PROPOSED SUBMISSION LOCAL PLAN 2006-2028 - Aug 12

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Proposed Submission Local Plan 2006-2028

Delivering Sustainable Travel at the Yeovil Sustainable Urban Extension

5.69 The proposals for the Yeovil Sustainable Urban Extension offer additional opportunities to deliver sustainable travel by further reducing the need and desire to use the private car. The policy aims for 50% of travel originating in the Urban Extension to be by sustainable (i.e. non car) means. Many of these measures are recommended in the study 'Delivering 21st century Sustainable travel in Yeovil'[1]. Measures to achieve 50% modal shift include:

a. Through intrinsically linked well-designed infrastructure for footpaths and cycle ways ensuring filtered permeability (i.e. separating sustainable transport routes from those used by the car) within the site with journey times that are better or more comparable to those by car and in place from first occupancy. Sustainable links (walking, cycling and bus routes) beyond the site should enable easy access from the Yeovil Sustainable Urban Extension to the town centre, main employment sites, transport interchanges, health and educational establishments. As set out above, homes should be within a 10 minute walk of a frequent bus service and neighbourhood services.

b. Reducing the need to use a car for bulk shopping journeys (e.g. the weekly grocery shop) by ensuring free deliveries by low emission/electric vans. This also alleviates the need for large car parking adjacent to the Urban Extension's shops and associated costs.

c. Car parking at the Urban Extension's facilities, employment sites and shopping centre should incorporate car park management measures, commensurate with SCC's parking strategy[2]including a charging regime ensuring that:

Priority is given to electric vehicles;
Car use for these short journeys is discouraged.

However charges need to be set at low rates to discourage the perverse incentive of travelling further in their car to access these services.

d. Offering a traffic-free immediate environment with residential parking separated from the residential areas and more distant than the nearest available public transport bus stop. This will need to overcome the anti-social behaviour issues common with 1970's style peripheral parking. One way forward could be to ensure that car parks are secure by design with access/egress using smartcard technology and with the cars being easily over looked. The cars also should be easily accessed by the owners on foot, whilst any actual journey by car to access facilities both in the Urban Extension and in the town centre and the daily commute should take a longer route. The objective is to reduce the desirability of using the car for those short journeys, rather than restrict car ownership in itself.

e. Set up an Electric Car Pool scheme[3] (with provision for on-going management) to reduce the need for car ownership and its associated costs. The Electric Pool cars can give the flexibility required for those ad hoc journeys that practically can only be carried out by car.

f. Providing low emission bus routes separated from private motor traffic to deliver favoured bus access including designed in bus gates to establish quicker end-to-end journey times in comparison with the private car. Similarly these need to be in place and operational from first occupancy.

g. Providing real time public transport information (bus and train) in-House, in-Workplace, in-shops/shopping area, and at transport nodes (bus stops, stations etc).

h. Establishing a high quality bus service through a Quality Bus Partnership (QBP) to offer a frequent low emission bus service throughout the day with a demand responsive ('Nippybus' type) bus service to operate during the evenings at off-peak times. With the critical mass delivered with the Urban extension there is likely to be a strong business case for the operation of these routes on a commercial basis. However initial contributions will be required from the development as pump priming will be necessary to kick start and ensure induced travel habits from the start.

5.70 These measures will need to be fully costed and tested for viability through a Transport Assessment (TA). Subject to outcomes of the TA, all residential and employment sites within the Yeovil Sustainable Urban Extension would then be required to implement these policies.

5.71 In addition to the generic policies that support modal shift throughout the district (TA1 – TA6) and Policy YV6 below, specific schemes within the proposals for the SUE could include transport measures to ensure that an even greater number of journeys are by sustainable means through the incorporation of projects within the UWE report[4].

1. Addison and Associates, 2011 [back]

2. SCC's parking strategy (March 2011) - Policy PM 5 'Management of Private Parking Policy' [back]

3. On a subscription and hire charge basis - with initial capital funding and management set up provided by the development. [back]

4. University of the West of England - 'Active and Low Carbon Travel a transport vision for Yeovil' (May 2010) [back]

Policy YV6: Delivering Sustainable Travel at the Yeovil Sustainable Urban Extension

In order to deliver at least 50% of travel originating from the Yeovil Sustainable Urban Extension by non-car modes (with the potential to increase this over time to at least 60%), and in addition to the generic policies that support modal shift throughout the district and Yeovil, the Yeovil Sustainable Urban Extension should provide:

i. Intrinsically linked well-designed infrastructure for footpaths and cycle ways ensuring filtered permeability that delivers journey times that are better or more comparable to those by car.

ii. Free deliveries for bulk shopping journeys using low emission/electric vans

iii. Car parking management at the Yeovil Sustainable Urban Extension facilities, employment sites & shopping centre, which gives priority to electric vehicles, low emission and shared vehicles and non car modes and which discourages car use for these short journeys.

iv. A traffic-free immediate environment with residential parking separated from the residential areas.

Development at the Yeovil Sustainable Urban Extension should also contribute to:

v. An Electric Car Pool scheme, with provision for on-going management.

vi. Low emission bus routes that are designed to establish end-to-end journey times that are better or more comparable to those by private car.

vii. A comprehensive network of real time public transport information for bus and train travel.

viii. A Quality Bus Partnership to deliver modern desirable bus routes with a frequent service and clean vehicle technology.

Planning obligations will be used to ensure proper phasing of transport provision to maximise provision prior to first occupation of individual elements of the development.

These sustainable links shall be designed to enable easy access from the Yeovil Sustainable Urban Extension to the town centre, main employment sites, transport interchanges, health and educational establishments and other community facilities.

Proposals for infrastructure designed to support these measures will ensure that features supporting bat movement are retained and that access between feeding areas and roosts is not served and any proposed lighting is compatible with the conservation objectives of a Natura 2000 site unless it can be proven that there would be no significant effect.

Delivery

5.72 The following delivery bodies will be key in implementing Policy YV6;

South Somerset District Council;
Somerset County Council;
Town and Parish Councils;
Developers and Landowners;
Infrastructure Providers.

Monitoring Indicators	Target
Travel modes from the Yeovil SUE	To deliver 50% of travel originating in the Yeovil SUE by non-car means

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