DfT Circular 01/2022 - Vision and Validate, Two Years Young

Nearly two years since the introduction of Department for Transport (DfT) Circular 01/2022, the Transport Planning sector is continuing its journey towards ‘vision and validate’. DHA Transport’s Leo Ashby looks at the shift from the long-standing ‘predict and provide’ to the government’s new policy approach to supporting the delivery of sustainable development.

 

What is the Department for Transport (DfT) Circular 01/2022?

DfT Circular 01/2022 was first published on 10th September 2013, and last updated on 23rd December 2022. It explains how National Highways will:

 

• engage with the planning system; and

• fulfil its remit to be a delivery partner for sustainable economic growth whilst maintaining, managing and operating a safe and efficient strategic road network.

 

The Circular is vision-led, taking a predictive view of development impacts and providing for a scenario where a reduction in car-based journeys is foreseen as a ‘new-normal’.
In the post-pandemic world, we are becoming more acclimatised to this new normal, where traditional, more rigid business practices have encountered a refreshed flexibility.

 

This creates significant opportunities for mode shift and all of the social and environmental benefits it brings.

 

What does this mean in practical terms?

 

In short, the future impacts of a vision-led approach on a development proposal are assessed in Transport Assessments, with the selected mode shift reduction applied to the forecast vehicular trip generation of the scheme. Travel Plans are then implemented to guide the implementation of ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ measures to facilitate this mode shift amongst future occupants of the site, which is typically the subject of ongoing monitoring and reporting thereafter.

 

Circular 01/2022 – Vison-led approach

 

Any development of significant size to generate or attract a notable number of travel movements, is now assigned a vision from the start of the transport planning process. The more impactful the development on the highway network, the greater the importance of this vision, and the greater the real terms impact of the vision-led approach. As transport planners become more experienced, these visions are becoming more mutually understood, realistic, and effective.

Under a new Government with ambitious housing targets, and bold plans for new towns, this vision-led approach (which is likely to be enshrined in the revised National Planning Policy Framework) will only increase in its importance and potential impact.

What are the challenges from hereon in?

Going forward, there are nevertheless some potential challenges to the vision-led approach. Since it is still in its infancy, we are waiting for substantiative data on its real-world outcomes. Additionally, there are barriers to collecting representative post-implementation survey data.

And whilst National Highways are leading the way in this regard amongst English Highway Authorities, the ‘predict and provide’ approach still prevails elsewhere. Many Council Members and their constituents remain concerned the perceived ‘war on the motorist’, especially in areas where investment in public transport and active travel infrastructure has been limited.

Whether solely vision-led, or as a hybrid of the predictive and the visionary, it is perhaps these places however that could benefit the most from a fresh approach, and as we continue to work together as an industry to make this transition, we will be increasingly well equipped to take on these challenges.

For any further information on this article, please feel free to contact DHA Transport’s Leo Ashby or Paul Lulham.