Archived decisions

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

Decision Report :

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1) Summary of Decision Area:

1.1. The report sets out a review of the ongoing need for the safeguarding of land for planned future improvements to the junction of the A326/A336 west of Totton.

2) Issues Covered in Report:

2.1. Review of the ongoing need for the safeguarding of land for potential planned improvements to the junction of the A326/A336 west of Totton.

3) Recommendations:

3.1. That Hampshire County Council indicates that it intends to continue promoting the future dualling of the A326 Totton Western Bypass, and that land required for this specific purpose should continue to be safeguarded.

3.2. That it further indicates that it no longer intends to promote the grade separation of the A326/A336 junction and that land safeguarded solely to accommodate this need no longer be safeguarded.

3.3. That existing land owned by the Highway Authority in the vicinity of the junction should be retained for highway, landscaping and amenity purposes.

3.4. That New Forest District Council and the New Forest National Park Authority be informed of this decision and asked to review the associated land safeguardings.

MAIN REPORT

1) Purpose of the Report:

1.1. The report sets out a review of the ongoing need for the safeguarding of land for planned future improvements to the junction of the A326/A336 west of Totton.

2) Contextual Information:

2.1. Land is currently safeguarded in the New Forest Local Plan for future transport infrastructure needs at a number of locations, including Totton Western Bypass. There will be a need, during the preparation of the New Forest Local Development Framework (LDF) - which replaces the Local Plan, to review the continuing need for all land safeguardings for transport infrastructure. The County Council will wish, in its capacity as Highway Authority, to contribute to such reviews, in particular indicating whether there is a continuing need in each case.

2.2. Work is programmed for next financial year to undertake review work. However, due to commitments given at the New Forest Local Plan Inquiry (which took place in 2003), there is a need to undertake an immediate review of land safeguardings at the junction of the Totton Western Bypass (A326) and Ringwood Road (A336). This undertaking was highlighted at a recent planning appeal. This report, therefore, sets out the proposed County Council input to that review.

3) Key Issues:

3.1. A review of the safeguardings in the vicinity of the junction is necessary at this time to meet prior commitments. Further reviews for other locations will be forthcoming under the LDF development process.

3.2. The retention of land safeguardings will be incorporated within the relevant LDF. The final review of all safeguardings will be undertaken by the relevant local planning authorities, in this case New Forest District Council and the New Forest National Park Authority, although the County Council needs to indicate the ongoing need (or otherwise) for the planned infrastructure as part of the review process.

3.3. The current safeguarding allows for two potentially related but ultimately separate elements to the scheme. It allows for both the dualling of the A326 and for `grade separation' between the two routes. Either of these can, potentially, be achieved (providing the safeguardings are maintained) in the absence of the other.

4) Existing Safeguarding:

4.1. There is an existing safeguarding at this junction of four separate parcels of land, shown on the attached plan (being prepared) and labelled A-D. The existing safeguarding is made under New Forest Local Plan policy DW-T3. There are 10 separate parcels of land safeguarded under this policy relating to the A326 Totton Western Bypass. All are safeguarded for the general purposes of enabling future dualling of the bypass along its whole length.

4.2. The review of the other safeguardings on the Totton Western Bypass will be undertaken later, under the LDF review process.

4.3. The safeguarding at the A326/A336 junction allows for the future dualling of the A326 as well as the possibility of introducing grade separation. Grade separation would be achieved by the provision of an `in-line' flyover along the route of the A326.

4.4. The safeguarding to the north-east of the junction (parcel B) is included to allow for the realignment of the A336 east of the junction, to achieve an acceptable radius for a slip road leaving the northbound A326.

5) Factors Affecting Possible Retention the Safeguarding:

Identified development pressures

5.1. The draft New Forest LDF, prepared within the context of the draft South East Plan and guided by the Partnership for Urban South Hampshire (PUSH) strategy, proposes the allocation of 1,670 dwellings to the Waterside area for the period 2006-2026. An area of 51 hectares of employment development is also allocated to the Waterside, including 30 hectares of a reserved allocation for petrochemical uses at Fawley.

5.2. A Strategic Transport Assessment (STA) prepared for New Forest District Council in support of the LDF indicates that the A326 is currently running under its design capacity at peak times, but that it will start to reach capacity at the end of the plan period (2026), taking account of planned development and projected `natural' growth.

5.3. Although the route as a whole is running below the nominal capacity, it is clear from observation that a number of the junctions are currently operating at close to or above capacity at the busiest times.

5.4. There are no particular capacity issues on the A336.

5.5. The above indicates that there is a potential future need to upgrade the A326, particularly in terms of capacity. This can be achieved either with an `at grade' or grade separated junction arrangement.

Existing and projected demand for the route

5.6. Traffic patterns on the Totton Western Bypass (TWB) are significantly affected by its interaction with the A35, and in particular the link road connecting southbound from the A35 Rushington Roundabout.

5.7. The southern section of the TWB (south of the junction with the A35) carries approximately 16,300 vehicles (24-hour Monday-Friday monthly average - source Hampshire County Council) northbound and 8,500 vehicles southbound. The northern section - north of the A35 and including the junction with the A336 - carries approximately 11,300 vehicles in each direction. South of the TWB (at Marchwood) the A326 carries approximately 15,500 vehicles in each direction.

5.8. The STA indicates that traffic has grown in the order of 30% over the last 10 years on the northern section and by 8-13% on the southern section. Much of this growth took place in the earlier part of the 10 year period and usage has levelled out in the last few years.

5.9. The STA projects growth of a further 8-11% over the next 10 years in peak time traffic, although some of this could be expected to `spread' to other times as traffic conditions worsen.

5.10. An assessment of congestion on the A326, utilising the Congestion and Journey Time Acquisition and Monitoring System, indicates that the section of route between the Michigan Way and Cockleydown Lane junctions (ie through the A326/A336 junction) is the most congested section of route.

5.11. The approaches to the A326/A336 junction are typically congested northbound in the morning peak and southbound in the evening peak, reflecting the 'tidal' nature of flows on the route.

5.12. Demand on the route could increase further if major development were to come forward in the Waterside area as an exception to the policies allocating development in the LDF.

5.13. Although the worst congestion on the route is at this point, the congestion levels are low relative to a number of other locations elsewhere in the south of the county.

Road Safety

5.14. An analysis of the safety record of the Totton Western Bypass shows a total of 23 personal injury accidents in the last three years. Of these, one involved a fatality and five involved serious injury. This equates to 26% of accidents involving death or serious injury. This compares to 22% on all County A roads with a speed limit of 50 miles per hour or above.

5.15. The fatal accident involved a pedestrian crossing a busy section of dual carriageway. Two of the serious accidents were on the slip roads where the A36 Salisbury Road joins the A326 - both involved motorcycles losing control on the slip road. One further serious accident was at a junction - on the roundabout where Cockleydown Lane joins the A326 (just north of the A35 junction). The remaining two serious accidents involved head on collisions - both towards the southern end of the bypass and away from any junctions.

5.16. Three slight accidents occurred at the junction of the A326 and A336. Two of these occurred on the northbound approach - one a rear-end shunt and the other a collision following a loss of control after hitting the kerb. The remaining injury accident involved a collision between a car and a cyclist within the junction.

5.17. The northern section of the TWB has the greatest concentration of accidents, at a rate greater than the expected figure. The middle section (including the A326/A336 junction) is just under half the expected accident rate. The southern section is about a quarter of the expected rate.

Other local considerations

5.18. Since the original safeguarding, the area to the west of the route has been designated as part of the New Forest National Park. It is unlikely that a road scheme introducing grade separation would be straightforward to implement because of the visual impact on the landscape of the National Park and because of the potential impact on local protected habitats.

5.19. The boundary of the National Park in the locality of this junction has clearly been drawn to accommodate future widening of the A326, closely reflecting the safeguarded land to the west of the junction by excluding it from the National Park area. Notwithstanding the land's exclusion, the County Council would need to consider the impact of road widening and associated works in promoting any scheme.

5.20. The County Council is required to have regard to the conservation and enhancement of the natural beauty of the National Park in any scheme that would have affect the Park area. The junction sits on the boundary of the National Park. Similarly, environmental tests under Habitat Regulations require any scheme in the vicinity of designated areas to consider the impact on the habitats.

5.21. The granting of planning consent for residential development in the north east quadrant established a 12 metres landscape strip to act as a buffer to protect residential amenity. It is understood that this land has been dedicated to the Highway Authority for this purpose. Any future scheme would need to take account of the need to maintain an equivalent level of amenity protection for the residential area in western Totton.

Potential Funding Sources

5.22. Improvements to the corridor are identified within the Partnership for Urban South Hampshire (PUSH) investment strategy, as set out in the document `Towards Delivery'. A figure of £130 million has been identified as the funding requirement for the A35 and A326 corridors. Such a sum, should a future bid be successful, would cover considerable highway works including the possible dualling of significant sections of the A326.

6) Technical Assessment:

6.1. Technical reviews have been undertaken to ensure that dualling of the A326 can be undertaken, including reformatting of the junction with the A336, within the extent of the safeguarded land. This has shown that dualling is possible and that either a roundabout or a signalised roundabout can be provided if the junction is `at grade'. Parcels A, C and D are required for this purpose.

6.2. This is supported by modelling that shows that either of these junction options are able to operate with design capacity at current traffic levels and with 10 years' growth factored in.

6.3. The review also shows that grade separation is possible, with the A326 passing over the current junction location as a `flyover'. A new roundabout would be underneath, linking to slip roads to/from the A326 and allowing for through movements. This would follow similar principles to the Redbridge flyover on the A35 (ie flyover over roundabout), albeit at a smaller scale. The assessment shows that some of the radii on slip roads would be very tight. Parcel B is only required for future grade separation (in addition to the other parcels identified above).

7) Outline of Options:

7.1. Option 1: Support the retention of all existing safeguardings

a) This option would involve retaining safeguardings for both purposes - ie for dualling and for grade separation.

7.2. Option 2: Support the retention of safeguardings for dualling of the A326 but seek abandonment of the safeguarding for grade separation

a) This option involves the abandonment of the safeguarding for land parcel B (see map), which is required only for the purpose of grade separation. Retention of the other safeguardings in the vicinity of the junction would be sought.

7.3. Option 3: Support the retention of safeguardings for grade separation of the junction but seek abandonment of the safeguarding for dualling of the A326

a) This option does not offer any particular benefits as the primary purpose of any improvements is to accommodate future increases in flows on the A326. Dualling would meet this purpose much better. It is also unlikely that the junction would operate safely without dualling of the A326.

7.4. Option 4: Seek the abandonment of all safeguardings in the vicinity of the junction

a) This option would limit any future potential to upgrade the junction or the capacity of the A326.

8) Option Analysis / Comparison:

8.1. Dualling of the A326 remains an aspiration of the County Council and features in the `Critical Infrastructure' list for delivery of the South East Plan/South Hampshire Sub-Regional Strategy (source LTP 2006-2011). This is reflected and expanded in the more recent `Towards Delivery'.

8.2. Funding through the Regional Transport Fund could be sought, towards the end of the (South East Plan/LDF) plan period. Developer funding may also become available if major development were to come forward as an exception to the policies allocating development to the Waterside in the New Forest LDF.

8.3. The route is projected to approach capacity within the timeframe of the South East Plan and the forthcoming New Forest District and National Park LDFs. The scheme is identified as `critical infrastructure' for the delivery of the South Hampshire sub-regional strategy and the Regional Funding Allocation is identified as a potential and appropriate funding source.

8.4. Safeguarding should, therefore, be retained to allow for future dualling of the Totton Western Bypass.

8.5. The provision of grade-separation at the junction with the A336 Ringwood Road is desirable in pure traffic terms. This would undoubtedly improve journey times and enhance traffic flow. However, while beneficial in traffic terms, there would be significant additional cost involved in constructing the necessary infrastructure and there would be severe impacts on landscape and residential amenity.

8.6. Part of the land within parcel B has been proposed for residential development and has been the subject of a recent planning appeal. The appellant made a strong case that the safeguarding of this parcel is not justified. There is a risk that if the County Council continued to support the retention of the safeguarding that it could lose at appeal. If this were the outcome there is a further risk that all other land safeguarded under the same policy (10 parcels in total, including the remaining three parcels that are the subject of this report). As indicated above, it is considered unlikely that grade separation could ever be introduced in this location and the recommendation reflects, in part, the risk that retaining that element of safeguarding could potentially place on the future ability to dual the Totton Western Bypass in full.

8.7. On balance, it is recommended that land safeguardings for the specific purpose of introducing grade separation at this location be abandoned.

8.8. Therefore, it is the Highway Authority's view that land parcels A, C and D should continue to be safeguarded. The safeguarding for parcel B is no longer required for highway improvements, albeit that land should continue to be protected for ongoing highways, landscape and amenity purposes.

8.9. All existing land owned by the Highway Authority in the vicinity of the junction should be retained for ongoing highway purposes. The existing landscaping buffer zone should also be retained for the purpose of protecting residential amenity.

9) Conclusions:

9.1. The current safeguardings are in place to enable the possible future dualling of the A326 Totton Western Bypass and to enable the junction of the A326/A336 to be grade separated.

9.2. The future dualling of the Totton Western Bypass remains as a longer term aspiration of the County Council and, therefore, the safeguardings to enable this at this location should remain in place.

9.3. The grade separation of the junction is unlikely to be justified or achievable and, on this basis, the Council should indicate that the safeguarding specifically to enable this is no longer required.

9.4. The formal abandonment of this element of the current safeguarding will need to be taken forward by New Forest District Council and the New Forest National Park Authority, within the context of the emerging LDFs.

10) Recommendations:

10.1 Please see the Executive Summary for the recommendations.

CORPORATE OR LEGAL INFORMATION:

IMPACT ASSESSMENTS

(i) Equalities Impact Assessment

Assessment of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act has been considered in this decision; no adverse impact has been identified in terms of race, creed or gender.

(ii) Impact on Crime and Disorder

The provisions of the Act have no impact on this proposal.

(iii) Implications for Climate Change:

There are no direct implications for climate change. The impact of any future changes to the junction would need to be assessed at the time that any decision is made to progress a scheme.