IMPROVING STRATEGIC TRANSPORT ENCOMPASSING CORRIDORS FROM M4 JUNCTION 34 TO THE A48 (FIVE MILE LANE) INCLUDING THE PENDOYLAN CORRIDOR (OR ALTERNATIVE) WelTAG Stage One: Impacts Assessment Report OCTOBER 2017 CONTACT INFORMATION JANICE HUGHES TECHNICAL DIRECTOR DEVELOPMENT PLANNING dd 02920 926770 Arcadis Consulting (UK) Ltd m 07912 395747 Arcadis Cymru House St Mellons Business Park e [email protected] Fortran Road Cardiff CF3 0EY United Kingdom Arcadis Consulting (UK) Limited is a private limited company registered in England registration number: 1093549. Registered office, Arcadis House, 34 York Way, London, N1 9AB. Part of the Arcadis Group of Companies along with other entities in the UK. Regulated by RICS. Copyright © 2015 Arcadis. All rights reserved. arcadis.com VERSION CONTROL Version Date Author Changes D01 6th October 2017 MF / EM First Draft D02 9th October 2017 MF / EM Reviewed by JH This report dated 09 October 2017 has been prepared for the Vale of Glamorgan Council (the “Client”) in accordance with the terms and conditions of appointment dated 14 July 2017 (the “Appointment”) between the Client and Arcadis Consulting (UK) Limited (“Arcadis”) for the purposes specified in the Appointment. For avoidance of doubt, no other person(s) may use or rely upon this report or its contents, and Arcadis accepts no responsibility for any such use or reliance thereon by any other third party. CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... 4 1.1 Background ..................................................................................................................................... 4 1.2 Stage One Impacts Assessment Report......................................................................................... 4 1.3 Appraisal Methodology ................................................................................................................... 4 1.4 Report Structure .............................................................................................................................. 4 2 POLICY, LEGISLATION AND BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS ................................ 5 2.1 Overview .......................................................................................................................................... 5 2.2 National Policy ................................................................................................................................ 5 2.3 Local Policy ..................................................................................................................................... 7 2.4 Background Documents ............................................................................................................... 12 2.5 Committed Developments............................................................................................................. 14 3 CONTEXT ................................................................................................................ 16 3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 16 3.2 Appraisal Area ............................................................................................................................... 16 3.3 Environmental and Land-use Characteristics .............................................................................. 19 3.3.1 Cultural Heritage.......................................................................................................................... 19 3.3.2 Landscape and Land Use ............................................................................................................ 26 3.3.3 Noise and Vibration ..................................................................................................................... 27 3.3.4 Water Resources ......................................................................................................................... 28 3.3.5 Nature Conservation .................................................................................................................... 28 3.3.6 Air Quality .................................................................................................................................... 31 3.4 Access to Employment ................................................................................................................. 31 3.5 Access to Services and Recreation .............................................................................................. 33 3.6 Walking and Cycling ..................................................................................................................... 35 3.7 Rail ................................................................................................................................................. 39 3.8 Bus ................................................................................................................................................. 44 3.9 Highway Network .......................................................................................................................... 46 3.9.1 Background ................................................................................................................................. 46 3.9.2 Local Highway Network ............................................................................................................... 48 3.9.3 Appraisal Area Junctions ............................................................................................................. 51 3.9.4 Personal Injury Accidents ............................................................................................................ 52 4 STRATEGIC CASE ................................................................................................. 54 4.1 Overview ........................................................................................................................................ 54 4.2 Identification of Problems, Opportunities and Constraints ......................................................... 54 4.3 Objectives ...................................................................................................................................... 56 4.4 Developing Options ....................................................................................................................... 59 4.5 Outcome of Stakeholder and Public Consultation....................................................................... 60 5 DATA SOURCE ....................................................................................................... 62 5.1 Overview ........................................................................................................................................ 62 5.2 Data Sources ................................................................................................................................. 62 FIGURES Figure 1 Section of the Vale of Glamorgan Adopted LDP Proposals Map (2017) .......................................... 9 Figure 2 Indicative Appraisal Area ...............................................................................................................17 Figure 3 Age Profiles 2011 Census .............................................................................................................18 Figure 4 Distance Travelled to Work (%) .....................................................................................................32 Figure 5 Access to Key Local Services within the Appraisal Area ................................................................35 Figure 6 Sustrans Map of Cycle Routes in the Local Area ...........................................................................37 Figure 7 Public Rights of Way within the Appraisal Area ..............................................................................38 Figure 8 Demand/ Capacity during the AM Peak – Vale of Glamorgan Line .................................................41 Figure 9 Map of South Wales Rail Stations .................................................................................................42 Figure 10 Metro Priorities ............................................................................................................................43 Figure 11 Local Bus Stops ..........................................................................................................................45 Figure 12 Strategic Highway Routes and Key Junctions ..............................................................................46 Figure 13 AADT flows within and within proximity of appraisal area .............................................................48 Figure 14 Strategic Routes and Junctions in the Vale of Glamorgan ............................................................49 Figure 15 Sycamore Cross Junction – Base Year 2017 Turning Flows ........................................................52 Figure 16 Accidents by Severity within the Study Area (2011-15) ................................................................53 TABLES Table 1 WelTAG Seven-Point Assessment Scale .................................................................................. 4 Table 2 Junction Capacity Assessment Results ....................................................................................12 Table 3 Usual Resident Population Statistics ........................................................................................16