159-167 Upper Street, Islington, London N1 1Re
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159-167 UPPER STREET, ISLINGTON, LONDON N1 1RE Proposed Part Change of Use from Offices to Retail Transport Statement for Noble House Properties Limited September 2010 Transport Planning Project: 159-167 Upper Street, Islington, London N1 1RE Proposed Part Change of Use from Offices to Retail Client: Noble House Properties Limited Document: Transport Statement Gateway TSP ref: SG/10/0801/R 2010-09-22 TS i2 Issue date: 22nd September 2010 Status: 2nd Issue Authorised by: SG © Copyright Gateway TSP 2010 Transport Planning 53 Manor Way Gu i l d fo r d S u r r ey GU2 7 R R Tel: 01483 300715 Email: [email protected] CONTENTS 1 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 1 2 Existing Local Conditions ........................................................................................................... 5 3 Relevant Transport Policy ......................................................................................................... 7 4 Transport Implications of the Proposed Development ..........................................................14 5 Summary and Conclusion .......................................................................................................25 Figures Figure 1: Site location Figure 2: The site in its local context Figure 3: Area covered by a 2km walk Figure 4: Area covered by a 5km cycle ride Appendices Appendix A: Draft Delivery & Servicing Plan (DSP) Appendix B: Trip analysis – offices Appendix C: Trip analysis – retail Appendix D: Trip analysis – net changes Appendix E: Public transport information 159-167 Upper Street, Islington, London N1 1RE i Transport Statement Ref: SG/10/0801/R 2010-09-22 TS i2 September 2010 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Gateway TSP is instructed by Noble House Properties Limited to prepare this Transport Statement (TS) in support of a planning application for the change of use of part of the existing 4-storey office building at 159-167 Upper Street into nine small retail units. It deals with highway and transport matters relating to the proposed development and should be read in conjunction with the draft Delivery & Servicing Plan (DSP), also prepared by Gateway TSP. 1.2 The application site is located on the western side of Upper Street, approximately 500 metres north of Islington Green and 500 metres south of Highbury Corner, as shown in Figure 1. It lies within the London Borough of Islington. 1.3 The building comprises a total of approximately 3,427 sqm of vacant B1 office space including basements. It was formerly occupied by Islington Council. 1.4 The current proposal is to convert the ground floor and basement areas into nine retail units, ranging in size from 126 sqm to 171 sqm. Following reconfiguration about 1700 sqm of office floor space will be retained, principally on the first, second and third floors but including ground floor entrances from Upper Street. 159-167 Upper Street, Islington, London N1 1RE 1 Transport Statement Ref: SG/10/0801/R 2010-09-22 TS i2 September 2010 Figure 1: Location of the site 1.5 The immediate area is dominated by commercial and business activities at ground floor level, although there is also a mixture of residential, leisure and community uses. Figure 2 shows the site in its local context. 159-167 Upper Street, Islington, London N1 1RE 2 Transport Statement Ref: SG/10/0801/R 2010-09-22 TS i2 September 2010 Figure 2: The site in its local context 1.6 The site is abutted on three sides by public highway; Upper Street to the east, Waterloo Terrace to the south and Barnsbury Street to the north. To its west the site is adjoined by the flank walls and gardens of residential properties with frontage onto Waterloo Terrace and Barnsbury Street. 1.7 There is no vehicular access to/from the site. When in use as offices, pedestrians were able to enter and leave at several points along the Upper Street and Waterloo Terrace frontages, the latter also providing access to a bin store and a fire escape route from the rear. A pedestrian gate onto Barnsbury Street gives access to a small yard and provides a second emergency exit route. 159-167 Upper Street, Islington, London N1 1RE 3 Transport Statement Ref: SG/10/0801/R 2010-09-22 TS i2 September 2010 1.8 In June 2007 a Planning Brief was prepared for the site by Islington Council. In respect of transport matters it states an objective to retain car-free accommodation in view of its close proximity to public transport routes. Other issues identified for consideration are servicing, parking, pedestrian crossing facilities and streetscape. The Planning Brief has informed preparation of this Transport Statement and the associated draft Delivery & Servicing Management Plan. Scope of this Report 1.9 The principal issues addressed by the Transport Statement and draft Delivery and Servicing Management Plan are as follows; i) Compliance with the principles of sustainable development and relevant transport planning policies; ii) Potential net travel changes arising from the proposed change of use; iii) Accessibility by all modes of travel; iv) Parking and servicing, and; v) Mitigation measures. 159-167 Upper Street, Islington, London N1 1RE 4 Transport Statement Ref: SG/10/0801/R 2010-09-22 TS i2 September 2010 2 EXISTING LOCAL CONDITIONS 2.1 Upper Street is a single carriageway road running generally north to south, locally connecting The Angel with Highbury Corner but in the wider context forming part of the A1 trunk road and Transport for London’s Strategic Road Network (SRN). Its carriageway is approximately 11 metres wide and has generous footways on both sides. 2.2 Zebra crossings with central refuges traverse Upper Street approximately 40 metres north and 100 metres south of the site. Northbound buses stop about 50 metres north of the site whilst southbound buses stop 250 metres to the south. 2.3 Upper Street is a Priority (Red) Route and accordingly waiting (parking) is prohibited between 7am and 7pm Mondays to Saturdays. However, a number of limited-use bays are provided including one directly outside the site, which, between 7am and 1pm, allows up to three hours parking by disabled drivers and 20 minutes loading or unloading. 2.4 Upper Street is subject to a 30mph speed limit and benefits from a good standard of street lighting. 2.5 The Barnsbury area west of the site, which includes Barnsbury Street and Waterloo Terrace, is subject to a 20mph Zone and a 7.5 tonne lorry ban, both introduced in 2003. The area is also covered by a Controlled Parking Zone in which parking is prohibited from Monday to Friday (8.30am-6.30pm) and on Saturdays (8.30am- 1.30pm). In the immediate vicinity of Upper Street waiting is prohibited at all times. 159-167 Upper Street, Islington, London N1 1RE 5 Transport Statement Ref: SG/10/0801/R 2010-09-22 TS i2 September 2010 2.6 Approximately 220 metres north of the site Upper Street meets Islington Park Street at a traffic signal controlled junction, beyond which, a further 280 metres from the site, is the Highbury Corner gyratory. To the south Upper Street forms a signal controlled Y-junction with the A104 Islington Green within The Angel Town Centre and continues for another 450 metres to the A501 Pentonville Road. There are numerous intermediate priority controlled junctions and accesses in both directions. 2.7 Sustainable transport infrastructure is examined in further detail within Chapter 4 of this Transport Statement. 159-167 Upper Street, Islington, London N1 1RE 6 Transport Statement Ref: SG/10/0801/R 2010-09-22 TS i2 September 2010 3 RELEVANT TRANSPORT POLICY 3.1 Statutory transport policy and guidance relevant to the proposed development is found within the following documents; i) Planning Policy Guidance Note 13: Transport (March 2001); ii) The London Plan: Consolidated with Alterations since 2004 (February 2008); iii) The Mayor’s Transport Strategy (May 2010), and; iv) Saved Policies of the Islington Unitary Development Plan (UDP) Planning Policy Guidance Note 13: Transport 3.2 PPG13: Transport was published in its current form in March 2001. Among other things it encourages integration between transport priorities and land use planning: “Our quality of life depends on transport and easy access to jobs, shopping, leisure facilities and services; we need a safe, efficient and integrated transport system to support a strong and prosperous economy. But the way we travel and the continued growth in road traffic is damaging our towns, harming our countryside and contributing to global warming.” “This means integration: • within and between different types of transport; • with policies for the environment; • with land use planning; and • with policies for education, health and wealth creation.” 159-167 Upper Street, Islington, London N1 1RE 7 Transport Statement Ref: SG/10/0801/R 2010-09-22 TS i2 September 2010 “Land use planning has a key role in delivering the Government’s integrated transport strategy. By shaping the pattern of development and influencing the location, scale, density, design and mix of land uses, planning can help to reduce the need to travel, reduce the length of journeys and make it safer and easier for people to access jobs, shopping, leisure facilities and services by public transport, walking, and cycling. Consistent application of these planning policies will help to reduce some of the need for car journeys (by reducing physical separation of key land uses) and enable people to make sustainable transport choices.” 3.3 The principal objectives