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Accessibility and sustainability studies

DHA will assess the accessibility and sustainability of a site while drafting our supporting transport reports for planning applications. These assessments consider such elements as the site’s proximity to public transport nodes, local facilities and services, and local walking and cycling routes to paint a picture of how easy it would be for occupants of a development to travel to and from it without using personal vehicles.

 

Active Travel Zone assessments

Active Travel Zone assessments are a Transport for London (TfL) initiative geared towards ensuring the planning process contributes towards increasing mode shift to walking, cycling and public transport. It assesses the quality of the walking, cycling and public transport environment within the vicinity of a development site. DHA have the capability to undertake these assessments for proposed developments located in London.

 

Expert witness services

A planning expert witness is required for a planning appeal, providing the specialised advice needed in legal proceedings. The Transport Team at DHA has several qualified professionals with strong transport backgrounds to advise on the Inquiry process and take the stand as an expert transport planning witness.

 

Outline access and off-site highway works design

DHA can provide initial access designs to feed into the overall design of a development. These access designs will include such elements as visibility splays and will be informed by national planning policy and design guidance. In some cases, additional off-site highway works will need to be included within the development, which DHA can also design to support an application.

 

Transport Feasibility Studies and Local Plan site promotion

The DHA Transport Team will contribute to the promotion of developments for Local Planning Authority Local Plans by providing Technical Notes that assess the accessibility and sustainability of the site, break down the proposed development, provide an estimate of vehicle movements to and from the site, assess the developments compliance with local and national guidance, and in some cases provide an outline access design.

 

Transport Statements and Transport Assessments

To support a planning application, DHA can draft Transport Statements that provide a breakdown of the development, the existing conditions of the site, its policy compliance, and an assessment of potential vehicle movement attraction. If a planning application will be made for a larger scheme, then a Transport Assessment can be drafted instead, which is a Transport Statement that includes a greater amount of detail and often involves such elements as junction modelling and vehicle movement distribution. Most Local Planning Authorities will consider a Transport Statement or Assessment as a requirement for most planning applications.

 

Transport strategies

DHA work closely with Local Planning Authorities and are always ready to provide input to the development of new transport strategies, utilising our experience and skill base to inform decision making.

 

Construction Traffic Management Plans

A Construction Traffic Management Plan is a document that is often provided alongside an application for larger developments. The Construction Traffic Management Plan provides an overview of the construction methodology of the development, including a construction programme, working hours, the vehicles used and how they will access the site, as well as how construction traffic will be managed and how impacts on the local area, such as through noise, vibration, and air quality can be reduced.

 

Delivery and Servicing Plans

DHA can provide a Delivery and Servicing Management Plan where applicable to support an application. A Delivery and Servicing Management Plan provides an overview of the design and layout of the site and how it provides adequate provision for delivery and servicing activity once the development has been completed, before detailing the day-to-day policies and measures that will be implemented so that deliveries and servicing can be appropriately managed. It also covers how the disruption and environmental impact of deliveries and servicing activity will be minimised.

 

Vehicle swept path analysis

A common element within Transport Statements and Assessments, swept path analysis is where a site layout plan for a development is assessed in terms of how easy it would be for vehicles of different types and sizes to move around it. This includes cars, box vans, fire tenders and refuse vehicles, and can often highlight specific areas of a site plan that would need to be altered for the site to be suitable. DHA will be able to undertake this analysis and effectively contribute to the evolution of site layout plans, ensuring that what is contained within an application would be suitable and effective for future occupants of the site.

 

Travel Plans and Travel Plan Coordinator services

The DHA Transport Team can produce Travel Plans, which are often required for developments that would generate a larger number of vehicle movements, including large-scale residential developments and schools. A Travel Plan is a strategy document for managing all travel needs and transport provision within the development site, seeking to improve access to the development by sustainable modes of transport. It will therefore contain both physical and behavioural measures to increase travel choices and will involve a set of targets and initiatives to promote sustainable transport.

 

A Travel Plan Coordinator manages the Travel Plan, taking a leading role in overseeing its implementation and management as well as being responsible for co-ordinating and monitoring any travel surveys that are undertaken. While anyone can be nominated by the developer to be the Travel Plan Coordinator, DHA are able to take on the responsibility at the developer’s request.

 

GIS mapping

To aid our reports through illustration, we use GIS mapping. GIS can be used to create a number of helpful maps that feed into various other pieces of work that we undertake, such as indicating services and facilities located within suitable walking and cycling distances to a proposal site through isochrones and supporting our Construction Traffic Management Plans through the creation of construction routing maps.

More information can be found on our GIS page 

 

Junction modelling and mitigation

In cases where a development can have a notable impact on several local junctions and/or is positioned near the strategic road network, a Local Planning Authority may request that these junctions are modelled in detail to accurately demonstrate the impact. DHA can undertake this modelling using industry-standard modelling software, painting a detailed picture of the number of vehicle movements through a junction, vehicle queue lengths experienced, and average wait times experienced during the peak periods of the road network both before and after the development, highlighting residual impacts. Paired with this, if a development will have a significant impact, the Transport Team will be able to suggest ways in which the impact can be mitigated, with drawings and designs created to support our proposals.

 

Traffic and parking data analysis

To reenforce the transport element of a planning application, DHA can request for a traffic or parking survey to be undertaken on our client’s behalf. Once we receive the data, we will then analyse if for common trends, such as peak traffic times, notable traffic events, peak parking times and more. This data will then be fed into the documents we are producing for the application, utilising it in as the base of our arguments.

 

Highway Improvement Plans

DHA work alongside Parish and Local Councils to draft up a series of highway improvement schemes for their local road networks, with the aim of eliminating existing highway issues and future-proofing their road networks.

 

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