Policy I3: Sustainable transport for new developments
We will expect that new developments will contribute to the delivery of an integrated, accessible and safe transport system, balanced in favour of sustainable transport modes, to facilitate sustainable We will expect new development to:
We will expect new developments to demonstrate adequate provision to mitigate the likely impacts, including cumulative impacts, of the proposal on both the safe operation and the performance of the Local Road Network and Strategic Road Network. This provision should include the mitigation of environmental impacts, such as noise and pollution, and impact on amenity and health. This will be achieved through direct improvements and/or Section 106 contributions and/or the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), to address impacts in the wider area including across the borough We will expect all applications for development that generate significant amounts of movement to be supported by a Transport Statement or Transport Assessment in accordance with the thresholds set out in the Council’s Local Validation List. |
Response: Object
We support the concept of sustainable transport but object on the grounds that the practicalities have not been properly considered, It is not sustainable to build dormitory towns and call them sustainable. Not everyone can cycle all the time. How can large developments outside the town centre maximise sustainable travel? This is a matter for the planning process- the further from the town centre, the less sustainable the development will be. Reliance on cycling discriminates against vulnerable members of the community. How can the disabled, those with small children, or the very old, or the infirm, or those who are ill, cycle outside the town in order to commute, or even inside the town? Only some people cycle –and Guildford has some steep hills, especially going out of town. Park and rides are slow – how can those with a 3 hour commute add 1 hour to their journey from using park and rides? The only sustainable mechanism for new developments is to have them in the town centre close to the railway and the main shopping links where a “hoppa bus” can provide satisfactory links for those who cannot walk or cycle. While we welcome the intention to encourage rail travel by adding two new stations (subject to negotiation with Network Rail) there could unintended consequences.
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Bailes Lane: Temporary Article 4 Direction Made!
On 18 April, following numerous representations from members of the public, Normandy Parish Council, and Normandy's Borough Councillors, Guildford Borough Council (GBC) officers acting under their delegated powers issued an Article 4 Direction regarding the agricultural land lying to the west of Bailes Lane, Normandy, GU3 2BA.
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‘Limited Infilling’ in Normandy and Flexford
‘Limited Infilling’ is increasingly used by planning officers as a justification when approving applications in Normandy/Flexford, even where the site is outside the settlement area identified in the Local Plan and is therefore in the Green Belt. (It is worth recalling in this context that the Local Plan removed Normandy and Flexford, along with several other settlements, from the Green Belt, making then ‘inset’, rather than ‘washed over’; this meant that development within the settlement area would not need to accord with Green Belt policy.) We therefore thought it would be helpful to take a closer look at this concept of ‘limited infilling’ in the Green Belt.
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