also been completed for the site. 1.3 The following sections describe these investigations. Proposed business hub and conference centre Former Burnley Grammar School, School Lane in Burnley BB11 1UF PARKING & TRANSPORT STATEMENT ___________________________________________________________________________ 2. Site Location and Previous Use 2.1 The proposed business hub will be located at the former Burnley Grammar School on the north east side of Burnley town centre, as shown on the Site Location Plan. 2.2 The site is triangular in shape and bounded by the A679 Active Way on the west and the A682 Church Street to the east. School Lane runs along the southern perimeter of the site. 2.3 The site comprises the former school buildings of Burnley Grammar School which located to a new site in 1959. The main building is a Grade II Listed Building and is shown in Photograph 1. There are four other Listed Buildings, or monuments, within the site and St. Peter’s Church is located to the south of the site (a Grade II* Listed Building). Since the relocation of the grammar school the site has been used by Burnley College but the buildings are now vacant. The site has a car park for approximately 20 cars which is accessed off School Lane and is shown in Photograph 2. There are also several secure cycle parking lockers within the site. 3. Existing Highway Network 3.1 As described in Section 2, the site is bounded by the A679 Active Way, the A682 Church Street and School Lane on the north east side of Burnley town centre. 3.2 The A679 Active Way is a dual carriageway road that provides a northern by-pass of Burnley town centre. The road is part of a route that provides access to the M65 motorway at Junction 10, via Westgate, and Junction 11 via Princess Way. Active Way has a traffic signal controlled junction with Church Street on the north side of the site. The road has a 30 mph speed limit in the vicinity of the site. Proposed business hub and conference centre Former Burnley Grammar School, School Lane in Burnley BB11 1UF PARKING & TRANSPORT STATEMENT ___________________________________________________________________________ 3.3 Church Street is part of the A682 route that provides a north-south route on the east side of Burnley town centre. The road provides access to the residential areas on the north side of Burnley town centre and to Brierfield and also provides access to the residential areas on the south side of the town centre including Rose Hill. Church Street is a single carriageway road with a 30 mph speed limit. 3.4 School Lane is a one way street from Church Street to Active Way. The road has a 20 mph speed limit and on-street parking bays, as shown in Photograph 3. The parking bay on the south side of the road can accommodate, approximately, 7 cars and allows drivers to park for 40 minutes on Monday – Friday between 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.. There is also a parking bay on the north (site), side of School Lane which can accommodate approximately 5 cars. There is no restriction on the duration that drivers can park in this bay. There is a parking lay-by for disabled drivers outside the site which can accommodate 3 cars and which has a low level of existing use. There are footways on both sides of School Lane, as shown in Photograph 3. 3.5 The existing highway access to the site has good visibility for drivers who are emerging onto School Lane. The visibility splay to the left is in excess of 43 metres at the driver’s waiting position (2.4 metres from the edge of the carriageway), and is protected by double yellow lines to prevent parking. The 43 metre visibility splay is significantly in excess of the recommended 25 metre splay for an access onto a 20 mph road based on the guidance in the Manual for Streets (Ref. 2). Because School Lane is a one way street the visibility splay to the left (for the approaching traffic), is the only requirement. 3.6 School Lane also provides access to Bank Parade and the adjoining streets such as South Street, Bankhouse Street and Raws Street where there are offices and other commercial premises. There are a high number of on-street parking spaces on these streets which are in designated parking bays with a 40 minute parking limit on Monday – Friday between 8.00 a.m. – 6.00 p.m.. The level of occupancy in these parking bays is low during a typical weekday. Proposed business hub and conference centre Former Burnley Grammar School, School Lane in Burnley BB11 1UF PARKING & TRANSPORT STATEMENT ___________________________________________________________________________ 3.7 There is a contract car park at Bank Parade with parking for 33 cars. There appears to be vacancies for contract parking in this car park because it is, normally, around 50% occupied (there were 17 parking spaces available on Tuesday 31.10.2017 at 11.00 a.m.). There is also a Pay and Display car park located off Parker Street, as shown in Photograph 4. 3.8 An examination of the road safety records that are held on the Lancashire County Council (LCC), website MARIO (Maps and Related Information Online – Ref. 3), shows that there have been no recorded injury accidents on School Lane during the most recent 5 year data period that is displayed on the 19.12.2017. The website shows that there has been a slight injury accident at the junction of Church Street and School Lane during the 5 year data period and 2 slight injury accidents at the junction of School Lane and Active Way during the 5 year period. The website shows that there have been 6 slight injury accidents at the busy junction of Active Way and Church Street during the 5 year data period. This corresponds to, approximately, 1 slight injury accident per year (on average), at this heavily trafficked intersection. This is considered to be a, relatively, low annual accident rate for this type of junction. 3.9 Whilst any injury accident on the highway network is a cause for concern, there is no evidence of any serious road safety problems in the vicinity of the site. The road safety information is shown in Appendix 1. Proposed business hub and conference centre Former Burnley Grammar School, School Lane in Burnley BB11 1UF PARKING & TRANSPORT STATEMENT ___________________________________________________________________________ 4. Proposed Conversion Scheme 4.1 The proposed conversion of the former grammar school buildings into a business hub, with conference facilities, will allow the vacant Listed Building to be brought back into use on a key gateway into Burnley. The proposal will allow 100 people to work in a range of different offices and provide conference facilities for up to 200 people. 4.2 A new entrance and reception will be provided from the car park and a lift will be provided within the site to allow disabled employees and visitors to access the upper floor. 4.3 The existing car park will be used to accommodate at least 20 cars. The existing (under-used), disabled parking lay-by on School Lane will provide parking for blue badge holders near the site. The existing secure cycle parking lockers will be used for cycle parking and additional covered cycle parking will be made available. There will also be a parking area for powered two wheelers (PTWs).