Travel Plan

Travel Plan

A Travel Plan, or ‘Green Travel Plan’ as they were formerly known, is a report containing a package of measures tailored to the transport needs of the development aimed at increasing travel choices and reducing reliance on the private car. They are now a usual requirement for major developments and are a necessary part of the initial planning submission, the recently published National Planning Policy Framework, July 2018 states that ‘All developments that will generate significant amounts of movements should be required to provide a Travel Plan’ in conjunction with the Transport Assessment or Transport Statement report. They are implemented as part of the development proposals upon occupation and set out the measures that are proposed to encourage sustainable transport.

The main objectives of a Travel Plan are as follows:

  • Achieve the minimum number of additional single occupancy car traffic movements to and from the development;
  • Reduce the need for travel to and from the site by single occupancy car;
  • Address the access needs of site users, by supporting walking, cycling and public transport;
  • Provide adequately for those with mobility difficulties;
  • Promote healthy lifestyles and sustainable, vibrant communities;
  • Encourage good urban design principles that open up the permeability of the site to walking and cycling, linked to the design and access statements;
  • Address specific problems identified in the site’s Transport Assessment – for example, a local road safety problem that affects walking or cycling links to a bus or rail station;
  • Encourage access solutions that are not dependant on ‘hard’ measures;
  • Compliment the wider local approach to demand management and behavioural change;
  • Reducing pressure on highway capacity, particularly at peak times;
  • Creating more attractive and liveable neighbourhoods;
  • Cutting carbon emissions and their contribution to climate change;
  • Reducing road danger and protecting vulnerable road users;
  • Reducing the cost of works on the highway or other transport infrastructure;
  • Encouraging more active travel with gains for health;
  • Enabling children to travel independently;
  • Improving local air quality;
  • Reducing noise pollution;
  • Reducing parking/fleet management costs; and
  • Improving staff morale.

In general, all types of Travel Plan for new development (including extensions) need to:

  • Be site-specific – the detailed choice of outcomes and specific measures will be partly determined by the opportunities and constraints offered by the site. For example, where there are frequent journeys between two linked sites, then making provision for these trips will be a high priority
  • Combine the 'hard measures' of site design, infrastructure and new services – with the 'soft measures' of marketing, promotion and awareness-raising
  • Provide a package of measures that are integrated into the design and occupation of the new site
  • Include measures to support walking, cycling and public transport use and facilitate disabled access
  • Consider parking provision. A degree of parking restraint is likely to be important to the success of the plan in reducing car use
  • Include arrangements for managing the Travel Plan process.

A Travel Plan will normally include:

  • An audit of existing sustainable travel arrangements;
  • A survey of existing travel patterns where an end user is known;
  • An outline of the role of the appointed Travel Plan Coordinator;
  • Measures to encourage the use of each category of sustainable transport;
  • An explanation of the Annual Action Plan;
  • A timetable of key events, targets; and
  • Monitoring and liaison arrangements with the Local Planning Authority and other key stakeholders.

A Travel Plan is a dynamic document that will continue to evolve and is normally reviewed on an annual basis. This annual review should consider the effectiveness of the Travel Plan against the agreed targets and set out an Action Plan for the forthcoming year.

Travel Plan Frameworks

Where the “end user” or “users” are unknown a Travel Plan Framework is produced, which sets out the above but in a format that will be used to devise subsequent individual Travel Plans for each element of the development.

Travel Plan Coordinators

Once approved by the Local Planning Authority the implementation of the Travel Plan  usually necessitates the appointment of a Travel Plan Coordinator to allow the Travel Plan to be operated effectively. This role can be taken in house by a member of staff employed at the development. However, for large scale mixed use or residential schemes the role of Travel Plan Coordinator is often assigned by the developer to a staff member of the sites management company or to a specialist highway consultant such as Sanderson Associates.

Require Assistance with a Transport Assessment?

Sanderson Associates have extensive experience in providing Transport Assessments, Transport Statements and Travel Plans for a wide variety of major and minor developments throughout the whole of the UK, Isle of Man and Ireland.

We would be pleased to provide you with our competitive fee proposal to produce a Transport Assessment, please call us on 01924 844080 or click here to complete our secure online form.

Travel Plan, Green Travel Plan
Travel Plan Framework
Travel Plan Coordinator
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