CONTEXT AND JUSTIFICATION
Concern over the impacts of private car use, particularly for commuting, has resulted in a significant re-appraisal of transport policy in recent years. This is beginning to manifest itself in a range of measures aimed at reducing unsustainable car use and increasing the attractiveness of alternative modes, particularly in urban areas such as Glasgow. Whilst local authorities have often taken the lead in the implementation of such measures (e.g. Route Action Plans, parking policy), it is now recognised that businesses can, and should, play an important role in promoting more sustainable forms of travel.
The Government White Paper, ‘Travel Choices for Scotland’, recognises that businesses can contribute to this process through the development and implementation of Green Transport Plans. A Green Transport Plan is a means by which an employer and/or service provider (such as a commercial leisure/entertainment complex) can seek to reduce the negative impacts of travel to and from the site in which they have an interest.
Green Transport Plans offer benefits for both businesses (including their staff and customers) and the communities in which they are located.
Benefits to businesses include:
less congestion in and around the site.
Benefits to communities include:
less traffic and traffic congestion leading to safer, quieter streets.
Green Transport Plans can consist of a variety of elements aimed at helping reduce the negative impacts of travel for the organisation in question. These can include measures relating to using cars more efficiently/less often, the promotion of suitable alternatives and good practice in goods deliveries.
The Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR) guidance document, ‘Preparing Your Organisation for Transport in the Future: The Benefits of Green Travel Plans’, provides more detailed advice on the establishment and operation of Green Transport Plans for businesses and other organisations.
National Planning Policy Guideline 17: Transport and Planning (NPPG 17) advocates the use of Green Transport Plans and planning agreements to achieve sustainable transport solutions. It states that local plans should set out requirements in respect of types of development and/or locations for Transport Assessments and Green Transport Plans to be submitted in support of planning applications. The Joint Structure Plan also requires the use of Green Transport Plans to promote sustainable transport solutions.
DEVELOPMENTS LIKELY TO REQUIRE THE PREPARATION OF A GREEN TRANSPORT PLAN
The Council may require a Green Transport Plan in support of a planning application that, by virtue of its scale, location or proposed use, is considered to raise significant transport issues. In many instances, this is likely to be when a Transport Assessment (see SE4 : Transport Assessments) for a new development has indicated that a Green Transport Plan is necessary or desirable.
In these circumstances, the planning authority, the developer and landowner should make and register a Section 75 planning agreement. This will ensure that the measures specified in the Green Transport Plan are agreed between the parties and implemented in accordance with the terms of the agreement.
A Green Transport Plan should aim to promote and maximise the use of sustainable transport to and from the site in question. It may be required to:
set mode share and related targets for travel to and from the site in question. These will vary with location and development type, and will require to be consistent with the level of public transport accessibility to the site and, in the vast majority of instances, with the mode share target established in the Transport Assessment prepared for the development;
identify specific measures proposed to meet these targets, and the timescale for their implementation; and
incorporate appropriate implementation and monitoring arrangements.
The Council recognises that it may not be possible to prepare, in full, a Green Transport Plan to accompany an outline planning consent, particularly where there is a speculative element to the proposal, and where the occupiers of the proposed development, and the exact nature of their operations, are unknown. In such circumstances, a two level approach to preparing and implementing Green Transport Plans may be appropriate.