Issue and Options 2023

No

A key focus should be on improving the quality of life for those who live & work in South Warwickshire.

1. The Plan and Sustainability Appraisal use the term Mitigate as a solution to lessen the impact of particular effects. In a number of cases, this term seems to have been used without a solution in mind, and in the TTG’s view, in several cases mitigation would not be possible, or would be economically unviable. 2. The Accessibility Study doesn't consider interconnectivity between settlements or to major conurbations, eg for work. It is therefore flawed. Accessing the majority of employment will require travel outside of the settlement, therefore connectivity of the various transport modes (eg.transport hubs, delivery hubs), and future transport enhancements within the proposed timescale of 2050 should be considered, as well as more local active travel. 3. Locating settlements such that they have access to public transported is supported. However, the analysis in the Local Plan and Sustainability Assessment, of positioning new settlements on existing rail corridors, or near existing bus stops, and using these as a comparator of sites in a Plan that extends to 2050 is considered to be flawed, as it takes no account of the routes served by the rail corridor, the potential to re-route or add additional bus routes, or desired travel patterns. 4. The accessibility scoring doesn't apply any weighting to the answers, it is only a tick or cross.

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Yes

An Integrated Transport Plan should be a key element of, and input to, the Local Plan. These combined need to be of sufficient detail to be used to safeguard infrastructure schemes. Key infrastructure such as transport should be financed and delivered in advance of the development to unlock the building of homes, as is done elsewhere in the UK. It is essential that both WCC as the transport authority and SDC/WDC commit to delivering the transport infrastructure at the outset, to avoid the issues that have plagued the Long Marston Garden Village, and to provide a transport framework to support the Local Plan through to 2050.

In order to achieve this it is suggested that a form of Development Corporation incorporating all tiers of local government and public sector investors, would deliver the best outcome. This should not be left to house builders. Public sector investors will have a longer term and wider perspective. This approach has been widely used elsewhere with great success.

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No

The Accessibility analysis uses the term Mitigate as a solution to lessen the impact of particular effects. In a number of cases, this term seems to have been used without a solution in mind, and in several cases mitigation would not be possible, or would be economically unviable. The appraisal does not appear to consider where people will travel to, the volume of travelers, and the potential / viability of amendments to transport infrastructure required. Furthermore, it scores potential development sites based on issues such as distance from existing bus stops, without consideration of how easy it would be to change a bus route between now and 2050, and uses the word mitigation liberally, without consideration of the cost or practicality of transport infrastructure required in and around Stratford-upon-Avon. A specific example of where major infrastructure needs to be planned and financed, before locations can be unlocked for development, is land south of the River Avon. This applies both to the new settlement shown in all options and to any development on the edge of Stratford south of the river. The Clopton Bridge is now at capacity and studies have shown that it would not be able to accommodate the associated increase in traffic. Land in these areas should not be earmarked for development, even at a strategic level, without first addressing the viability and impact on residents of associated infrastructure which is likely to include extensive civil engineering.