Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council - Home Page

back to Contents

back to homepage

Policy T6: Ensuring Choice of Travel to Serve New Developments

1. Proposals for new development should provide or be served by a good choice of modes of travel which is appropriate to the scale and nature of the development, as follows:

a) Well lit, safe, convenient and clearly sign-posted footways and cycle routes both within the site and linking to the surrounding area and to public transport facilities;

b) Cycle parking facilities in accordance with the Council's minimum standards;

c) Car parking facilities which do not exceed the Council's maximum standards;

d) Parking facilities for the less mobile, delivery and other service vehicles within the site in accordance with the Council's minimum standards;

e) Safe and convenient vehicular access to and from the highway and within the site; and

f) Good provision of public transport to the site. In the case of major developments, and any other developments likely to generate a significant amount of travel demand, the provision of additional public transport facilities such as bus stops, bus layover bays, taxi bays or other facilities may be required within or adjacent to the site.

2. Exceptions to the above will be considered in the case of minor extensions, alterations or other developments, which will not materially increase the amount of traffic visiting the site.

Explanation T6

8.30

Policy T6 aims to ensure that there is a good choice of mode of travel for all development proposals, with an emphasis on walking, cycling and public transport. New developments will be expected to include provision for walking and cycling which links well with the wider pedestrian and cycle networks and which also links well with public transport facilities. These links should be attractively designed as an integral part of the development.

8.31

To promote community and road safety, no developments will be permitted which would cause a hazard as a result, for example, of the design of the highway access or internal circulation system. Car parks, cycle parking facilities and footpaths should always be well surfaced and lit, and subject to natural surveillance from occupied buildings. Conflict between vehicle and pedestrian routes should be avoided or actively managed through the use of designs which slow traffic in areas of shared use. In some parts of the Borough, on-street parking causes inconvenience and hazard and new developments will not be permitted which would cause or exacerbate such hazards.

8.32

Car parking standards will be set as a maximum (in order to encourage the shift towards more sustainable forms of travel) and will be set down in the proposed Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) covering transport issues, along with cycle parking and standards for the provision of parking spaces for the less mobile. In Huyton, Kirkby and Prescot town centres, together with district and local centres, a smaller number of parking spaces may be considered appropriate, provided the development would not cause parking problems in the centre as a whole.

8.33

New developments should be well served by public transport. Where necessary additional bus stops or other facilities will be provided within the site or the immediate locality. Where appropriate, obligations will be negotiated which require developers to make a contribution (for a specified period of up to a maximum of five years) to the provision of new public transport services that are deemed necessary in order to ensure that the development is adequately served.

8.34

In implementing the policy, the Council will take account of the scale and nature of the development. For example, minor extensions or alterations to properties may not have any material impact on travel patterns in the area. In these circumstances, it would not be reasonable to require the developer to provide additional facilities. The proposed Transport Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) will explain in detail to which forms of development, and in what circumstances, the policy will be applied.

Policy Links
Policy DQ1	“Design Quality in New Development”
Policy DQ2	“Security in the built environment”
Policy T8	“Transport Assessments”
Policy T9	“Travel Plans”
Policy T10	“Access for the less mobile”