Transport requirements for new developments

TR1 - Transport requirements for new developments 7.273 Transport facilitates the movement of people between their home, work, shops and services, including education, across Buckinghamshire and beyond. It supports sustainable growth opportunities, inward investment, regeneration and contributes towards the delivery of sustainable development. The way we move also affects our health as individuals and as a community. 7.274 With Buckinghamshire being a predominantly rural area, many residents and workers often have limited travel options other than the private car (i.e. infrequent bus services due to financial viability, distance means that walking/cycling not an option). Car ownership in Buckinghamshire is higher than the national average. Traffic congestion is a key issue disrupting people’s everyday journeys and impacting on the local economy. Traffic congestion is predicted to increase across the county if current travel patterns continue. Through the Local Plan, the Council will need to ensure that the right infrastructure is in place to support future demand and in step with the growth in the area. To address these challenges, planmaking and planning decisions should consider many aspects of transport need to improve people’s transport choices and enable people to choose sustainable transport modes, whilst understanding that car use may be the only viable option for some journeys (particularly in rural locations). This will help to tackle congestion, reduce carbon emissions and create healthy and thriving neighbourhoods. 7.275 To achieve this broader consideration of transport needs and ensure people have real travel choice, we need to take a different approach to previous plans. The policies in this Chapter are therefore based on a vision-led place-based approach to shape future development and transport infrastructure in Buckinghamshire, as set out in the NPPF. 7.276 A place-based approach to net zero transport should focus on solutions that create wellconnected places and healthier, happier, more resilient communities. These objectives are critical to good planning, linking the imperative to reduce transport emissions with wider objectives related to decarbonisation, sustainable housing and employment growth and nature recovery. 7.277 This approach identifies the need to follow a sustainability hierarchy in terms of transport needs: substitute (avoid), shift and switch/ improve. It is however recognised that connectivity by motorised vehicles, particularly on a strategic level, is essential in facilitating many journeys. 7.278 This basic hierarchy is summarised in the “Sustainable Accessibility and Mobility (SAM) Framework”19 below, which seeks to prioritise interventions in the following order: a) Substitute long distance trips: replace the need to travel beyond your b) community: Do I need to travel, can I do it online? c) Shift modes: Could I walk, cycle, or use public transport? d) Switch fuels: If I need to use the car, could it be alternative fuel? Shift modes: Can I use active travel? Switch fuels: Can I use an electric vehicle? Substitute trips: Can I do it locally? Figure 34: Sustainable Accessibility and Mobility (SAM) Framework Diagram (Source: Royal Town Planning Institute, Net Zero transport the role of spatial planning and place-based solutions, 2021) 7.279 To help achieve this, the location of development in sustainable locations, and the supply of accessible sustainable transport modes, including walking, wheeling and cycling, will be prioritised. Roads will be carefully designed to support developments and minimise severance. 7.280 We will also work in partnership with National Highways, Network Rail, Great British Railways Transition Team, Active Travel England and others to bring forward improvements to strategic transport infrastructure, services and freight movements. This will support local travel and strategic movements. 19 RTPI | Net Zero Transport: the role of spatial planning and place-based solutions TR1: Transport requirements for new developments Vision-led transport planning 2. All new developments, excluding householder applications, are required to embed the principles of the transport sustainability hierarchy, the National Planning Policy Framework’s vision-led approach to transport planning, and the Local Transport Plan. Where transport modelling is required, a range of plausible scenarios will need to be considered in line with a defined vision. Delivering the vision 3. All developments, excluding householder applications, will be required to demonstrate that they: a) Prioritise sustainable travel and integrate with existing sustainable transport infrastructure. b) Prioritise provision of routes within the site for pedestrians, those with impaired mobility, non-motorised vehicles and cyclists, which are designed to be coherent, direct, safe, comfortable and attractive. 4. Strategic sites, major sites, and any other sites likely to generate significant amounts of movement, will be required to demonstrate through Transport Statements or Transport Assessments that they: Walking, wheeling and cycling a) Provide new coherent, direct, safe, comfortable and attractive access to the site on foot, by cycle and other non-motorised vehicles, maximising connections with local services (including schools) and destinations and with existing footways, public footpaths, towpaths, bridleways, restricted byways and cycle ways. Whole route assessments will be required for a range of services and fully integrated routes should be provided addressing shortfalls in these routes. b) provide dedicated changing, storage and showering facilities in any new non-residential building over 2,500m2 of net internal floorspace. c) In relation to safe walking, wheeling and cycling to schools: i. Provide safe, direct and accessible walking, wheeling and cycling routes to schools for the development from first occupation, where that school is within statutory walking distance of the development (currently 2 miles under 8 years of age and 3 miles over 8 years of age). ii. Work with the local authority to consider existing unsafe walking routes to school within statutory walking distance of the development, and opportunities to rectify them as part of the development. Public Transport d) provide access to a high quality, fully accessible, attractive public transport service. e) provide a new or enhanced bus service where development is not already served by a high-quality attractive bus service. This may be provided directly or by way of a financial contribution, so that the service is maintained for a period of at least five years from an agreed occupation level. f) provide financial contribution towards a new or enhanced train service where required, if the development is not already served by a high-quality attractive train service. Travel plans g) provide and implement travel plans that set out the long-term travel management strategy for an organisation or site, built on an appropriate package of measures aimed at promoting sustainable travel. They must include modal share targets and mitigation measures, in accordance with the Council’s guidance. Car clubs h) provide car club infrastructure in the form of parking spaces, drop off and pick up points and, where appropriate, car club vehicles or provision of subsidised cost of car club membership for electric vehicles, in accordance with the Council’s car club guidance. Car sharing i) provide priority parking spaces for car sharers at developments that are primarily destinations (i.e. non-residential uses). Mobility Hubs j) deliver mobility hubs in accessible locations which are close to community facilities on site and provide sustainable transport connections to wider services, in accordance with the Council’s guidance. Road Infrastructure k) provide strategic road improvements where required, ensuring minimal severance and connectivity provisions. l) where relevant, suitably assess and mitigate any cross-boundary impacts. Highways safety m) Development will be supported where there is no demonstrable unacceptable impact on highway safety, or the residual cumulative impacts on the road network, following mitigation, would be found less than severe, considering all reasonable future scenarios. Rail safety n) Proposals that increase rail crossing use or affect accessibility will only be supported where there is no demonstrable unacceptable impact on railway safety. Design Requirements Design of transport infrastructure in new developments is required to: o) allow for bus routes through the site and priority routing of buses onto the main traffic network. p) include traffic management to mitigate any safety issues within and accessing the site, and any impacts of the development traffic on the main highway network. q) deliver a layout and design of transport infrastructure that creates high quality, permeable, coherent, safe and locally distinct places. Maximising opportunities for walking, wheeling and cycling should be given priority, followed by the needs of vehicular traffic. Vision-led transport planning 7.281 The first part of the policy sets the strategic context for transport planning in Buckinghamshire. As an approach, a way of thinking or mindset, a vision-led approach to transport planning, as defined in the NPPF, is relevant to all scales of development and its application can be tailored accordingly. Therefore, all new developments need to contribute at scale to the transport objectives of the Local Plan and adopted Local Transport Plan. Where sites are allocated, the vision for these sites is set in the Plan. 7.282 Transport modelling will still be necessary in vision-led transport planning. Developers will be required to model a range of plausible scenarios which assume different assumptions about trip generations and mode shifts. 7.283 Plausible scenarios will be based on: a) characteristics of the proposed development site’s location, b) its existing connectivity, c) the mitigation or connectivity improvements that will be either delivered directly by the site developers or through financial contributions towards Buckinghamshire Council’s schemes and d) the extrapolation of trends in travel behaviour. 7.284 Developers will need to engage at the earliest opportunity with the Highway and Planning Authorities to agree on a vision-led methodology. 7.285 The Council will develop further guidance on vision-led transport planning. Delivering the vision 7.286 The second part of the policy focuses on how development proposals., those requiring the submission of a transport statement or transport assessment (as set out in the Department for Transport guidance), will deliver the vision. 7.287 The Council’s preferred way of achieving this will be via s278 agreements (rather than s106 contributions). Smaller developments though should make a proportionate contribution to the cost of delivering necessary schemes. 7.288 Transport Assessments and Transport Statements primarily focus on evaluating the potential transport impacts of the development proposal and the scope/impacts/mitigation will vary from site to site. They may also consider net reductions of impacts and therefore no mitigation is required. 7.289 Sustainable modes of transport should be prioritised in new developments to promote accessibility and integration with the wider community and existing networks. Priority should be given to walking, cycling, wheeling and access to public transport including the provision of new or enhanced existing bus services. It should be easier and quicker to walk, wheel or cycle to key locations across the site (and nearby) to encourage walking, wheeling and cycling to be the first choice for short trips. New developments need to consider access to and provisions at local rail stations to ensure that they can accommodate increased rail demand. 7.290 As of December 2025, 1,058 children in Buckinghamshire qualify for home-to-school travel assistance due to unsafe walking routes, highlighting the importance of improving safe, active travel options. Encouraging walking, wheeling and cycling to school supports children’s health and wellbeing, particularly given that only 51.9% meet recommended daily physical activity levels, while also helping to reduce congestion, emissions and air pollution around schools, where children are especially vulnerable. This approach aligns with LTP5 objectives and will be supported through the Local Plan. Developers should ensure that all schools for new developments have safe, direct, accessible walking and cycling routes both within the development and consider routes children and young people might take into schools on new developments from outside the development, or from the development to schools outside of it. 7.291 People also need access to open spaces and recreational facilities and should be able to easily get there by walking/bike. These spaces are going to be used for walking/cycling; therefore, provisions should be made for walking/cycling routes through all green spaces. 7.292 Developers will need to refer to the latest detailed guidance from the Highway Authority, including on Travel Plans 6, Car Clubs and Mobility Hubs. Cycling provision must follow LTN1/20 guidance, or any future update to it, subject to safety requirements. 7.293 The vision-led approach recognises that journeys by car will still be required. To support those that need to drive, measures should be included to encourage zero emission vehicles, car sharing, and reduce journey lengths such as mobility hubs. The design of developments should also ensure motor vehicle movements are routed appropriately. 7.294 To ensure that all transport users’ needs are considered and genuine travel choice is provided in new developments, highway upgrades for cars / HGV use should only be considered after all other options have been explored. 7.295 A car club provides access to private vehicles for hire. The cars are usually parked in reserved parking spaces specifically for car club vehicles. They provide more sustainable vehicles and travel choice. 7.296 The guidance will support the parking standards and will outline the benefits of car club schemes, the types of schemes, operational models and management, and the parking space requirements (location, infrastructure and design). 7.297 A mobility hub is a physical location that facilitates the integration of multiple transport options e.g. buses, trains, bicycles, e-scooters and carsharing services making it easier for people to switch between different types of transport. In Buckinghamshire, mobility hubs will facilitate and enhance connections between new developments, existing rail and bus interchanges and key tourist and employment zones. 7.298 Where and how mobility hubs are implemented will vary depending on specific site constraints, existing transport provision, user demand, future transport and economic trends. Developers should refer to the Parking Standards for New Developments and Mobility Hub Guidance to ensure that the right mix of sustainable transport modes are viably implemented and in the right locations. 7.299 The Council is currently developing Mobility Hub guidance as part of LTP5 which will outline the types of mobility hubs, where they are likely to apply and the proposed mix of components for each mobility hub types. The guidance will outline minimum requirements that each mobility hub must meet. Highway safety 7.300 In line with the NPPF, developments should not have a severe adverse impact on the operation of the network. Mitigation following a vision-led approach will need to be provided as appropriate. 7.301 Developers will need to liaise with the Council and neighbouring Councils to appropriately address cross boundary impacts as part of their planning application. Rail safety 7.302 Proposals which materially affect rail crossing will need to demonstrate, in consultation with Network Rail, how safety considerations are considered, and deliver mitigations as necessary. Design requirements 7.303 Detailed design requirements will need to be discussed and agreed at the earliest opportunity with the Highway Authority.