The latest National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) revisions were much anticipated from the transport planning industry, with fundamental changes promised. While there has been positive news about other aspects of the NPPF, we question whether enough clarity and change has been provided on vision-led planning. We review the most noticeable transport planning perspectives below.
Access to the DfT's Connectivity Tool
The addition of the DfT's Connectivity Tool shows that there are aspirations to align closer with what the industry perceives as vision-led. While the tool identifies sustainability with reference to access to different facilities by different modes, there is currently a clear flaw in that private sector stakeholders cannot access elements of the tool that will enable developers and consultants to adjust potential sustainable transport interventions.
For the tool to be referenced within policy, the full version must be made accessible to all parties.
The NPPF recognises that the tool is not the only method to review the sustainability credentials of a site, given the nuances of different locations and various methods of sustainable transport interventions.
The journey of 'severe' ambiguity continues
After years of contesting the definition of 'severe', the term remains – albeit now spread over two paragraphs,, and with reference to – 'capacity and congestion, cumulative impact, highway safety, all reasonable future scenarios, impacts at different times of day, multimodal trip generation, promotion of sustainable modes of travel, and the transport for vision for the development itself'.
If we are to accelerate vision-led development to support the much-needed housing and economic growth in this country, we question whether the proposed reforms are bullish and clear enough to achieve this at pace.
Questions also remain about how reasonable walking distances should be applied and what is meant by fallback interventions: for example, does this solely relate to sustainable transport?
Some of these changes are positive however, particularly reviewing the impacts with reference to multimodal trip generation through the day. This reflects our own practice where we apply Flint – SLR's dedicated vision-led planning tool - to truly understand how many trips can be made by sustainable modes throughout the day, for different journey purposes.
The stronger focus on active travel throughout the NPPF (including 10 references to wheeling) also picks up an important point on the social inclusivity of sustainable modes.
Ongoing policy misalignment
The overarching view is that the specific policies are somewhat misaligned with one another, and the NPPF principles itself. Is it right that the "Promoting Sustainable Transport" section refers to impacts on highway capacity at all?
Despite having its own section, transport policy is also incorporated across multiple sections and is not always aligned with climate, sustainable development and vision-led themes. This can lead to inconsistent interpretation between plan making and application decisions.
Constructive progress or continuation of status quo?
The NPPF revisions may take some positive steps towards a planning system that will support development, but from a transport perspective, there will no doubt be an underwhelming feeling associated with the lack of bold change to really push and accelerate sustainable development. With transport discussions often cited as a reason for planning permission delays, we question whether these changes go far enough, or are simply a continuation of the status quo.
For more information, contact Peter Mumford or Niamh Tracey at Cartwright [email protected]
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SLR Consulting is a global leader in sustainability solutions. Initially starting out as a UK business 30 years ago, it now operates worldwide with more than 4,500 people delivering client solutions across six regions.
The SLR team is made up of expert advisors and technicians, who partner with clients to tackle some of the world's most complex sustainability challenges.
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