The Crown Estate Land East of Barton Road Luton Transport Appraisal Report May 2017 Contents EXECTUTIVE SUMMARY ....................................................................................................... 1 Site Location ..................................................................................................... 1 Pedestrian & Cyclist Accessibility ...................................................................... 1 Bus Accessibility ............................................................................................... 2 Rail Accessibility ............................................................................................... 2 Vehicular Accessibility ...................................................................................... 2 1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................... 4 2 BASELINE CONTEXT .................................................................................................... 5 Site Location .............................................................................................................. 5 Land North of Luton and Sundon RFI (Rail Freight Interchange) ................................... 5 Walking and Cycling ................................................................................................... 6 Local Facilities ............................................................................................................ 6 Public Transport ......................................................................................................... 7 Bus ................................................................................................................... 7 Rail ................................................................................................................... 8 3 ACCESS STRATEGY .................................................................................................... 10 Planned Infrastructure ............................................................................................. 10 4 SUMMARY & CONCLUSIONS ..................................................................................... 13 Overall Conclusions .................................................................................................. 13 Overall Sustainability ............................................................................................... 13 Figures Figure 1 - Site Location Plan Figure 2 - Local Facilities Plan Figure 3 - Cycling Isochrone Figure 4 - Bus Routes Figure 5 - Luton Northern Bypass – Route Options Appendices Appendix A - WYG Access Feasibility Report i EXECTUTIVE SUMMARY Site Location The Site is located on the northern edge of Luton, approximately 5.2km from Luton Town Centre. The Site is also approximately 3.8 km north-east of Leagrave Rail Station and 5.5km from Luton Rail Station. The western border of the Site, extends along Barton Road (A6) from Great Bramingham Lane northwards to the access to New Farm, Streatley (a distance of approximately 630 metres). The southern perimeter of the Site is formed by the built up area comprising primarily of residential housing in Turnpike Drive. The north and east borders are made up largely of open space and farm land. A number of key facilities are available within a distance of 2km from the Site such as retail, community and public facilities as well as leisure destinations. A Framework Plan for the Land North of Luton (situated immediately to the west of the Site, otherwise known as the North Luton Strategic Allocation – NLSA) was adopted in March 2015 and set out a vision and strategy for a sustainable new development in an area stretching from the M1 to the A6 Barton Road. It was envisaged that the Land North of Luton would provide a mix of market and affordable housing, commercial development, new schools, accessible open space, and sports and leisure facilities. Pedestrian & Cyclist Accessibility In terms of pedestrian and cyclist accessibility, the Site is well connected to the existing footway/cycleway network: There is a footway/cycleway on the western side of Barton Road in the vicinity of the Site. There is also a footway/cycleway on the eastern side of Barton Road, which commences at the southwest corner of the Site then runs south along Barton Road (the cycle route leads to the town centre). The footway/cycleway on Barton Road offers a traffic-free route. This is part of the National Cycle Network and connects to the National Cycle Route 6 located to the south of the Site, linking Luton with destinations such as Market Harborough, Northampton and Milton Keynes. Land East of Barton Road 1 Transport Appraisal Report May 2017 The Land North of Luton site, when built, will provide significant opportunities for residents of the Site to access local amenities such as primary schools and a local centre. This would be encourage through the provision of safe crossing opportunities on Barton Road between the two sites. The Land north of Luton site would include a number of amenities. Whilst a planning application showing a definitive layout is not available, a concept plan has been produced. On the concept plan, a potential location for a primary school is shown approximately 500m from the Site, whilst the local centre is shown approximately 2.0km from the Site. Bus Accessibility The Site benefits from being in the vicinity of existing bus services: There are 3 bus stops near the Site. The closest bus stop is located on the western side of Barton Road approximately 500m walking distance from the centre of the Site. The other two bus stops are located on Quantock Rise. The Land North of Luton site is likely to be served by bus services. The concept plan shows a potential bus route through the allocated site and a bus stop close to Barton Road. The Framework Plan highlights the opportunities for linking the allocated site to bus routes and encouraging a link to the Luton Dunstable Guided Busway. There would be opportunities for residents of the Site to utilise these connections. Rail Accessibility Regular rail services are available from local stations: Leagrave station, which is located 3.8km south west of the Site, is the closest rail station to the Site. Leagrave station can be reached by using the 24H bus service on Quantock Rise. Luton Railway Station is 5.7km from the site. The 24H, 25, 79 and 81 bus routes all serve Luton Station. Vehicular Accessibility WYG previously explored access options for the Barton Road Site. It was decided that the most appropriate means of access was via a standard roundabout on Barton Road Land East of Barton Road 2 Transport Appraisal Report May 2017 and that a priority junction would not have the capacity to support access to the development. It is still considered that a roundabout would be the best option for access to the development. Speeds on Barton Road are likely to be high as it is a straight road and the speed limit is derestricted. In terms of highway safety, it would be preferable if the speed limit on Barton Road was changed to 40mph to the north of the proposed site access. Land East of Barton Road 3 Transport Appraisal Report May 2017 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Vectos has been appointed by The Crown Estate to provide transport advice on a potential new residential development in Central Bedfordshire on land east of Barton Road (A6), referred to in this technical note as the “Site”. 1.2 The Site is being promoted for residential development through the emerging Central Bedfordshire Local Plan. The previous iteration of the Plan, which was withdrawn prior to adoption, proposed a large scale residential development to the north of Luton, including the land to the west of Barton Road (referred to as the Land North of Luton and Sundon Rail Freight Interchange and also as the North Luton Strategic Allocation - NLSA), opposite the site. This “allocation” for c.4,000 new homes would have included a wide array of community services and facilities. 1.3 The purpose of this technical note is to provide an appraisal of potential access and sustainable transport facilities for the Site. A site location plan is included at Figure 1. 1.4 The report will include the following sections: Section 2: Baseline Context – A review of transport conditions at the Site and surrounding area, existing pedestrian and cycle routes, public transport provision and the highway network. Section 3: Access Strategy – A review of potential access options at the site. Section 4: Summary & Conclusions – A review of the key points described in this report 1.5 A previous study by WYG has been included at Appendix A for reference. Land East of Barton Road 4 Transport Appraisal Report May 2017 2 BASELINE CONTEXT Site Location 2.1 The Site is located on the northern edge of Luton, approximately 5.2km from Luton Town Centre. A site location plan is included at Figure 1. The Site is also approximately 3.8 km north-east of Leagrave Rail Station and 5.5km from Luton Rail Station. 2.2 The western border of the Site, extends along Barton Road (A6) from Great Bramingham Lane northwards to the access to New Farm, Streatley (a distance of approximately 630 metres). 2.3 The A6 is a single carriageway road and is a key radial route into Luton from Bedford. 2.4 The southern perimeter of the site is formed by the built up area comprising primarily of residential housing in Turnpike Drive. The north and east borders are made up largely of open space and farm land. Land