Stage 1 LIFT Submission Business Case - Public Version New Birmingham Dental Hospital and School Project APPENDIX 5E - Travel Plan and Transport Statement APPENDIX 120731 Bham Dental Stage 1 LIFT Business Case - PUBLIC VERSION.docx TRANSPORT Birmingham Dental Hospital and School of Dentistry, Pebble Mill, Birmingham Travel Plan TRANSPORT Birmingham Dental Hospital and School of Dentistry, Pebble Mill, Birmingham Travel Plan BWB Consulting Limited Livery Place 35 Livery Street Colmore Business District Birmingham B3 2PB (0121) 233 3322 www.bwbconsulting.com Ref: TC/CH/BMT252 Date: August 2011 DOCUMENT REF: BMT252 TP JOB NUMBER: BMT252 DESCRIPTION: DATE: REV. NO. AUTHOR: CHECKED: APPROVED: 1 Draft issue to Client TC CH AP 25.03.11 2 Second version to Client TC CH AP 31.03.11 3 Third version to Client TC CH AP 02.06.11 4 Fourth draft to Client TC CH AP 20.07.11 5 Final draft to Client TC CH AP 02.08.11 BWB Consulting Ltd ¤ Registered in England 5265863 BIRMINGAHM DENTAL HOSPITAL AND SCHOOL OF DENTISTRY, PEBBLE MILL TRAVEL PLAN AUGUST 2011 BMT252 TP REVISION 5 CONTENTS PAGE Page Number 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1 2.0 TRAVEL PLAN OBJETCIVES AND BENEIFTS 2 3.0 BACKGROUND 3 4.0 OPPORTUNITIES FOR SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL 6 5.0 TRAVEL CHARACTERISTICS 14 6.0 ELEMENTS OF THE TRAVEL PLAN 22 7.0 IMPLEMENTATION AND MONITORING 31 8.0 FALLBACK MEASURES 34 TABLES Table 1 Summary of local bus services along A38 Bristol Road Table 2 Summary of local bus services along A441 Pershore Road Table 3 Staff modal splits Table 4 Student modal splits Table 5 Patient existing modal splits Table 6 Staff target modal splits Table 7 Patients target modal splits FIGURES Figure 1 General site location Figure 2 Detailed site location Figure 3 Pedestrian catchment area Figure 4 Cycle catchment area Figure 5 Extract from Birmingham Walking and Cycling map Figure 6 Local bus routes Figure 7 Network West Midlands rail map Figure 8 Staff home postcodes Figure 9 Student home postcodes Figure 10 Patient home postcodes APPENDICES Appendix A Example travel survey form Appendix B Letter of Travel Plan commitment BIRMINGAHM DENTAL HOSPITAL, PEBBLE MILL TRAVEL PLAN AUGUST 2011 BMT252 TP REVISION 5 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 BWB Consulting Limited was commissioned by Birmingham Community Health Care NHS Trust to provide transport and highways advice in support of an outline planning application for the relocation of the Birmingham Dental Hospital and School of Dentistry to the site of the former BBC Pebble Mill Studios in Birmingham. 1.2 This Travel Plan has been produced to support the planning application for the relocation of the Birmingham Dental Hospital to a facility which will have a gross floor area (GFA) of up to 16,000sqm. This Travel Plan examines the opportunities for sustainable travel to the site, and includes targets and measures to encourage sustainable travel based on the results of surveys of the existing staff, students and patients. 1.3 The Travel Plan has been produced in accordance with the guidance provided in PPG13: Transport (January 2011), which requires developers and local planning authorities to place greater emphasis on travel by sustainable modes of transport. Its objectives are to demonstrate the Dental Hospital’s commitment to promoting sustainable travel for all users. 1.4 This document has also been prepared following a review of the latest guidance on Travel Plans, including the DfT’s ‘Good Practice Guidelines: Delivering Travel Plans through the Planning Process’ (April, 2009). Reference has also been made to the Department of Health’s ‘Health Technical Memorandum (HTM) 07-03 – Transport management and car parking’. 1.5 Once operational, the Travel Plan will deliver the following: • partnership approach to influence the travel behaviour of staff and visitors to and from the site; • safe and viable alternatives to single occupancy car travel to the site; • practical initiatives based on an appraisal of staff travel patterns; • fewer vehicle trips and a reduction in overall vehicle mileage; • inform staff of the social, environmental and economic costs of their travel choices, • improved accessibility for all. 1 BIRMINGAHM DENTAL HOSPITAL, PEBBLE MILL TRAVEL PLAN AUGUST 2011 BMT252 TP REVISION 5 2.0 TRAVEL PLAN OBJECTIVES AND BENEFITS 2.1 Objectives 2.1.1 Paragraphs 86 to 90 of Planning Policy Guidance Note 13: Transport (PPG13) (January 2011) set out the Government’s guidance with respect to Travel Plans. The sustainable transport objectives are summarised in paragraph 87 and include reductions in car usage (particularly single occupancy journeys) and increased use of public transport, walking and cycling. 2.1.2 In line with the PPG13 objectives, the overarching objective of this Travel Plan is to minimise the number of car trips, and therefore the car mileage, generated by staff, students and patients, by minimising the car dependency and achieving a modal change to more sustainable modes of transport. 2.2 Benefits 2.2.1 HTM 07-03 details the potential benefits of a Travel Plan for the specific users at the development as follows: • the individual, through improved health, reduced stress and cost savings • the patient, by freeing up accessibility to sites, relieving concern, allowing the ability to keep appointments, etc • the workplace, through a healthier, more motivated workforce, reduced congestion and improved access to sites for employees, potential recruits, visitors and contractors • the community, by organisations demonstrating their commitment to environmental priorities and setting an example to others; reducing congestion, freeing the flow of movement through local routes, reducing incidence of road traffic accidents whilst also addressing issues of nuisance and noise • the environment, through improved local air quality, with less noise, dirt and fumes, which can contribute to other national and global improvements • health promotion, by encouraging physical exercise, such as walking and cycling. 2 BIRMINGAHM DENTAL HOSPITAL, PEBBLE MILL TRAVEL PLAN AUGUST 2011 BMT252 TP REVISION 5 3.0 BACKGROUND 3.1 Site Location 3.1.1 The application site is located approximately 3.5km south of Birmingham City Centre. The general and detailed site locations are shown on Figures 1 and 2. Figure 1: General site location 3.1.2 The Pebble Mill site is currently vacant and is bounded by residential development and the A38 Bristol Road to the north; the A4029 Pebble Mill Road to the east and the Chad Brook to the south. 3.1.3 Pebble Mill Road is predominantly fronted by residential development and provides a route between the A38 Bristol Road and A441 Pershore Road, which are both strategic routes between the city centre and southern areas of Birmingham. The Priory Hospital is located 500m to the north of the site and Edgbaston Cricket Ground is 900m to the northeast. Both are accessed via the B4217 Priory Road, whilst the University of Birmingham is located approximately 1km west of the site. 3 BIRMINGAHM DENTAL HOSPITAL, PEBBLE MILL TRAVEL PLAN AUGUST 2011 BMT252 TP REVISION 5 Figure 2: Detailed site location 3.2 Proposed development 3.2.1 The Pebble Mill Science Park was initially granted a conditional outline planning permission by Birmingham City Council (BCC) on 2 October 2003 This permitted the use of the site as a science and technology park, with on-site parking, new sporting facilities and new vehicular accesses on both the A38 Bristol Road and Pebble Mill Road. The A38 Bristol Road entrance spur was constructed during 2004/5. 3.2.2 The former BBC Studios were officially closed on 22 October 2004. The buildings were then demolished and the site remediated in the period to September 2005. Since this work the site has been vacant. 3.2.3 On 11 September 2008, a conditional Section 73 planning permission was granted, which allowed the phased implementation of the science park over a ten year period. This proposal represents the first of these phases. 3.2.4 The development proposals involve replacing 16,000sqm of the previously permitted B1 floorspace with a facility to accommodate the Birmingham Dental Hospital and 4 BIRMINGAHM DENTAL HOSPITAL, PEBBLE MILL TRAVEL PLAN AUGUST 2011 BMT252 TP REVISION 5 School of Dentistry, which will relocate from its current position on St Chad's Queensway in Birmingham City Centre. 3.2.5 The main access to the Pebble Mill Science Park will be via a traffic signal controlled T-junction on the A38 Bristol Road, which has been constructed but has yet to become operational. A secondary access would be in the form of a priority controlled T-junction in the vicinity of the existing site access on Pebble Mill Road. The two access junctions would be connected via an internal spine road, which would be designed to improve permeability through the site, whilst limiting vehicle speeds and providing both an attractive cyclist and pedestrian environment. 5 BIRMINGAHM DENTAL HOSPITAL, PEBBLE MILL TRAVEL PLAN AUGUST 2011 BMT252 TP REVISION 5 4.0 OPPORTUNITIES FOR SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL 4.1 Pedestrian travel 4.1.1 PPG13 states that “walking is the most important mode of travel at the local level and offers the greatest potential to replace short car trips, particularly those under 2 kilometres”. 4.1.2 The Institution of Highways and Transportation (IHT) publication ‘Guidelines for Providing for Journeys on Foot’ [2000] provides guidance on how to encourage pedestrian travel. The IHT Guidelines note that walking accounts for over a quarter of all journeys and four-fifths of journeys less than one mile (1.6 kilometres). Furthermore, walking is also an essential part of much car and almost all public transport travel, as bus stops are usually accessed on foot. 4.1.3 The CIHT guidelines suggest an average walking speed of 1.4m/s which equates to approximately 3mph, and hence the 1.6km catchment area relates to a maximum walking time of 19 minutes.