What is a Transport Statement?

The recently reviewed and published National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) states that ‘All developments that will generate significant amounts of movements should be required to provide a Travel Plan, and the application should be supported by a transport statement or transport assessment so that the likely impacts of the proposal can be assessed.’

A Transport Statement is a ‘lighter touch’ version of a Transport Assessment and is used in some cases where transport issues arising out of development proposals do not require a full Transport Assessment. Although there are no current guidelines on when to produce a Transport Statement, liaison with the Local Authority at an early stage can identify if one is required and to what scale, scope and level of detail is necessary.

Transport Statements cover the smaller scale developments where the traffic impact is limited in both volume and area impact.

Following the withdrawal in October 2014 of The Department for Transport Document (March 2007) ‘Guidance on Transport Assessment’ guidance on the preparation of supporting documentation in highway assessment terms can be found in the Planning Practice Guidance (PPG) suite of documents and in particular in 'Travel Plans, Transport Assessments and Statements in decision taking'. This guidance provides advice on when Transport Assessments and Transport Statements are required and what they should contain. It suggests that the scale, scope and level of detail required need to be established early in the ‘development management process’ as it may influence the overall nature of the detailed design.

The Transport Statement will generally include an audit and appraisal of the following:

Existing conditions

• Existing site information – describing the current physical infrastructure and characteristics of the site and its surroundings; and
• Baseline traffic data – background transport data and current transport infrastructure details.

This information should be accurately established to understand the context of the development proposal. The description should include as a minimum:

Existing site information:

• A site location plan that shows the proposed development site in relation to the surrounding area and transport system;
• The permitted and existing use of the site;
• The existing land uses in the vicinity of the site, including development plan allocations, or potential future use in the case of undeveloped sites;
• Existing site access arrangements including access constraints, where appropriate;
• Whether the location of the site is within or near a designated Air Quality Management Area (AQMA); and
• Any abnormal load uses of the current site.

Baseline transport data:

• A qualitative description of the travel characteristics of the existing site, including pedestrian and cyclist movements and facilities, where applicable;
• Existing public transport provision, including provision/frequency of services, location of bus stops/train stations, park-and-ride facilities;
• A description and functional classification of the highway network in the vicinity of the site; and
• An analysis of the recorded personal injury accident records on the public highway in the vicinity of the site access.

Proposed Development

• Proposed land use and scale of development;
• Proposed means of access;
• Person trip generation and distribution of trips by mode of transport;
• A qualitative and quantative description of the proposed travel characteristics of the proposed development;
• Proposed improvements to site accessibility by sustainable modes of travel
• Proposed parking and servicing strategy;
• Residual vehicle trip impact;
• Transport implications of construction traffic (if there are specific local difficulties identified); and
• If the development site has a current use or an extant planning permission, the net level of change in traffic flows that might arise from the development is calculated and considered.