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PAN 57 Planning for Transport

DEVELOPMENT CONTROL

36. Decisions made in relation to specific planning proposals should aim to put into practice the policies of SPP17. The following section provides good practice advice on practical mechanisms which can be used in order to ensure this.

Transport Assessment

37. SPP17 requires a Transport Assessment to be produced for significant travel generating developments. Transport Assessment is a tool that enables delivery of policy aiming to integrate transport and land use planning. The Draft Guide to Transport Assessment in Scotland (2003) provides the detailed information on this process⁷ and should be referred to directly. Further information is also given in annex C.

38. A Transport Assessment Form should be completed for all development or redevelopment proposals except for householder developments that generate no person trip, such as the installation of satellite dishes, minor alterations to existing houses, etc. This will indicate if a Transport Assessment should be carried out. As a change of use could result in different travel characteristics a transport assessment should be requested where the change is likely to result in a material change in trips. For smaller developments the transport assessment will enable local authorities to monitor potential cumulative impact and for larger developments it will form part of a scoping exercise. Development applications will therefore be assessed by relevant parties at levels of detail corresponding to their potential impact.

39. The preparation and detail of a transport assessment will vary depending on the location, scale and nature of the proposed development. No two transport assessments are likely to be exactly the same. What is appropriate for one development will not necessarily be satisfactory for another. This in turn creates potential for variation in the detail of the procedure and the final input.

Travel Plans

40. Travel Plans are documents that set out a package of complementary measures for the overall delivery of more sustainable travel patterns. They should be implemented to encourage a shift in transport mode for those travelling to and from a development. More detailed information on travel plans is provided in annex D.

41. Travel plans have been demonstrated to be applicable to a wide range of establishments and their various travel requirements, for example staff travel, customer / visitor travel, business travel and freight and logistics. They are applicable to significant travel generating land uses, such as airports, businesses, hospitals and schools. For residential land uses, travel plans may set out measures which will be used to be an incentive to house purchasers to use non-car travel modes, but setting targets is generally not practicable. Sustainability in housing should come through design in relation to walking, cycling and public transport networks.

42. It is recommended that the threshold for the application of travel plans should be the same as for transport assessment to ensure the two are directly linked. These provide a level of guidance to start negotiations between stakeholders. Local flexibility is encouraged when justified by findings from the transport assessment.

43. As planning applications can be submitted as detailed or in outline it is recommended that travel plans should also follow a two stage process.

Outline applications

44. Where the occupier is speculative or unknown the travel plan should include physical / infrastructure facilities to encourage walking and cycling, for example adequate storage provision, showering facilities, links to wider walking and cycling networks and possible provision of additional public transport facilities. The plan at this stage should concentrate on output measures e.g. the number of trips by different modes that can be accommodated on the network. The agreement made should also enable future development and modification of the travel plan.

Detailed applications

45. Where the occupier is known measures should be more robust. It should incorporate a variety of measures and targets to encourage sustainable travel, an implementation time scale and an agreed monitoring and review process. The setting up of a partnership working group to oversee the travel plan is also encouraged as is a trust fund for additional remedial measures if targets of the plan are not met.

46. If the planning authority is minded to grant consent for a development proposal which will be supported by a travel plan, the full travel plan should be submitted within the first 6 months of occupation of the development. A detailed indication of the contents of the travel plan should however be submitted along with the planning application.

47. To ensure compliance with targets ‘correction procedures’ should be incorporated into the travel plan. The consequences of not meeting the targets set should be agreed and defined clearly in any agreement. They may take the form of remedial action or may be related to suspensive conditions on further development related to the proposal. The procedures should always be specific to the development proposal to which the travel plan relates.

Monitoring

48. As with any process the monitoring of the operation and implementation of a travel plan is a key element. The monitoring should not be an afterthought but incorporated into the design of the travel plan from the outset to ensure efficient and consistent review of the process. Who should carry out the monitoring should be made clear in the means by which the travel plan is enforced: the condition to the planning consent or the section 75 planning agreement. Monitoring should be an on-going process leading to an annual review and update of the travel plan. It should be in line with the review of the Local Transport Strategy.

Planning Agreements⁸

49. New development has an important role in helping to achieve the transport strategy for an area and preventing adverse impacts of travel. Planning agreements are a mechanism to overcome obstacles to the grant of planning permission. Through securing contributions from the developer the proposal can be made acceptable in land use and transport terms.

50. Travel plans are increasingly required as a planning obligation. This can take the form of a condition on the planning consent or through a section 75 agreement. Current policy on planning agreements is contained in Circular 12/1996.

51. The use of the section 75 agreement means the plan is recorded in the Register of Sasines or the Land Register and the agreement is therefore a burden on the land, regardless of the occupier, unless discharged by agreement. Where travel plans are used in the development control process it is therefore recommended that the travel plan be implemented through a section 75 agreement rather than a condition. This is to ensure they are legally binding in terms of their application and implementation, definition, monitoring and review.

Environmental Assessment

52. Circular 15/1999 explains The Environmental Impact Assessment (Scotland) Regulations 1999. The regulations apply to projects which require planning permission, certain trunk road projects comprising construction and improvement authorised under the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984, and drainage works authorised under the Land Drainage (Scotland) Act 1958. A further Directive 2001/42/EC on the assessment of the effects of certain plans and programmes on the environment (commonly referred to as the Strategic Environmental Assessment Directive) applies to development plans and transport strategies from 21 July 2004.

53. Schedule 1 projects (including motorways, lines for long distance railway traffic and aerodromes with a runway length of 2100 m or more) are always required to follow the environmental impact assessment procedures. For other transport projects which are listed in Schedule 2 (including a road, an aerodrome, canalisation, a tramway, elevated or underground railways, or a modification to a Schedule 1 development) EIA will be required if the project is likely to have significant environmental effects. If a project requires an EIA under the Regulations, any permitted development rights are withdrawn and planning permission must be sought.

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