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Scottish Planning Policy: Consultation Draft: SPP 17: Planning for Transport

SUMMARY

Land use planning has a key role in supporting the achievement of the Scottish Ministers' economic, environmental and social objectives. The national focus on transport is now on delivery of transport projects. Integration of land use and transport planning can play a positive role in supporting and building upon the Scottish Executive's transport delivery agenda.

For the transport network to most effectively support the economy, land use planning should assist in reducing the need to travel; in creating the right conditions for greater use of sustainable transport modes; and in restricting adverse environmental impacts.

The interaction of accessibility, transport and the development strategy should be considered early in the planning process. Land allocations should take account of transport opportunities and impacts alongside consideration of economic competitiveness, sustainable development, social justice, environmental quality and design objectives.

Strategic land use plans should be co-ordinated with Regional and Local Transport Strategies, relate the settlement strategy to the capacity of the strategic transport network, and identify where economic growth or regeneration requires additional transport infrastructure. Councils should encourage ongoing stakeholder involvement particularly in respect of new rail and tramway schemes and emerging air transport policy. Development patterns should reduce the need to use strategic routes for short local journeys.

Local development plans should relate new land allocations to transport opportunities and constraints. Locating new development to maximise sustainable transport modes while constraining car parking will help to reduce dependence on car travel. Local planning should prioritise action on walking, cycling, public transport and motorised modes, plan for the disabled and deal with the needs of freight.

Assessing development proposals involves getting location policy right; having a set of maximum parking standards; using Transport Assessment methodology; and using travel plans to promote sustainable transport to end users of developments. Developers must be prepared to mitigate impacts through contributing to necessary works.

Development likely to affect trunk and other strategic roads should be managed so as not to adversely impact on the safe and efficient flow of strategic traffic. New trunk road or motorway junctions will only be considered exceptionally and will require significant developer funding.

Roadside service facilities are a special case of development affecting strategic routes. In general the comfort and safety of drivers should be accommodated through provision of opportunities to stop and rest, with additional facilities in appropriate locations from toilets through to full service area provision. Their location should take account of land use, environmental, economic and transport objectives.

INTRODUCTION

1. This Scottish Planning Policy (SPP) replaces NPPG9 The Provision of Roadside Facilities on Motorways and Other Trunk Roads in Scotland, NPPG17 Transport and Planning, and SPP17 Transport and Planning Maximum Parking Standards Addendum to NPPG17.

POLICY CONTEXT

SPP objectives

2. Scottish Planning Policy 1: The Planning System was published in November 2002. It sets out the purpose of the planning system, and puts it in the context of the wider objectives of the Scottish Executive. The underlying principles of economic competitiveness, sustainable development, social justice, environmental quality and design underlie all SPPs, and will not be repeated here.

3. Transport services development and the objective of a development strategy is to guide development to where it can be best served. Policies in other SPPs/NPPGs emphasise the importance of guiding new development to the right sustainable locations. Addressing accessibility issues is an integral part of the planning process. Co-ordinating investment in developments such as economic development, housing, retailing and in rural areas with existing and programmed transport infrastructure is an important policy objective set out in SPP 2 Economic Development, SPP 3 Planning for Housing, NPPG 4 Mineral Working and NPPG 15 Rural Development. Reference should be made to these documents.

The transport vision

4. The Scottish Executive Partnership for a Better Scotland (2003) has four aims:

• Growing the economy;
• Delivering excellence in public services;
• Supporting strong communities; and
• Developing an ambitious and confident Scotland.

5. This SPP supports these aims through the integration of land use and transport planning. Transport cannot be an afterthought in the development process. Accessibility issues should be factored into the preparation of development plans and appraisal of planning applications from the outset. To achieve the Partnership objectives, land use must be planned to reduce the need to travel by car, and to enable development to be served by a range of means of transport, including walking, cycling and public transport as well as car. Commercial development should be planned in relation to current and future potential for freight servicing by rail and/or strategic road routes, so allowing efficient and sustainable servicing without undue impact on local communities. The overall vision is of a Scotland where the economy can flourish and communities can function without significant environmental and social problems arising from traffic congestion and pollution.

Integration objectives

6. Growing Scotland's economy relies fundamentally on maintaining and improving its transport infrastructure. Congestion has a major impact on the economy of Scotland. The Scottish Executive is tackling this through a range of interventions, delivering improvements to key congestion points on the road network and enhancing public transport in order to change people's attitudes to their travel choices.

7. The planning system is a key mechanism for integrating land use and transport through supporting:

• a pattern of development and redevelopment that reduces the need to travel, facilitates movement by public transport, encourages and facilitates freight servicing by rail or water, and enables people to access local facilities by walking and cycling;
• provision of high quality public transport access, in order to encourage modal shift away from car use to more sustainable forms of transport, and to fully support those without access to a car; and
• effective management of motorised travel, within a context of sustainable transport objectives.

MAJOR STRATEGIC PROJECTS

Relationship of strategic planning to major transport projects

Policy support

8. The aim of planning policy is to support and accommodate new investment and development in locations accessible by a range of means of transport and which seek to minimise the impact on the existing transport networks. Strategic land use plans¹ should therefore include a development strategy which is prepared in the full knowledge of transport network infrastructure and services, congestion constraints, proposed or committed new transport projects and demand management schemes. An appraisal process which may include land use transport modelling should identify issues and seek to resolve them through iteration of the land use and transport relationships. Appraisal should also address trade-offs between alternative development options and transport impacts. The land use development pattern should support and build upon the capacity of the transport network, giving greater weight to locations able to be well integrated into effective networks for walking, cycling and public transport and highlighting where new major transport infrastructure and services are required.

Funding support

9. The impact of the development strategy should be appraised to identify required new infrastructure. Major transport infrastructure may be funded from various public and private sources, including developer contributions. The strategic land use plan should set out the principles to be applied in respect of developer contributions. In complex developments, a masterplanning approach should identify a contribution strategy for different developers and different phases of development.

10. The land use development pattern is equally dependent on other factors such as built and natural heritage considerations, and on water supply, drainage and education provision where developer contributions may also be required. The choice of locations for new development will, therefore, be influenced by a range of considerations which may run counter to the optimal solution in transport terms. Equally the optimal transport solution may be achieved but only at some environmental loss. The decision process should be informed by Strategic Environmental Assessment and Environmental Impact Assessment.

Planning for strategic roads

11. Motorways, other trunk roads and local authority strategic roads carry long distance traffic between major centres, although in rural Scotland many strategic roads also perform important local functions. Development plan strategies should aim where appropriate to reduce the need to use strategic routes for short local journeys. Significant travel generating developments should be integrated with existing settlements through local public transport, cycle and footpath networks, and not be dependent for local journeys on the strategic road network.

12. The Scottish Executive and local authorities will promote road improvement schemes on the strategic network. Local authority planning and transport staff should be involved in the early modelling and appraisal work for such projects, and therefore be able to assess the implications for their own development strategies. Where emerging development strategies suggest that improvements are required to strategic roads, planning authorities should pursue the issues with the appropriate roads authority, so that the impact of the development strategy and the need for new infrastructure is identified. There is a general presumption against new motorway or trunk road junctions. The Scottish Executive may consider such junctions where nationally significant economic growth or regeneration benefits can be proven.

Planning for railways

13. Planning authorities, the Strategic Rail Authority and Network Rail should be aware of each others' proposals and initiatives. Rail projects play a key role in providing sustainable transport, and development strategies should support emerging proposals. Planning authorities and the Strategic Rail Authority should engage on longer term strategic development options, taking into account the Strategic Rail Authority's Strategic Plan and their other applicable strategies and policies.

Planning for tramways

14. The strategic planning dimension in tramway proposals lies in identifying in land use terms where scarce resources may best be directed, and in integrating tramways with other transport infrastructure, positively providing interchange with rail and bus and with pedestrian flows and resolving potential conflicts with other road traffic. Trams have the potential to bring economic, social and environmental benefits but difficulties may arise in relation to integrating new routes into the existing urban fabric, particularly where conservation areas or listed buildings are involved. However there are many examples in Europe and further afield where this has been successfully done, and appraisal should establish the trade-offs to be made.

Planning for airports

15. The Air Transport White Paper² contain several significant policy statements regarding the development of the key Scottish airports over the next 25 years. Some decisions have already been announced e.g. airport rail links to Edinburgh and Glasgow airports. The West Edinburgh Planning Framework (WEPF) sets out policy, prepared by the Scottish Executive in conjunction with City of Edinburgh Council and Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothian for the area of economic growth around Edinburgh Airport. The WEPF will be reviewed in the light of policy in the White Paper.

16. Strategic development options in the White Paper pose choices for the use and development of land in and around key airports. Planning authorities should take account of these issues in their land use development strategies for these areas.

17. Planning authorities and airport operators should therefore address the planning and transport issues arising from potential airport development. These include:

• the operational needs of the airport in terms of runway capacity, terminal facilities, aircraft maintenance and handling provision, hours of operation, obstacle limitation surface and public safety zone safeguarding;
• surface transport access, for essential supplies, for air freight, for staff and for passengers, including effective walking, cycling and public transport links designed to achieve a modal shift from car to more sustainable modes;
• related development such as transport interchanges, administrative offices, hotels, short and long stay parking, warehousing and distribution services; and
• other development not linked directly to the operational needs of the airport and to be provided off-site, but easily accessible to the airport.

Planning for seaports

18. Coastal shipping can provide an environmentally friendly means of moving heavy freight. This requires wharves and harbour facilities able to handle and distribute the goods. Planning authorities should liaise with port authorities and have an access strategy for freight traffic serving the port. Opportunities for rail access should be safeguarded and where appropriate promoted and developed using Track Access Grants and Freight Facilities Grant.

LOCAL DEVELOPMENT PLANS AND TRANSPORT PROJECTS

Relating land use to existing and proposed networks

19. The process of preparing a local development plan should relate the existing land use development pattern to the capacity of the transport network, and appraise new land allocations in relation to transport opportunities and constraints. The location of significant travel-generating uses are critical to the number and length of trips, particularly for shopping, employment and leisure. Planning authorities should locate such developments in places well served by public transport, especially town centres and other key locations, and manage the associated car parking. Councils should also promote change by seeking, in conjunction with public transport operators, to improve public transport access to existing car-based developments.

20. Local development plans should express the detailed relationship between development proposals and transport in accord with the policy contained in the Scottish Planning Policy series and in National Planning Policy Guidelines where still extant, and in the strategy of any relevant strategic land use plan. They should set out:

• proposals for meeting the different transport requirements of different land uses, including designation and management of through routes, development of local services on sustainable networks, use of different modes, and environmental impacts;
• detailed arrangements for traffic and parking management including reference to the Council's Local Transport Strategy in respect to the council's parking standards, public transport priorities and park and ride, congestion charging schemes, and safe and secure provision for walking and cycling including standards for the design and location of cycle parking in support of the land use policies; and
• policy for transport assessments and travel plans to be submitted in support of planning applications.

21. Recent developments, commitments in existing plans, and extant planning permissions not yet implemented should not set a precedent for future plans. Planning authorities in reviewing their development plans should re-assess, against the policy in this SPP, those development sites in unsustainable locations for which planning permission has not yet been granted. Where such sites are not consistent with the principles of sustainable transport they should be withdrawn or reallocated for alternative forms of development. Time expired permissions for which renewal is sought will fall to be considered against the policy in this and other relevant SPPs.

Planning for travel modes

General

22. Integrated transport and planning involves recognition of the contribution of the following modes:

• walking: the most sustainable form of travel, capable of substituting for the car over short distances with very significant environmental gains;
• cycling: a sustainable form of transport promoted through the National Cycling Strategy, capable of being used in conjunction with public transport for medium and longer distances, and capable of substituting for the car over shorter distances;
• public transport: although less sustainable than foot or pedal power, able to carry large numbers of people efficiently and effectively, and can provide an alternative to the private car;
• motorised modes: integrated transport policy takes account of the important role of the car, but it should not assume that cars should have universal freedom of access. Within cities and larger towns, consideration should therefore be given to re-allocating road space to increased footway width, to cycle lanes, to dedicated public transport use, or in appropriate locations use by freight vehicles. Motorised two wheel vehicles have advantages over cars in terms of roadspace used and some environmental impacts.

23. Planning authorities should ensure through their development plans that disused transport routes, with a reasonable prospect of re-use, are not unnecessarily severed by development. In particular, disused railways should only be severed in exceptional circumstances, and former and potential sites for stations should be protected wherever possible. The Strategic Rail Authority should be consulted where any former or proposed railway routes or sites are being proposed for alternative development. Such routes may be used for future rail or tram systems or serve as footpaths, cycle routes, or bridleways.

24. Planning authorities have a general duty under Section 46 of the Countryside (Scotland) Act 1968 to protect, keep open and free from obstruction or encroachment any public right of way. They should safeguard and promote routes which will form part of "green networks" for wildlife, biodiversity and tranquil access within and around urban areas. Where disused routes forming part of walking and cycling networks are to be re-used for road or rail based transport, appropriate measures should be taken to safeguard the integrity of the walking and cycling network, and any acquired wildlife corridor role.

Walking

25. The impact of development on pedestrian movement should always be considered, and opportunities for enhancement sought. In the interests of personal security pedestrians should not generally be segregated from the roadway or other activity which encourages natural surveillance. Urban areas should be made more attractive and safer for pedestrians, including in particular people with mobility difficulties. Improved conditions, linked to planning policies which promote local activity, could lead to a significant change in travel choices.

26. In areas such as town centres where policy is to encourage access on foot, the pedestrian should be given priority over other modes. This should be reinforced through measures to reduce traffic speed, restrict the movement of vehicles and give pedestrians priority over vehicles.

Cycling

27. Development layouts should contribute to the creation of a comprehensive cycle network, concentrating in particular on providing convenient routes to employment centres, schools and other local facilities. Cycle networks should be continuous, with severance by main or distributor roads avoided; where appropriate, signalled crossings should be provided. As well as local needs these can in some areas provide a potentially important tourist facility. Networks may include use of redundant railway lines or space alongside canals and rivers. Where appropriate, routes shared with pedestrians or horseriders should be considered where space allows, but with designations clearly marked or defined to reduce the risk of accidents.

Public transport

28. New development areas should be easily accessible by public transport. Development plans should provide clear guidance on the requirements for public transport access to such areas. In particular it would be useful to provide the infrastructure to enable public transport integration between modes where this would enhance journey opportunities. Rail services with their fixed infrastructure offer certainty for developers and provide a focus for urban regeneration and redevelopment. Where available, sites adjacent to stations should be the preferred location for development generating a large number of workforce and visitor trips. Planning authorities should consult the Strategic Rail Authority on the potential for reopening rail lines, providing new stations or reviving passenger services on existing lines. Likewise, local plans should identify sites at major nodes on the bus network which should be favourably considered for urban redevelopment and regeneration, consistent with other planning policies. All such sites should give priority over access from car parks to ease of pedestrian movement from the public transport facility to the development.

29. Local plans should include policies for the management of traffic. Roads intended to carry buses serving new developments should be designed accordingly. The local plan should indicate where buses will be given priority and the measures which will be taken to support this. These should reflect location policies and the needs of bus operators. Where enhancement to public transport services or infrastructure, including heavy and light rail as well as bus, is desirable to serve new development, but would not be provided commercially, a contribution from the developer towards an agreed level of service through the planning authority may be appropriate.

Cars

30. Parking policies (see Maximum parking standards paragraphs 36-50) have an important role to play in reducing reliance on the car. In town centres, short term parking, preferably off-street, supports accessibility and vitality. Reducing and restricting opportunities for long stay parking will discourage car commuting. Parking restraint policies should be supported by measures to promote availability of high quality public transport services and effective management of traffic demand. On urban and inter-urban commuter routes, councils should promote formal park and ride schemes, as well as encouraging the provision of adequate car parking at rail stations. Both measures can reduce car commuting into the most congested urban areas.

Planning for mobility impaired and disabled access

31. The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 aims to provide disabled people with an equal opportunity in terms, inter alia, of access to goods and services. The broad principle embodied in legislation is that disabled people should be treated no less favourably than other people, unless less favourable treatment can be justified on a limited number of grounds. The policies contained in this SPP should be applied with this principle constantly in mind. In this context disabled includes those with learning difficulties or mental health problems. The needs of older people and those travelling with children who may experience difficulties must also be considered. In a planning context, the relationship of land uses to the means of transport accessing them should take into account and make positive provision for access by the disabled. That will have implications for access and parking for disabled persons' vehicles in situations where otherwise vehicular access is being discouraged. It may also have design requirements, for example, for wheelchair use of pedestrian or pedestrian/cycle routes. For disabled people who are not restricted to their own personal transport, accommodating dial-a-bus type services, or designing access to public transport, waiting facilities, information and ticketing, and on-vehicle aids to the disabled will all assist in giving as high a degree of freedom of access as is practicable.

PLANNING FOR FREIGHT

32. The strategic economic importance of freight access to industry and commerce should be recognised, and appropriate arrangements made, including designing adequate provision for servicing vehicles when planning developments. Planning authorities should encourage freight by rail or water wherever it can provide a feasible alternative to road for all or part of the journey. Development plans should allocate sites for manufacturing, processing, distribution or warehousing, which are readily accessible not only to the strategic road network, but also to suitable rail facilities, wharves and harbours. Consideration should be given to the need to plan for new or expanded rail freight interchanges as a means of facilitating the movement of freight by rail and reducing the transport journey by road. Planning authorities should, in consultation with transport providers, identify existing operational or disused sites adjacent to infrastructure which may be capable of being developed for uses requiring rail or water borne freight access.

33. Where rail or water borne freight are not feasible, development which attracts significant movements of road freight (such as large scale warehousing distribution depots and some forms of manufacturing) should be located away from congested inner areas and from residential areas. They should have direct access to the local distributor road network and good links to the strategic road network.

ASSESSING DEVELOPMENT PROPOSALS

General

34. A framework for delivering better integration of transport and land use planning will be a key policy tool. Significant travel generating uses should be located to support more sustainable travel patterns, with specified non-car mode shares. Such a framework will consist of:

• location policy, ensuring development has regard to national, strategic and local development plan requirements, and controlling the location of significant travel generating uses;
• a set of maximum parking standards for specified uses;
• Transport Assessment methodology ensuring that proposed development incorporates maximum feasible sustainable transport access and forming the basis for planning conditions or agreements or for refusing consent; and
• the use of Travel Plans (also known as Green Transport Plans) and planning agreements to promote sustainable transport solutions to development end users.

35. Planning permission should not normally be granted for significant travel generating uses in locations where links to walking, cycling and public transport networks are inadequate, which would encourage reliance on the private car, which would be likely to have a detrimental effect on the capacity of the strategic road network, and whose Transport Assessment does not include any satisfactory mechanism for meeting sustainable transport requirements.

Maximum parking standards

General

36. Councils are already required to adopt a set of maximum parking standards. These may where appropriate differentiate between operational and other parking. Councils may also wish to have a set of underpinning minimum standards, effectively creating a range. This would ensure, in circumstances where there was a risk of significant on-street parking in the general vicinity of a development, including persistent car parking in servicing or loading bays, that developers would provide at least some on-site parking.

37. Developers of individual sites within town centres may be required to contribute to implementing the overall parking requirement for a town centre in lieu of individual parking provision. Such proposals should form part of a Transport Assessment.

38. The more accessible an area is by sustainable modes, the more restrictive the parking standards should be. Conversely in rural areas where public transport is scarce, standards may need to be more relaxed. Variations in standards should not however undermine the viability of town centres by creating incentives to develop elsewhere.

39. There may also, however, be areas where development aspirations are strong but which are car dependent with weak public transport. If the development aspirations can be justified, then councils should enter into partnerships with developers and transport operators to give these locations a more sustainable transport profile in which maximum parking standards play a role.

40. For employment uses where there is shift working employee transport at unsocial hours may be problematic. Travel Plans may be one mechanism for handling the sensitive transport issues arising, by organising dedicated employee buses, or car sharing schemes, or arranging for staggered shift changes for example. Councils should however be generally sympathetic to the needs of shift workers. Planning agreements may help avoid abuse of resultant parking space provided.

41. Constraining parking at trip destinations while car ownership remains unconstrained, means more cars will remain parked at home. Residential development should, therefore, normally be excluded from maximum car parking standards. Planning authorities, in the context of localised highly accessible sites, may however consider applying locally derived maximum car parking standards to residential development, including in appropriate cases car-free housing. In appropriate circumstances, Home Zones also have a role to play.

42. Locally derived maximum parking standards should be applicable to all new development in specified land uses. Where planning applications are received for extensions to existing development, the new gross parking maximum should be calculated on the new gross floorspace inclusive of the extension. This could result in no further car parking being allowed in respect of an extension.

43. In City Regions strategic maximum parking standards should be set at a City Region level and referred to in City Region Strategic Development Plans. In the interim, Regional or Local Transport Strategies would be an appropriate vehicle. Outside City Regions, standards should be published in Local Development Plans.

44. In some rural situations, public transport networks and service frequencies are inadequate to provide a required degree of accessibility. Councils may then conclude that specific development proposals require a level of car parking in excess of national standards. The strategic argument should be made in development plans and to the extent approved, these standards would then supersede the national standards.

Parking for disabled users

45. Specific provision should be made for disabled parking in addition to the general parking allowed under the maximum standard. Local disability groups should be consulted on the amount, location and design of this provision. Part S of the Technical Standards for compliance with the Building Standards (Scotland) Regulations 1990 as amended sets requirements for disabled parking. In what follows, the minimum provision should always be the greater of the Building Standards or planning requirement.

46. Employers have a duty under employment law to consider the disabilities of their employees and visitors to their premises. Employees can declare themselves as disabled without necessarily fulfilling the requirements of eligibility for the Blue Badge disabled parking scheme. Employers should therefore designate, convenient to the access to the premises, sufficient clearly marked parking spaces in practice reserved for the disabled. A minimum standard is set out in Table 1 below, based on the applicable maximum standard irrespective of whether that amount of car parking is provided or not. Planning authorities, in granting permission for employment land uses, should include a condition that disabled parking meets these criteria.

47. For retail, recreation and leisure uses spaces for disabled car parking should be allocated convenient to the entrance of the premises and to at least the minimum standard in Table 1 below. The number of spaces above the minimum standard, their location and design should be discussed with local disability groups. Local authorities have powers under The Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 to designate by an order under The Local Authorities' Traffic Orders (Procedure) (Scotland) Regulations 1999 spaces for disabled parking on private land with the agreement of the land owner. Such designation allows Blue Badge disabled parking to be enforced by police, traffic wardens, or in areas with decriminalised parking, parking attendants. Local authorities should consider designation, especially where there is a history of abuse of disabled parking provision in retail, leisure and recreation developments in the area.

Table 1 - Minimum Disabled Car Parking Standards

Cycle parking

48. Cycle parking at developments and in town centres should continue to be provided as before. Within development sites, councils should ensure that secure cycle parking is more conveniently located to building entrances than the car parking. Authorities should set cycle parking standards taking into account local circumstances along with the indicative standards referred to in Table 11.1 of "Cycling by Design" (Scottish Executive December 1999).

National maximum parking standards

49. Each council is expected to define a set of maximum parking standards for that council's area. However, for a small number of significant travel-generating land uses as set out in Table 2, there is a national interest in ensuring that council parking standards are no less restrictive. These national standards apply to the whole of any development which breaches the size threshold and to all motor vehicle parking other than disabled. If a council wish to approve a development of a category and size set out in Table 2 with less restrictive parking standards, they will have to refer the application to the Scottish Ministers under The Town and Country Planning (Notification of Applications) (Scotland) Amendment Direction 2003. The Scottish Ministers will then decide whether to allow the council to proceed or whether to call in the application for their own determination.

Table 2 - National Maximum Car Parking Standards

Development control implications

50. Prospective developers may, for specific developments, seek exemptions from maximum car parking standards. The case for exemptions should be made in a Transport Assessment.

Transport assessment

51. Transport Assessment methodology should focus developers' attention on delivering an appropriate non-car mode share in respect of access to the proposed development. Councils should set Mode Share Targets for different types of development in different areas. A Draft Guide to Transport Assessment was issued on 30 January 2003; comments were sought by 31 December 2003.

Travel plans

52. Travel Plans associated with a planning permission may be a suitable subject for a planning agreement, negotiated with the developer, in order that they may be adequately implemented and enforced. The existence of a Travel Plan does not, however, remove the requirement to consider planning applications against the development plan and other material considerations.

Development affecting trunk and other strategic roads

53. Direct access to a motorway or motorway slip road is not allowed from any private development other than a motorway service area approved by the Scottish Executive. Scottish Executive criteria for motorway access to service areas is contained in an Annex to the Planning Advice Note. Where the planning authority or developers propose new or expanded motorway junctions a full STAG³ appraisal will be required.

54. Safe and appropriate access design should reflect the type of road involved, the scale of the development, the nature of the area, and the volume and character of traffic likely to use both the road and access. Direct access on to strategic roads should be avoided as far as practicable. Unless there is no alternative, access should be to a secondary road and not directly from a non-restricted trunk road (subject only to the national speed limit). Proposals should avoid conflicting manoeuvres on lengths of road designed to provide scarce overtaking opportunities.

55. The traffic impact of developments on the strategic road network should be mitigated to achieve "no net detriment" to the flow and safety of traffic on the network. It will be appropriate to require the developer to fund major road or junction improvements where the volume or character of traffic or type of road warrant it. Planning Advice Note 66 Best Practice in Handling Planning Applications Affecting Trunk Roads (2003) sets out good practice and procedural aspects of the trunk road development control process.

Roadside services facilities provision

General

56. Roadside facilities cover a range from simple laybys through to comprehensive service areas. A definition of "Service Area" is set out in the Planning Advice Note. The level of facilities provided should be realistic relative to traffic flow, operator interest, the impact on the economies of the wayside and bypassed communities, infrastructure costs, and the environmental character of the route corridor. Planning authorities should make appropriate provision in their development plans for a range of roadside facilities and should avoid being unduly restrictive unless there are legitimate land use, environmental, road safety or traffic management justifications.

57. Tiredness is a significant road safety factor particularly on "long haul" routes. Road users should have opportunities at least every 50 kilometres to stop for rest and to obtain essential services, for example catering, toilets, emergency telephones, rest areas or parking for heavy lorries. A strategically located and well designed service area can meet these needs where demand supports its provision. Local authorities in partnership with public and other local bodies and the private sector should identify demand and initiate a process to meet it.

58. Where there is insufficient market demand to support private sector roadside development, less comprehensive roadside facilities for the safety and comfort of road users should be provided. Planning authorities should also have regard to the level and quality of services in wayside and bypassed communities. Facilities in local communities should be coordinated, promoted and signposted to provide an effective service to the road user.

Motorways

59. Scottish Executive policy is generally to look to local authorities, public bodies and the private sector to identify opportunities for Motorway Service Areas (MSA), and to the private sector to acquire sites and seek planning consent. In the interests of the free flow of motorway traffic and general road safety, a new MSA, whether accessed directly from the motorway or via an interchange, should not be less than 24 kilometres from the nearest existing MSA (or proposal for a new MSA approved in outline within the previous 3 years or in detail within the previous 5 years). However a new service area closer than 24 kilometres to existing service areas may be justified if there is frequent queuing of vehicles entering them and they cannot be expanded to cope with demand. A definition of MSA appears in the Planning Advice Note, designed to avoid a MSA becoming a destination in its own right.

Other trunk and strategic roads

60. On other trunk and strategic roads travellers will have greater opportunities to stop en route or make a short diversion to find fuel, refreshment and rest. There is therefore less justification for dedicated service provision adjacent to the road. The provision of services in wayside and bypassed communities and by existing or proposed rest and picnic areas on the trunk road are also material considerations.

61. A definition of non-motorway service area is in the Planning Advice Note. In general it would not be appropriate for service areas accessible to traffic in the same direction to be closer than 24 kilometres to each other and larger intervals may often be appropriate.

62. Overnight lorry parking should be provided on the core trunk road network and in other locations where there is a high volume of lorry traffic. Such parking should be secure, well located in relation to overnight accommodation for the drivers, and located so that noise nuisance and light pollution is minimised. While service areas with overnight accommodation may satisfy these requirements, other facilities should be provided in urban areas with good access to the trunk road network.

63. On the core trunk road network taking into account any existing or planned service areas, new fuel facilities should not reduce the interval between fuel points on the trunk road to less than 24 kilometres, unless queuing occurs as described in paragraph 70. Any such facilities should be combined with other services to travellers, and not be stand-alone. Elsewhere filling stations or filling stations with eating facilities may be proposed. Enhancement of existing facilities rather than proliferation will fulfil sustainability criteria provided other policy requirements in this SPP can be achieved.

A9 policy

64. On the reconstructed A9 from Inveralmond (Perth) to Ardullie on the Cromarty Firth there has been a long-standing policy embodied in structure plans of restricting service facilities to those provided in the bypassed settlements. In the 30 years since A9 reconstruction was completed the bypassed settlements have adapted their economies to this new role quite successfully. It is proposed that national policy for the A9 should now revert to the general considerations under Development affecting trunk and other strategic roads, and Roadside services facilities provision - General and - Other Trunk and Strategic Roads above. Should under this policy the local authorities decide that roadside facilities on the A9 are acceptable, design quality will be an additional paramount consideration of continuing national concern. Development should complement the special character of the area, including the Cairngorms National Park.

CONCLUSIONS

65. A high quality integrated transport system is important in relation to the delivery of the Executive's wider objectives on economic development, social justice and sustainable development. This SPP advocates a more positive and proactive approach by both planning authorities and transport stakeholders in terms of early engagement in the planning process. The aim is to ensure that planning policies and decisions are made in a way that recognises how the location and design of new development and redevelopment can support the better integration of land use and transport.

ENQUIRIES

66 Enquiries about the content of this SPP should be addressed to Tom Williamson, SEDD Planning, Area 2-H77, Victoria Quay, Edinburgh EH6 6QQ (0131 244 7531) or by e-mail to: tom.williamson@scotland.gsi.gov.uk Further copies can be obtained by telephoning 0131 244 7543. This SPP and other SPPs, PANs and a list of Circulars can be viewed on the Scottish Executive web site: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/planning.

Footnotes
1 (either existing structure plans, the proposed city region plans or strategic element of local development plans)
2 The Future of Air Transport, Department for Transport, December 2003
3 Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance, Scottish Executive, September 2003

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