Scottish Government

Planning Advice Note: Pan 57

TRANSPORT AND PLANNING: April 1999

introduction

1.This Planning Advice Note accompanies NPPG17 Transport and Planning. It gives good practice advice on measures planning authorities may consider in fulfilling their integrated land use and transport planning responsibilities in a sustainable manner. The Annex also gives more detailed background information. Reference should be made to the NPPG for policy guidance.

policy approach to integrated transport and land use planning

Transport Assessment

2. The policy framework referred to in NPPG17, and which will be developed further in guidance to be issued in due course, requires developers to produce a Transport Assessment for significant travel generating developments. The Transport Assessment is to be distinguished from an Environmental Assessment, but may, where a formal Environmental Assessment is required, form part of it.

3. The scope and content of the Transport Assessment will be determined by the scale, travel intensity and travel characteristics of the proposal. The developer should demonstrate that the issues have been discussed with the planning and roads authorities (including National Roads Directorate (NRD) where appropriate) and public transport operators in the area served by the development. The Transport Assessment will provide information for the planning authority to assess fully the suitability of an application in terms of travel demand and travel impacts. It will provide a basis for discussion with the developer on the need for measures associated with the proposal, such as green transport plans to reduce the level of travel demand and to implement sustainable mode shares.

4. Where proposals are in accordance with up to date development plans, the level of detail required for Transport Assessments on the suitability of the location for the proposed use may be reduced. Planning authorities may be able to assist developers by updating and making available information, gathered as part of the preparation of the development plan, on the accessibility of preferred locations for development.

5. The proposed development location should be assessed in terms of both the potential and likely accessibility for people and freight by all modes. The aim is to determine whether the location has the potential to minimise travel, particularly by the private car. A key aspect will be the degree to which the proposal accords with locational policies in the development plan. Where proposals do not accord with these, the Transport Assessment should assess how accessibility by non-car modes compares with the preferred development plan locations for the proposed use. Of particular importance is whether the scale of the development, in relation to its travel intensity, is appropriate to its location. The approach will vary according to the proposed use and will need to take into account its trip generation potential. Transport Assessments should cover the potential for linked trips and the likelihood of interaction with adjacent uses over the longer term.

6. Where a planning authority requires a Transport Assessment to be prepared before considering a planning application for a significant travel generating development proposal, the developer will have to demonstrate that:

See Preliminary Guidance on Local Transport Strategies and the Road Traffic Reduction Act
SODD February 1999

• The site, as existing or as a result of the development works, is physically accessible by a network of footpaths and cycle routes, and public transport will deposit passengers within a short and easy walk of the development. Account should be taken of service frequency for public transport, and of routes and areas served. Account should also be taken of any firm proposals, either being put forward by the developer or contained in the Local Transport Strategy, to improve access to the site by walking, cycling and public transport, for example through extending or diverting bus routes, improved facilities, the creation of more direct pedestrian access, or even the provision of a new rail or bus station, or by traffic management or junction improvements. These are legitimate ways of improving the site's suitability for development.
• For non-residential developments, the network of public transport, walking and cycle routes serving the site links with the majority of the forecast catchment population, with public transport being regular and frequent throughout the opening hours of the development, including evenings, weekends and public holidays. The forecast catchment zones should be assessed against each mode of travel, using realistic assumptions about travel time, distance or cost. The potential and likely modal split of journeys i.e. the proportion each travel mode could, and is actually likely to, contribute to overall journeys to and from the site should be determined.
• For residential developments, a high degree of accessibility to local day to day services such as convenience shops, schools, clinics, libraries and community centres, particularly by walking and cycling, and accessibility to significant urban centres providing a range of services and employment, by walking, cycling and public transport. Mixed use developments which are above the thresholds for both travel generating uses and housing will need to be separately assessed for both elements.
• If the development is forecast to have an impact on any new trunk road works that are forecast to be at capacity 15 years after the opening date of the development (for existing trunk roads, 10 years), satisfactory arrangements are in place to ensure that there is no net detriment to the capacity of the road at the forecast date, taking into account the contribution to accessibility that walking, cycling and public transport are likely to make. While structure plans are being prepared (i.e. before the public consultation stage), The Scottish Office will provide input, including its strategic proposals for new and improved roads, to assist the planning authorities concerned with broad assessments of the ability of the trunk road system in the area to cope with additional traffic in the plan period.
• Agreement with the planning authority and through them with the roads authority which approved developments and developments in approved development plans should be taken into consideration, which lengths of the trunk or significant local road network are likely to be impacted upon, and the methodology to be used in assessing the impacts.

7. For developments that have a transport impact across authority boundaries, the Transport Assessment should show how the developer's proposals relate to the targets and policies laid down in the development plans of the authorities concerned.

Local Transport Impacts

8. Transport Assessments should cover the local transport impacts of the development including those during construction of the development, any impacts on the operation of the public transport network, and those relating to freight and servicing the development.

9. Transport Assessments should set out the likely effect of the developer's proposals, particularly on reducing the level of car use, and should indicate how these measures relate to any specific targets in the development plan, or in the Local transport Strategy, including those for road traffic reduction. The measures might include:

• reductions in the level of parking on site, consistent with maximum parking standards once set;
• improvements at and surrounding the site to encourage walking and cycling;
• improvements to public transport and access to it; and
• initiatives to encourage workers and customers to change their travel habits, such as:
• provision of comprehensive information about local public transport,
• encouraging car sharing, and
• incentives to use public transport instead of cars.

10. The Transport Assessments should indicate how the measures can be delivered. The willingness of a developer to provide infrastructure to overcome objections to a proposed development may be a material consideration, but it will not necessarily justify the grant of planning permission particularly if there are other material considerations which point to refusal. Where transport improvements will be needed to enable the proposal to go ahead, suspensive conditions or agreements should ensure that the improvements are complete before the development is brought into use, or that financial contributions are secure for wider schemes. Where proposed measures are separate from the schemes in the Local Transport Strategy, Transport Assessments should also outline how the measures relate to those proposed in the Local Transport Strategy.

Developer Contributions

11. The development plan should outline the transport priorities for particular parts of the local authority area and the likely nature and scope of contributions which would be expected as part of development on key sites in the plan. Development proposals, related to levels of travel demand or to thresholds stated in the plan, will be expected to help deliver the transport objectives of the plan.

12. The development plan should refer to the Local Transport Strategy as the appropriate document to provide further details on individual transport proposals in the area towards which developers will be expected to contribute. These may include schemes for new investment, the management of traffic and partnerships for improved transport services. Local Transport Strategies will include details of the proposed costs and likely phasing of projects. In the case of new or altered trunk road infrastructure necessary to mitigate development effects, developers will be required to make direct financial contributions to work undertaken by NRD.

13. This approach will give greater certainty to developers as to what will be expected as part of development proposals and also provide a firmer basis for investment decisions in the plan area.

Green Transport Plans

14. Local authorities may wish to consider, as Government Departments are considering, producing their own green transport plans, in order to demonstrate the benefits to sustainable transport that can be achieved. Following the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio, many planning authorities are implementing the provisions of Local Agenda 21, to adopt the principles of sustainable development through a process of community consensus. Many of the potential action points involve the whole community. More directly, however, planning authorities in fulfilling their many duties can also organise their business to promote more sustainable transport and land use practice. The disposition of planning authority premises from which business is conducted can have wide implications for the travel patterns of staff and the public. The organisation of duties of travelling officers and the modes of transport used by them are relevant, as is the logistics of fleet control for all the vehicles, either directly owned or operated under contract, involved in carrying out planning authority functions. A Local Agenda 21 strategy may be used to develop and demonstrate the council's approach to these matters.

town centres and retailing

15. Local authorities will wish to consider the following transport actions to maintain and improve the overall attractiveness and vitality of town centres:

• provide a clean, secure and attractive environment for the pedestrian;
• provide good high quality direct access and parking for cyclists;
• work with public transport operators to provide good high quality access for those who use public transport, including in larger centres internal public transport shuttles linking edge of centre developments to the centre and main public transport nodes, possibly with retailers and developers contributing to costs;
• promote effective management of traffic demand;
• reduce atmospheric pollution where appropriate by diverting through traffic to alternative routes and by reducing congestion; and
• provide and enforce clear parking policies which reflect the need to provide adequate, well located short stay parking for visitors to the town centre and reduce the amount of long stay parking.

providing for non-motorised modes of travel

People on Foot

16. A Scottish Walking Strategy Forum was formed in 1997 and made an input to the White Paper. A more detailed UK Walking Strategy document will be published later this year. Planning can work towards a situation where walking is encouraged as the prime mode for shorter trips, through arranging land uses accordingly, and through urban design. Some authorities, e.g. Edinburgh, have done considerable work on walking routes with design guidance to ensure the most accommodating environment for walking. Planning authorities should also include proposals to make appropriate areas and developments safer and more attractive to people on foot through, for example, pedestrianisation, traffic calming, environmental improvements, improved lighting, provision of wider pavements and narrower carriageways and pedestrian-friendly road crossings which avoid long detours, long waits and footbridges or underpasses.

17. A high proportion of all journeys made by all means of travel is very short with about half of all journeys under 2 miles; 30% of these are currently made by car but a large proportion is already on foot. There is little point promoting facilities for walking if the general ambience is still dominated by the motor vehicle; as an example, there is evidence that more children are allowed to walk to school in areas where traffic has been effectively calmed.

18. The SNH Paths for All Initiative is intended to support the development of networks of paths, trails and green spaces for walking, cycling and horse riding both in and around settlements. As well as enabling local journeys to be made without using a car, such networks have an important role to play in providing countryside access for leisure and tourist use where otherwise a car based trip would be taken. These networks should, wherever possible, be linked to rail and bus stations, bus stops and existing car parks. Consideration should also be given to the safety and amenity aspects of using country roads as access to or part of these networks. Routes should be designed to be in keeping with their countryside surroundings.

19. British Waterways promote the widest use of their towing paths, the 'pavements of the waterways', within the constraints of safety and sustainability. Especially in urban areas, towing paths have the potential to provide a pedestrian and cycle route connected into the existing footpath and cycle networks and to public transport access. However, British Waterways has fundamental concerns regarding the promotion of canal towing paths as commuter cycle routes, but actively promotes the use of towing paths for informal recreation. British Waterways believes that much of the network could be adapted for safe economic and sustainable recreational cycling. In those few places where walking or cycling cannot take place safely, economically or sustainably, then alternative nearby provision should be made and clearly signposted. British Waterways are keen to make a coherent contribution to local integrated transport strategies through partnership with local communities and their representatives.

Access for Disabled People

20. It would be good practice for planning authorities, in drawing up any scheme for change in access to areas or facilities, to consult disabled groups, perhaps through formal access panels representing the main interests. These interests need not be confined to those with physical disabilities, but could be extended to consider those with other mobility problems such as parents with young children and prams or push-chairs; those with luggage or heavy shopping; and the elderly who although not disabled may not be as nimble on their feet as younger people. The requirements of the disabled need not necessarily result in physical alterations to proposed schemes if these are well designed in the first place. Rather, disabled people often seek the confidence and comfort in using a scheme that can be instilled through good management. For example, measures to ensure that adequate disabled parking is not being used by other parkers, the Shopmobility scheme evident in many town centres, and aspects of town centre management that involve help and assistance to disabled people. More generally, continental cities operate "left-luggage" facilities for shopping, and also offer transfer of shopping from these points to home free or for a nominal charge. This tends to be more evident in cities with a strong public transport culture and widespread pedestrianisation of the centre e.g. Nürnberg.

Provision for Cyclists

21. For the foreseeable future the bulk of cycling will be on the existing road network where additional appropriate measures include provision of cycle lanes with appropriate car parking restrictions, speed and traffic reduction, and junction treatments including advance stop lines and cycle signals. As with pedestrian routes, care needs to be taken to ensure that cycle routes are not isolated from all other activity and that the route is suitably lit. Many voluntary bodies including the Cyclists' Touring Club, Spokes and Sustrans can provide positive encouragement based on practical experience. Sustrans have produced various publications including a practical guide for the building of good quality traffic free cycle routes.

22. The creation of safer areas for those cycling and walking can help to ensure that the promotion of physical activity does not expose people to a higher risk of accidental injury, and makes a contribution to meeting health objectives. A general increase in cycle use, greater awareness of cyclists by motorists, and safer on-road conditions, should combine to reduce accident risks to levels common in Europe. However, even at current accident rates, the British Medical Association point out that years of life lost in accidents are well outnumbered by years gained through the health benefits of regular cycling.

Attitudes to cycling have changed. Cycling is now increasingly seen as:

• having the potential to make an important contribution to modern transport;
• an economic, healthy and energy efficient means of transport, especially for short journeys to work and shopping trips;
• the fastest means of transport in some congested urban areas;
• a means of reducing vehicle emissions and thus improving air quality.
• The Scottish Office is represented on the UK National Cycling Forum which aims to further the objectives set out in the UK's National Cycling Strategy by:
• establishing a culture which favours the increased use of the bicycle for people of all ages;
• developing sound policies and good practice; and
• seeking out innovative, practical and effective means of fostering accessibility by cycle.

The Scottish Office set up the Scottish Cycle Forum in early 1996. The Forum is made up of representatives from The Scottish Office, planning authorities, Scottish Natural Heritage, the Forestry Commission, tourism and enterprise bodies, ScotRail and cycle interest groups. The Forum meets 3 or 4 times a year to take forward the more strategic aspects of cycling. In addition, The Scottish Cycling Liaison Group, with representatives from The Scottish Office, planning authorities and cycle interest groups, meets approximately twice a year to discuss the more technical aspects of cycling.

Cycling into the Future: The Scottish Office Policy on Cycling The Scottish Office, April 1996

The National Cycling Strategy. A UK policy on cycling, a consensus document published by the Department of Transport, July 1996

23. In certain circumstances, e.g. congested tourist areas, a cycle hire facility may be appropriate and could be encouraged through local plans. An award under the Cycling Challenge Fund of £150,000 was equally matched by Porterbrook Trains and ScotRail to fund a £450,000 programme of alterations to the ScotRail train fleet to more easily accommodate cycles. The charge for cycle carriage has also been scrapped. This will make it easier to undertake commuting or other journeys with cycle stages at both ends of the rail journey. Where authorities can exert influence on bus operators, it may also be appropriate to encourage provision of facilities for carriage of cycles on buses.

Percentage of pupils by mode of travel to school in Scotland

Safer Routes to School

24. Travel to school is another significant generator of car trips, partly arising from the exercise of parental choice with children attending schools outwith their local area. Even for those whose children have short trips to their local school, parents' perceptions of security lead to significant car travel. There is a pressing need to provide physical infrastructure and if necessary supervisory mechanisms to enable as many school-children as possible to walk or cycle in safety and security from home to their local school.

25. Recent research undertaken for The Scottish Office gives the figures shown in the table. Evidence from rural areas suggests the proportion walking there may be lower (around 45% in a case study in Dumfries & Galloway). Younger children are usually accompanied, either by their peers, or by older children or parents. Some schools allocate car parking for senior pupils to commute by car. Concerns about road safety and personal security are partly to blame, but growth in car commuting working parents also accounts for some of the decline in walking where it is convenient to drop children off at school on the work trip. There is a vicious circle: as more parents drive children to school, so road safety risks to children on foot or cycle increase. To break these trends schools need to adopt the "Safer Routes to School" policy. Councils working with schools identify features of the most common walking or cycling routes, particularly any potential hazards. If necessary, a programme of works can be undertaken to ameliorate potential hazards. Familiarisation sessions can be held for existing and prospective (e.g. those moving from primary to secondary school) pupils. A further technique is to institute some form of escort, be it a development of the lollipop man at specific points on the route, or in the form of the "walking bus", picking up pupils along the way at specified times.
providing for public transport

26. Better public transport has a role to play in changing existing trends. Public transport, necessary for those without access to a car for journeys not feasible on foot or by cycle, also provides for others an alternative means of travel to the car. Quality of public transport provision has to be high if motorists are to be enticed out of their cars. Routes and services provided have to accord with the main travel desire lines, and factors such as interchange, real-time information, reliability, cost, comfort and cleanliness, require detailed attention. The arrangement of park-and-ride facilities, quality of vehicles and waiting areas, together with provision for integrating walking and cycling with public transport will all be crucial to influencing motorists to choose to change mode.

27. Public transport quality is enhanced further when it is supported by measures such as bus priority schemes, provision for carrying cycles on trains and buses, and cycle parking facilities at railway stations. Similarly, planning policies and proposals which favour existing business and commercial centres rather than dispersed development provide additional support for existing public transport services. Suggested indicative criteria for public transport accessibility could be of the order of 50% of new housing within 400 metres and 80% within 800 metres of 15 minute frequency bus service, with other developments generating 250 return trips per day being similarly accessible.

28. In relation to all employment uses, consideration should be given in Local Transport Strategies to the need for and means of achieving regular public transport outside the perceived main work hours so that staff with less regular hours are not forced to use cars for commuting.

29. The creation of quality partnerships between local authorities and bus operators shows their commitment to the importance of good public transport. The provision of facilities supporting bus services such as bus priority lanes or real time information systems can help reinforce the council's commitment to locations well served by public transport and enhances the effectiveness of other policies designed to encourage less car use. Through ticketing and integrated timetabling between different parts of a journey by bus, whether operated by a single operator or by several, and by bus and train, with the bus covering local distribution and the train covering longer trunk portions of the trip, will assist in laying an effective foundation for sustainable transport, and should be pursued wherever possible.

30. Internal rail passenger services in Scotland, except those serving Dunbar and Lockerbie, and sleepers to London are operated by ScotRail, owned by National Express Group; in addition daytime services from Scotland to England, also serving internal Scottish stations en route, are operated by Great North Eastern Railway and Virgin Trains. Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive is a franchise partner in the ScotRail franchise with ongoing rights to determine aspects of service in consultation with ScotRail and Railtrack. Elsewhere planning authorities with aspirations to open new stations or routes, or improve frequencies, will have to negotiate with Railtrack and the train operating company and satisfy the requirements of the Office of Passenger Rail Franchising. Planning authorities should also note The Scottish Office Environment Department Circular 15/1994 regarding consultation with the railway authorities about the effects of development on safety at level crossings.

Park-and-Ride Schemes

31. There are basically two kinds of park-and-ride scheme involved in urban access:

• those providing parking at railway stations, and occasionally at bus nodes (as proposed at Ferrytoll, North Queensferry), on services to major urban centres and used largely by commuters; and
• those providing parking on the fringes of urban areas (as under construction at Ingliston, Edinburgh or existing around Perth and Aberdeen) or outside city centres to encourage transfer to buses for travelling to the city centre; these will be used not only by commuters, but also by shoppers, visitors and tourists.

32. The first type of scheme may reduce the amount of travel undertaken by car, but can encourage additional car commuting to the railhead or increase overall travel distances. It is important to ensure that the location of the car park does not deter those walking or cycling to the station, or remove the possibility for high-density housing or office development.

33. The second type of scheme is usually designed to avoid excessive urban congestion and might increase the total public parking stock. It is not an easy option, although it may have a role as part of a wider strategy, including high quality public transport measures. Potential landscape and visual impacts associated with urban fringe and green belt locations will have to be sensitively handled in design terms. To be successful it requires to be more cost-effective and efficient than parking in the centre and to demonstrate high standards of provision e.g. easily accessible and safe sites, secure parking, comfortable and secure waiting areas, low waiting times, comfortable buses, regular services, and quick access to the town or city centre. It should allow for use by those within walking or cycling distance of the park-and-ride sites, and a choice of sites which results in both way peak flows is advantageous. To this end, if development requiring car parking is exceptionally to be allowed in edge of town or edge of centre locations, there may be merit in requiring the car parking to provide a park and ride function. The bus link would then also serve the development as well as forming the ride element of the park and ride. It is clearly most effective when used as part of a package of measures including bus priority, restrictions on road space for private cars, and restrictive or expensive parking regimes for other than short stay parking in town centres.

managing motorised travel

Traffic Management

34. Traffic management, including traffic calming, sensitive to local circumstances and planned in consultation with local householders and businesses, complements locational policies and supports other traffic measures. It is as appropriate to rural settlements and other countryside areas as to urban areas. Benefits may be increased as part of a concerted programme of measures to boost relative accessibility of locations by different modes by discriminating between classes of road user. Such a programme could include proposals for reallocating road space to give priority to one or more of walkers and cyclists, public transport, high occupancy vehicles, freight vehicles, or to control entry and exit by different road users to particular areas. Without such measures locational policies may lead to increase in traffic and unintended problems of congestion. Traffic management infrastructure should be well designed to reflect the character of the local environment.

Car Parking

35. Car parking policies should support the overall locational policies in the development plan. The availability of car parking has a major influence on the choice of means of transport. Some studies suggest that if parking is provided, particularly free parking, people tend to prefer to use their cars, even where public transport is very good. Car parking also takes up a large amount of space in developments and reduces densities, making it harder to provide effective walking, cycling and public transport links.

Following commencement of Section 43 and Schedule 3 of the Road Traffic Act 1991, planning authorities in Scotland may now apply to the Secretary of State to designate special or permitted parking areas within which most parking offences are decriminalised. Such schemes allow for more effective implementation of parking policy and allow planning authorities to retain income generated from car parking fines (at present such fines accrue to the Exchequer) which is to be used for traffic management purposes.

36. Historically where minimum parking standards have not proved achievable, e.g. because conservation constraints would restrict redevelopment of valued sites if car parking standards were to be met, parking standards have been waived, and instead commuted payments in lieu made to planning authorities for the supply of off-site parking. As the NPPG makes clear, it is no longer appropriate for minimum parking standards to be a requirement of development proposals. There is therefore no basis for seeking commuted payments in lieu of on-site parking. The approach is now based around securing adequate accessibility to sites by all modes, with the emphasis on achieving the greatest degree of access by walking, cycling and public transport.

37. Parking policies will, however, need to be handled sensitively and adapted to particular local circumstances. Fears are often expressed that tight and restrictive parking policies may have undesirable consequences, making a town centre less attractive or accessible to shoppers and increasing the attractiveness of out-of-centre developments and the pressure for additional such developments. This, however, need not be so; restrictive parking policies associated with effective park and ride and a well developed footpath and cycleway network accessing the town centre may contribute to conserving an attractive centre and retaining trade in competition with other neighbouring centres. Robust action to counter illegal parking, enforcement of short-term parking and eliminating long-stay parking close to retail facilities may in fact benefit attractiveness of town centres. The option of controlling parking in out-of-centre retail and employment locations also enables centres to compete on their intrinsic use value.

provision of transport infrastructure

38. In areas where significant strategic transport problems require to be addressed, The Scottish Office may commission in partnership with other interests a multi-modal corridor study of the overall transport needs of the whole corridor. Such a study would take into account the transport needs of business, industry and community facilities located in the corridor or which uses the corridor. The extent to which improvements to rail services could contribute to meeting corridor needs will be fully examined, as will the role of bus transport including any infrastructure required. Re-opening of disused rail lines, additional stations, park and ride sites, bus priority measures, potential for integration and interchange, and where appropriate, physical route infrastructure such as guided busways or other rapid transit, may all have a role to play, as will facilities for walking and cycling, in addition to potential contribution from road improvements. Transport opportunities will be assessed against environmental, social and economic indicators. Early indications are that Railtrack and transport operators are fully supportive of this approach. Policies in development plans will provide a land use/development context for any such studies, and development plans will be expected to be reviewed to take account of the outcome.

39. The Scottish Office is undertaking a strategic review of the trunk roads programme aimed at considering the full range of factors, including traffic growth, which will give rise to pressure for further major improvements across the trunk road network over the next decade. The review is based on the criteria (including accessibility, safety, economy, environmental impact and the need for integrated transport solutions) which the Government has indicated should be used for setting priorities within the trunk road programme. Proposals on how these criteria should be incorporated into a revised framework for the appraisal of trunk road investment are set out in a consultation paper published alongside the White Paper.

40. An aid to defining strategy or decision making in development control are the Route Profiles of the trunk road network that have been commissioned by The Scottish Office. Route Profiles provide the opportunity for a transparent assessment of the full range of operational, safety and maintenance issues on all routes in the trunk road network. As part of wider policy considerations, route profiles will play an important role in informing debate on strategies relating to the trunk road network.

Building with the Landscape

41. Scottish Natural Heritage is undertaking a programme of national landscape character assessment which may provide useful guidance on the capacity of the landscape to accommodate different forms of new development, and can inform development plan policies which seek to steer development into the most appropriate locations. Fitting the road more sympathetically into the landscape can improve its appearance and reduce construction costs; The Scottish Office and CoSLA published a report Fitting Roads in December 1997, which sets out detailed guidance. Transport routes of all kinds offer scope for the provision of appropriate landscaping to enhance the environment, especially in built up areas.

42. To maintain the existing landscape character of an area, new routes should seek to follow, where possible, existing gradients and work with existing landforms and landscape features, having regard to safety and economic considerations. Planning authorities should when granting permission for development make provision for the preservation of existing landscape character and for its enhancement by new planting using native species where appropriate. Additional screening through sensitively designed earth mounds, planting or noise barriers may also be required. New road routes and associated infrastructure should also be designed to avoid environmental impacts, or where this is not possible to minimise the impact on the best and most versatile agricultural land, make provision where appropriate for badger or otter tunnels, avoid farm severance and disruption to field drainage systems, and avoid sterilising mineral deposits. The landscape and visual impacts of poorly designed street lighting should not be overlooked and should be minimised in design. The Scottish Office published in February 1998 Cost Effective Landscaping: Learning from Nature, which gives guidance on its landscape design and management policy. The National Roads Directorate consult The Royal Fine Art Commission for Scotland on road and bridge developments in rural areas. Planning authorities should undertake similar consultations.

Road Planning

43. Planning authorities may find advantage in preparing a hierarchy within their local road network based on clear objectives and principles incorporated in structure and local plans and taken into account in considering development proposals. Advice on this for rural areas (though the principles are universal) may be found in The Scottish Office/CoSLA publication Rural Road Hierarchy and Lorry Routeing released in December 1997. The local plan will elaborate the strategic proposals of the structure plan for building or improving significant local roads; and indicate other proposed new roads and improvements of a non-strategic nature arising from the development patterns proposed in the plan, including proposals for improvements which do not require planning permission. Where the principle has already been examined in the structure plan, consideration in the local plan would normally be limited to detailed alignment, with any objections to the alignment proposed heard at a public local inquiry. In the case of local roads not in the structure plan both the need and the line the road is to take should be examined through the local plan procedures. Examination in local plans should address the potential problems associated with severance of existing footpaths, trails, disused railways and canals.

Housing Layouts and Transport

44. The layout of new housing areas should be designed to be served and accessed by new or extended bus services. Travel demand and the viability of public transport will be influenced by size of development, location of facilities and the level of transport infrastructure provided, as well as distance from major settlements.

45. Streets in housing areas should be designed with children, pedestrians and cyclists in mind. This will require street layouts that encourage these groups to move freely and safely within residential areas. There are clear benefits in terms of accident reduction of 20 miles per hour speed limits. Local authorities may wish to introduce traffic calming measures to existing streets and, in new residential development, streets should be designed for reduced traffic speeds. Layouts which embody these principles will also be much more attractive to those on foot or cycle and safer for children to play in the vicinity of their own homes.

46. The amount of parking required in new housing developments will depend upon the location of and type of housing. The scope for developing innovative housing developments with reduced parking provision e.g. "car free housing areas", should therefore be considered. These require careful assessment to ensure they are well provided for by good local services and walking, cycling and public transport links. The use of planning agreements may be appropriate in this context. It is also useful if the car-free housing is within a controlled parking zone. The "car-free" residents will have no right to parking permits and are unable to park freely on surrounding streets under the controlled scheme. In other areas with good public transport access, residential development may be permitted with little or no parking. Where residential development does accommodate car parking, proper space provision for accommodating residents' and visitors' cars should be designed into the layout. Sensitive design should be capable of creating garage and parking space which encourages users to keep their cars off the street.

47. Waterside development, for example along canals and on former dockland, is an increasingly popular form of development. It should be designed to ensure that towpaths and quaysides are integral in order to provide a coherent network for walking and cycling; siting and orientation of buildings should positively address the water to provide natural policing and surveillance.

48. The physical impacts of over-engineered access standards on the amenity of rural settlements in particular is however of concern. Planning policies, road policies and construction standards should be devised appropriate to the specific circumstances of an area and publicised for developers and the community to understand, if development is not to undermine the character of the area. Thus the design and standard of access roads should have regard to the local environment and to fitness of purpose so that developers are not unreasonably burdened with costly and/or inappropriate access roads, especially in remoter rural areas.

Freight

49. For rail freight, as well as Freight Facilities Grant, Track Access Grants under The Railways Act 1993 are available to compensate for rail access charges payable to Railtrack in respect of new traffics. English, Welsh and Scottish Railways are actively growing the rail freight market in Scotland, and attracting business from established road hauliers. Many former sidings are seeing re-use, and it would be good planning practice to identify locations where goods vehicles could access existing or former rail sidings and ensure that land and access arrangements are safeguarded in development plans.

Aviation

50. The background to Government policy on airports was set out in the 1985 White Paper Airports Policy (Cmnd 9542). The White Paper Travel Choices for Scotland also envisaged development of a UK Airports Policy and to contribute to this a Strategic Air Services Study is underway in Scotland. Any recommendations of this study adopted as Government policy which require physical development of Scotland's airports will need to be taken through the planning system. Airport development is promoted by developers through the normal planning process. Exceptionally major schemes may be decided by the Secretary of State following a public inquiry. Circular 16/1982 provides current guidance on safeguarding around airports and consultation with the Civil Aviation Authority. Following consultation in 1998 by the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR) on Third Party Risk Near Airports and Public Safety Zone Policy, the public safety zone regime at airports is under review. Further guidance may be published in due course.

development control

51. Article 15 of the Town and Country Planning (General Development Procedure) (Scotland) Order 1992 identifies those authorities or persons with whom the planning authority is required to consult on planning applications in certain circumstances, including railway undertakers with regard to changes in the use of level crossings over a railway, the roads authority and The Scottish Office Development Department National Roads Directorate.

52. In particular, planning authorities should be careful to consult The Scottish Office Development Department National Roads Directorate not only for proposed developments within 67 metres of the trunk road, but also where the proposed development would be likely to result in a material increase in the volume or material change in the character of traffic entering or leaving a trunk road. The Scottish Administration may consult on arrangements for achieving greater consistency in these consultations. There are also consultation requirements in relation to roadside service facilities within 400 metres of a motorway or 1 kilometre of a motorway junction. Any intention on the part of a planning authority to approve a development other than in accordance with the recommendations of The Scottish Office National Roads Directorate requires the application to be notified to the Secretary of State so that he can decide whether or not to call in the application for his own determination. The Scottish Office Development Department Circular 4/1997 explains the notification requirements set out in Notification Directions.

53. The Town and Country Planning (Development by Planning Authorities) (Scotland) Regulations 1981, regulate the procedures for planning authorities proposing development themselves such as local road schemes. Arrangements for notification to the Secretary of State where, inter alia, the planning authority has received objections to its proposal, are set out in the Scottish Development Department Circular 29/1988. By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Contrary to Development Plans) (Scotland) (No 2) Direction 1994 any local road proposal which the planning authority considers is a significant departure from the structure plan must be notified to the Secretary of State.

Enquiries

54. Enquiries about the content of this PAN should be addressed to Tom Williamson, Planning Services Division, Room 2-H77, Victoria Quay, Edinburgh, EH6 6QQ, (0131 244 7531) or by e-mail to tom.williamson@scotland.gov.uk. Further copies of this PAN and a list of other current NPPGs and PANs may be obtained from Planning Division (0131 244 7066). This PAN is also available within The Scottish Office web-site at www.scotland.gov.uk/planning/

annex 1: background information

Transport and the Environment

Climate Change and Greenhouse Gases

1. The Government published, on 26 October 1998, a consultation paper on the UK Climate Change Programme. The Kyoto Agreement of December 1997 binds the signatories to reduce a basket of the 6 principal man-made greenhouse gases overall to 5.2% below 1990 levels over the period 2008-2012. The 6 gases are carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulphur hexafluoride, weighted for their global warming impact. The EC Member States agreed jointly to undertake an 8% reduction, with this target shared around Member States. The UK agreed to take on a 12.5% reduction target. Within this, there is a commitment to reduce carbon dioxide levels from 1990 to 2010 by 20%. Greenhouse gas emissions from transport have been the fastest growing of any sector in recent years; the key measures in the integrated transport White Papers have the potential to reduce road traffic carbon dioxide emissions.

Local Air Quality

NATIONAL AIR QUALITY STRATEGY GOVERNMENT OBJECTIVES

The Scottish Office Agriculture, Environment and Fisheries Department have issued statutory guidance with Circular 3/1997 to assist local authorities in implementing Part IV of the Environment Act 1995 and on traffic management in the context of Air Quality Management Area Action Plans. In December 1997, the Road Traffic (Vehicle Emissions)(Fixed Penalty) Regulations were introduced. These give powers to pilot local authorities to undertake roadside vehicle emission tests and to issue fixed penalty notices to drivers of vehicles which fail the test. The Regulations are currently under trial in 7 UK local authorities, including, in Scotland, Glasgow City Council. Depending on the outcome of the trial, these powers may be extended to all authorities in the course of 1999.

2. Vehicle emissions are the single biggest cause of poor urban air quality and priority must be given to this issue. Part IV of the Environment Act 1995 requires local authorities to review and assess air quality in their areas to determine whether the air quality objectives set in the UK National Air Quality Strategy (Cm 3587) and Air Quality Regulations 1997 are likely to be met by 2005. Where reviews and assessment indicate that air quality objectives are unlikely to be met, the authority must declare an air quality management area and develop an action plan setting out the proposals to enable the objectives to be met.

3. The UK National Air Quality Strategy, first published in March 1997 and currently under review, set air quality objectives derived from health based standards for 8 pollutants. The regulations set statutory objectives for 7 of the pollutants and, because of its trans-boundary nature, a non-statutory objective for ozone. A report on the Review of the UK National Air Quality Strategy was published in January 1999 and proposes tightening the objective or bringing forward the attainment date for 5 pollutants; benzene, 1,3, butadiene, carbon monoxide, lead and nitrogen dioxide. The objectives for sulphur dioxide and ozone remain unchanged. Emerging scientific evidence suggests that the existing objective for PM 10 is unrealistic. The report recommends adoption of the EU limit value as an interim step towards achieving the existing objective which will be retained as an indicative target and will not be incorporated into regulations.

4. Implementation of the Road Traffic Reduction Act 1997, generally documented in Local Transport Strategies, will contribute towards a reduction in vehicle emissions through a strategy designed to reduce the amount of vehicular traffic using the roads. In some local areas, including congested urban areas where the nature of the built environment may cause canyon effects, emissions can cause health risks and affect the quality of life for all. As this will include pedestrians and cyclists, who may be deterred as a result, it is doubly necessary to exercise these powers in the overall interests of achieving a sustainable transport outcome. In the short term, the answer may lie in traffic management. In the longer term, planning and transport policies will help to reduce the need to travel and reliance on the car. It will be important for planning authorities to consider the impact a development will have on air quality, both from the development itself and from traffic generated by it. The aim should be to locate new development in accordance with a development plan strategy which addresses the issue of air quality, if necessary, for example in town centres, catering for desirable development by instituting traffic restraint and providing for walking, cycling and public transport.

Water Quality

5. The Sustainable Urban Drainage Scottish Working Party was set up by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency with representation from The Scottish Office, CoSLA, the Water Authorities, the Scottish Building Employers Federation, and technical input from CIRIA. They are drawing up a Manual of Best Practice dealing with the techniques of handling run-off from built development including transport infrastructure in such a way as to protect the quality of watercourses and the aquatic environment. The Manual promotes the use of soft urban drainage schemes which not only reduces flows to the public sewer and hence reduces loads on the sewage treatment works, but also reduces the polluting impact on the receiving water course.

Landscape Considerations

6. Land use and transport planning should take into account impacts on the landscape and use of the countryside. This includes long distance footpaths and rights of way, access to the countryside around settlements, and respecting landscape character in the location, routeing and detailed design of transport networks including lighting and signage. Consideration should also be given in rural and remote areas to setting limits to access by mechanised transport e.g. all-terrain vehicles, and to the associated construction of hill tracks.

Natural and Built Heritage

7. Great care should be taken to minimise the impact of any new transport infrastructure projects, or improvements to existing infrastructure, on both the natural and built heritage. If the route and design cannot avoid designated areas they should do as little damage to the natural and built environment and landscape as practicable. Any loss should be compensated for, through, for example, habitat creation and management, under the principle of no net biodiversity loss. Any maintenance, construction or restoration should also be carried out to the highest environmental standards.

8. It is important that in developing proposals, planning authorities strive to avoid or minimise impacts on the site and setting of listed buildings, ancient monuments and archaeological sites, historic gardens and designed landscapes, and conservation areas. This also applies to the historic waterway landscape along inland waterways which should not be degraded by inappropriate bridge design and alignment, or by unsympathetic design and orientation of waterside development. In such areas, there is clearly potential for considering opportunities for enhancement of the historic environment through appropriate traffic management. Councils should seek the advice of planning authority archaeologists, Historic Scotland, SNH and The Royal Fine Art Commission for Scotland as appropriate. Historic Scotland and SNH are statutory consultees under the General Development Procedure Order.

Transport and the Scottish Economy

9. The demand for travel is generated by a variety of purposes - to and from work; in the course of work; education; shopping and personal business; social/entertainment; and holiday and leisure trips. The travel needs of the Scottish economy are already well served by a comprehensive rail network and national strategic road network which for the most part keeps motorised long distance traffic out of urban areas. It is important to protect the network for inter-urban and long distance movements.

10. The key challenge within urban areas is to alter the balance between the car and other modes of transport. In the larger towns and cities the scale of decentralisation of many activities traditionally located in urban centres, encouraged by the private car, is having an effect on spatial structure. Conversely centralisation of many facilities in the larger towns and cities has left rural dwellers with little option but to undertake long journeys. This, together with changes in social and lifestyle trends, is generating new travel patterns and average journey length is increasing. In consequence, larger towns and cities have become dominated by motor vehicles, particularly the private car.

11. Most centres are based on the historic street pattern which was not designed to serve the demands of motor vehicles. Road space is sometimes excessively congested; parking puts considerable demands on land; traffic signs, signals, meters and parked cars clutter the visual environment, degrading the aesthetic and historical experience for residents and visitors alike, and undermining the sense of place. The volume and speed of road traffic, with a reducing but nevertheless unacceptable level of accidents, is significantly reducing the freedom of movement of some groups of the population, notably children, the elderly and people with mobility difficulties. As a result, many city and town centres are less attractive than they used to be, especially when compared to the traffic-free environments of modern shopping malls.

12. Where environmental improvement or town centre enhancement schemes are being prepared, distribution and servicing needs should not be overlooked. In this connection freight transhipment centres have been considered, for example in the Aberdeen area. However, many retailers now undertake product concentration at their central depots, thus greatly reducing the number of vehicles travelling to individual outlets. As with all such proposals, the pros and cons in the particular local circumstances will bear close investigation. A Green Transport Plan, where required by policy, or provided by the developer, will cover the various options and enable decisions on the most effective freight servicing to be made.

Cities and Inter-Urban Hinterland

13. In some urban areas and on key parts of the inter-urban trunk road network there are levels of congestion that are economically inefficient and environmentally damaging. Local Transport Strategies will address these problems and it may be expected that the full range of techniques envisaged in the White Paper will be considered e.g. congestion charging, employer workplace charging, public transport infrastructure developments, traffic management restraints on the private car.

Rural Areas and Service Towns

14. In rural areas, the dispersion of population and of jobs, and the concentration in larger settlements of services and public facilities restricts the scope and choice of public transport services available. Car ownership is crucial to accessibility in rural areas. In 1991, 7 out of 10 rural households had access to a car, compared with less than half of urban households. This means that for many the private car is the only practicable means of transport. There are, however, significant groups e.g. young people, women and those with low incomes, who do not own cars or do not have unlimited access to a car, and can face particular difficulties in rural areas. Distance increases time spent travelling and travel costs. Improving access and lowering its cost aids local economic development and contributes to the policy goal of preventing depopulation in certain rural areas. In order to ensure that the economy and way of life in rural areas are sustained in the longer term, a policy objective may be to maintain or enhance accessibility for specified groups of the population to a defined range of services.

15. Action to maintain and, where possible, improve public transport will continue to be necessary. Where public transport is available, and particularly rail transport, its potential should be exploited and linked to development opportunities. Elsewhere in rural areas, the scope for influencing modal shift through the location of new development is inevitably more limited. Nevertheless, by careful attention to design, opportunities can be created in rural settlements, and between related neighbouring settlements, to utilise safe and coherent routes for walking and cycling, which increase local accessibility and promote tourism which is not dependent on the car. Planning policies also have a role to play in the development of telecottaging and other IT based industry which can contribute to reducing the need to travel in rural areas.

Remote and Island Communities

16. Transport issues here will focus on longer distance links to service centres and markets for residents, and on links bringing in visitors and tourists. Every effort should be made to encourage sustainable development by taking advantage of whatever nodes exist in the transport system to locate significant development. The distribution of population and distances involved will result in cars remaining the main mode for many purposes.