Policy I/ST: Sustainable transport and connectivity

1.  Development must be designed through a vision-led approach which reflects the road user hierarchy, to: promote sustainable and active travel patterns from the first occupation of development; and provide users with a genuine choice of modes appropriate to the location and uses proposed.

2.  Planning permission will only be granted for development where the site has (or will attain) sufficient integration and accessibility by walking, wheeling, cycling and public and community transport and (as appropriate to the site) where adequate highway access can be provided. This means development should, as evidenced in the accompanying Transport Assessment and Travel Plan or Transport Statement (as necessary):

a.  Ensure development is designed around the principles of walkable neighbourhoods and healthy towns and streets through provision of safe, direct, accessible active travel routes within permeable, coherent network layouts that prioritise, facilitate and encourage short distance trips by walking, wheeling and cycling between homes, nearby centres of attraction and other key nodes, including bus stops, mobility hubs or railway stations, providing real travel choice for some or all of the journey;
b.  Provide high-quality, attractive new cycle, wheeling, walking and, where appropriate, equestrian routes that secure strong, direct connections through adjoining areas, seamlessly connect to existing routes and address any gaps in the movement network, including the wider Rights of Way network, to strengthen connections between neighbourhoods, villages, towns, Cambridge, nearby mobility hubs and the wider countryside, and provide new and improved opportunities for recreational and leisure movement;
c.  Protect and improve existing walking, wheeling, cycle and equestrian routes, including Public Rights of Way and the wider Rights of Way network, ensuring they are comfortable for all users and their effectiveness and amenity is maintained, including through maintenance, crossings, signposting and waymarking, and, where appropriate, all-weather surfacing, widening and lighting;
d.  Provide new mobility hubs within walking, wheeling and cycling travel distance of homes and centres of employment, enabling interchange between different modes and public transport;
e.      Maximise the incorporation of public and community transport (including demand responsive transport) into development by:

i.  For major development, through the design embedding direct routes for and access to high quality public transport (as appropriate to the location and context) within reasonable walking distance of new homes and centres of employment;
ii.  Contributing to new or improved public transport routes, as necessary, that serve key destinations and centres of attraction, including Cambridge city centre, major centres of employment, places of education, community and leisure facilities, and key nodes in the public transport network (including mobility hubs); and
iii.  Directly delivering appropriate on-site measures and contributing to off-site infrastructure enhancements that support the safety, reliability and punctuality of the public transport network;

f.  Ensure that where new road or road access is provided within or into the site, the design accords with the following:

i.  It secures the safety of all road users, utilising proportionate design solutions that slow the speed of traffic to a level appropriate to location whilst being inclusive for all;
ii.  It incorporates crossings, walkways and dedicated lanes that prioritise the movement of pedestrians, wheelers and cyclists over vehicular traffic as appropriate to the function and importance of the road within the wider highways network;
iii.  In appropriate circumstances, it restricts and/or affords lower priority to through access for general motor traffic, maintaining access for essential road users; and
iv.  There is safe and appropriate access to adjoining roads for all users;

g.  Ensure development is designed to be flexible to accommodate future growth, new forms of mobility and technological changes; and
h.  Secure other complementary measures, alongside provision of infrastructure and transport services, appropriate to the scale, nature and context of the development, that will contribute positively towards sustainable travel behaviour, providing for a choice of modes from the outset.

3.  Developments will only be permitted where they do not have an unacceptable transport and highways safety impact. This must also consider any cumulative impacts, as identified through an accompanying Transport Assessment or Transport Statement. Applicants must demonstrate they will make adequate provision to mitigate the likely impacts (including cumulative impacts) of their proposal, including environmental impacts (such as noise and pollution) and impact on amenity and health, including in the surrounding area. This will be achieved through direct improvements, securing direct commitments through planning conditions and/or contributions through planning obligations, community infrastructure levy or its successor, to address transport infrastructure in the wider area including across the district boundary, services or behavioural change measures to encourage the use of sustainable modes of transport. Applicants will be required to provide appropriate measures to meet the first or early occupation of a site in to positively influence sustainable travel behaviour and provide a choice of travel modes from the outset, reflecting the proposed phasing of development.

4.  Developers of larger developments or where a proposal is likely to have significant transport implications, as defined in Cambridgeshire County Council’s Transport Assessment Requirements, will be required to demonstrate they have optimised opportunities for sustainable travel in line with the principles and expectations elsewhere in this policy, and will make adequate provision to mitigate the likely impacts through provision of a vision-led Transport Assessment and Travel Plan. Outline planning applications are required to submit a framework for the preparation of a Travel Plan. All other developments (other than householder applications) will be required to submit a vision-led Transport Statement.