Archived decisions

Contact: Andy Wren, 01962 857444 email: [email protected]

1. Summary

1.1 This report proposes the formal adoption of the County Council's guidance document "A Guide to Development Related Travel Plans" dated May 2008, which includes arrangements to charge developers for travel plan advice. A draft version of the guidance has been in use for several years and latterly the recovery of reasonable costs incurred by the County Council in the implementation and monitoring of approved travel plans has been included in standard clauses of Section 106 Agreements.

2. Recommendations

2.1 That the procedure for dealing with development related travel plans as set out in the County Council's document "A Guide to Development Related Travel Plans" dated May 2008 is formally adopted and that approval is given for charging developers for advice given to them in relation to the establishment and monitoring of the travel plans, in accordance with section 3 of this report, and that the County Council appoints additional staff to undertake this work, funded by fees from developers.

2.2 That delegated authority be given to the Director of Environment to review the guidance document, charging mechanisms and fees referred to in 2.1 above.

3. Development Related Travel Plans

3.1 Developers are often required to submit a travel plan with planning applications. One of the objectives of Planning Policy Guidance 13 (PPG13) is the need to promote more sustainable transport choices both for carrying people and for moving freight. In recent years the number of travel plans submitted has increased dramatically. Over 200 complex travel plans involving residential, commercial and mixed use sites are submitted annually. With the exception of residential developments, travel plans are required in conjunction with planning applications for all new developments where a Traffic Assessment (TA) is required, as defined in the County Council's parking standards. A travel plan will also be required for residential applications of 100 or more dwellings, as shown in the table below.

3.2 Over the past few years the County Council has developed an approach to dealing with development related travel plans that has been of mutual benefit to both local authorities and developers and their agents. Advice, provided in the form of a draft guidance document, has assisted developers with travel plan requirements and initially reduced the demands on the Business Travel Plan Adviser. However, demands on this service have continued to increase, which has meant the County Council has found it necessary to employ specialist consultants to support this service. In addition the authority is unable to dedicate resources to working with existing businesses in developing their own travel plans or monitor existing travel plans. By freeing-up staff resources the County Council will be able to effectively monitor existing travel plans and help develop further plans, contributing to the corporate aims of maximising well-being and enhancing quality of place.

3.3 A travel plan is a long-term strategy for improving and managing access to a site, focusing on promoting sustainable modes and minimising single occupancy car trips. For the purposes of the planning process, travel plans must be documented and contain objectives and targets, the policies and measures to be implemented, an action plan and the monitoring and review arrangements.

3.4 Developers will typically seek advice from County Council experts in the production of their travel plans. This advice has been given to ensure that travel plans are consistent and likely to be effective in influencing travel choice. However, the County Council only employs one Business Travel Plan Adviser and as demands have increased, these requests are becoming more difficult to deal with. Frequently draft travel plans have to be returned to developers two or three times before reaching a satisfactory standard for approval. In addition the officer is also employed to work with existing businesses in the development of their own travel plans, but because of the number of requests for advice from developers, this area of work has not been able to be progressed. Specialist consultants in the field of travel planning are used by the County Council to support staff in order to meet tight deadlines. This service currently costs the County Council up to £36,000 per annum.

3.5 In addition to the submission of travel plans there also needs to be a process of continual monitoring and review to reflect changing circumstances and to ensure that agreed outcomes are met. Monitoring of development related travel plans is required to ensure compliance with Section 106 Agreements and planning conditions. Monitoring is normally required for a minimum of five years, but in the case of larger developments a longer period may be required and to undertake ongoing monitoring of the effectiveness of the plan. However, because of the demands outlined above it has not been possible to conduct detailed monitoring of approved travel plans.

3.6 It is therefore suggested that, in order to provide a more effective service and to free-up resources to monitor existing travel plans, developers are formally charged for these services. Surrey County Council and Buckinghamshire County Council have already introduced such charges and many other authorities are considering their introduction. The Chief Executive's advice is that it is possible to make reasonable charges for advice and monitoring in order to recover costs.

3.7 The scale of charges will be developed, with the County Council charging an annual monitoring fee for all travel plans for the first five years from the date of commencement of the development. The County Council will retain the right to require more frequent monitoring up to 15 years in the event that targets in the plan are not being met.

3.8 The fees are intended to reflect the amount of local authority officer time required to undertake evaluation of the initial plan, any subsequent plans, assess the monitoring data and participate in consequential review and agreement to any amended plan in the future. The following table sets out the proposed fees.

3.9 The guidance document states that the first evaluation of the travel plan will be dependent on the scale of the development, a fee between £750 and £1,500, with further charges made by the County Council for subsequent evaluations should the travel plan be considered unsatisfactory. In certain circumstances, usually where the end user is unknown, the initial travel plan is a framework travel plan with a detailed travel plan being submitted later and a fee will be charged in respect of these. In addition a fee will be charged to approve a subsequent full travel plan, where the initial travel plan submitted is a framework travel plan, and to monitor and evaluate the monitoring results and to attend review meetings.

3.10 It is anticipated that the fees charged through agreements for future developments will be sufficient to employ two additional members of staff at a total cost of £99,000 per annum including overheads. These staff will provide advice and carry out the evaluation and monitoring of development related travel plans, whilst the existing member of staff will then work with businesses to develop their travel plans. The level of anticipated fees is shown below. Actual receipts will be dependent on permission being granted and trigger points for payment of fees being reached. Fees from 2010 are expected to increase from the figures shown below as new agreements are made for future developments.

4. Impact Assessments

4.1 It is considered that the actions outlined above should not have any detrimental impact on equalities or race discrimination.

5. Conclusion

5.1 The adoption of the County Council's guidance document "A Guide to Development Related Travel Plans" dated May 2008 and related developer charges will enable the County Council to comment properly on development related travel plans, employ additional staff and handle the assessment and monitoring of an increasing number of travel plans. The consequent release of the existing resource will result in more effective working with businesses in developing their travel plans.

1474Rpt/ACW