Chesterton Gardens Housing Development: What are they thinking?

“I object to this application for outline planning permission due to the transport impacts produced during the construction and subsequent additional traffic generated from the 200 new homes. The proposed site will only have one access point for motorized vehicles, which is a route that already suffers from speeding issues and congestion. Adding construction traffic followed by an overall increase of traffic from 200 homes will exacerbate these issues along with increasing air pollution and cause disturbance to local households which all contravene Local Plan policies TR1 (a) and TR2.

“TR1 - (Access and Choice) Development will only be permitted which provides safe, suitable and attractive access routes for pedestrians, cyclists, public transport users, delivery vehicles and other users of motor vehicles, as appropriate. Development proposals will be expected to demonstrate that they: a) are not detrimental to highway safety

TR2 - Traffic Generation All large-scale developments which result in the generation of significant traffic movements, should be supported by a Transport Assessment and where necessary a Travel Plan, to demonstrate practical and effective measures to be taken to avoid the adverse impacts of traffic. Any development that results in significant negative impacts on health and wellbeing of people in the area as a result of pollution, noise or vibration caused by traffic generation will not be permitted unless effective mitigation can be achieved”.

Over the past couple of years residents along St Fremund Way have been subject to several incidents including speeding and road traffic accidents. These have involved cars and lorries crashing into residents’ cars and property. The report stated that there were 8 PICs (Personal Injury collisions) in the last five years. This figure does not include all incidents where damage to residents’ property / vehicles has happened. The most recent being on the 22nd February 2020, where a car crashed into the property on the corner of St Fremund Way and Chesterton Drive (the damage is still visible). From Emperor Boulevard, St Fremund Way runs for about 160 metres with a slight kink in until it hits a sharp left turn with an immediate right turn onto Chesterton Drive. This part of the route has been subject to many complaints about speeding traffic, to the point the WCC installed a Vehicle Activated Sign (VAS) for this short stretch of road. Extra traffic along this stretch will only increase the dangers local residents are already living with. This development should not go ahead without the developer looking to mitigate this issue.

The traffic survey was conducted over two years ago which fails to represent the current traffic flow and congestion. A more up to date survey is needed to reflect the current traffic flow. This survey should also include the impact that queuing cars are having on the air pollution for residents who choose to walk to local amenities including walking children to schools.

The route from the new development travels from Brimstone End, Admiral Way, Emperor Boulevard, St Fremund Way and Chesterton Drive. These are residential streets with on street parking and act as a pedestrian route for people using bikes or on foot. These roads have many family homes on which means children playing in the area. The children should not be put into the middle of a construction site where there would be construction lorries travelling along these roads daily.

The traffic survey has also failed to test the noise and vibration impact of construction lorries travelling a matter of metres away from some people’s homes. This development will take several years to complete and we must remember there is a further building phase to happen after this one, should it be granted. It is unfair that residents should have to deal with lorries rumbling past the sanctuary of their homes, when there is a potential option for a second access road. This is especially the case where the entrance to the new development goes through Brimstone End which is currently a Cul de Sac. Any construction vehicles would have a major impact on the lives of the people living here. The plan does mention that Brimstone End will also need to be widened. This would cause unfair disruption for residents and be a pinch point for construction vehicles. In Transport Ass pt. 1 the access plan is stated to be shown in drawing 20376-01a, unfortunately this doesn’t seem to be on the planning portal.

The only way to widen this road would be to remove / reduce the pavements, causing safety issues for residents, especially children. Brimstone End is also no wider than other roads leading to it from Chesterton Drive. These roads also have on street parking on and at the end of Emperor Boulevard is a speed restriction point narrowing the road to a single lane. The plan fails to mention whether AC Lloyd would need to widen this part of the access route as well and how they would deal with residents parking on street without causing major disruption to the area.

With the option of a potential safer second access route to the building site, permission should not be granted until the second access road has been negotiated with Campion School. A noise / vibration survey also needs to been completed along the access route, which must involve the use of construction lorries.

The transport assessment also states the theoretical capacity of the current access route is 750 journeys and that with the use of software the largest increase in daily trips would be 113. Adding this figure to the traffic surveys figure completed in 2018 suggests a max total of 439 trips. Whilst this is well within theoretical capacity of the 750 journeys, both these figures cast doubts. With the average household owning 1.3 cars (removing London figures), this would mean that this development would add 260 extra cars to the area. Thus, an extra 113 trips as stated during peak hours seems rather low.

In Transport Ass p.t2 under 3.3.5 and in Transport Ass 5.5.14 the applicant has calculated that the percentage of people going to work by car is 65.5%, but this figure comes from the 2011 census. Taking into account the average cars per household figure, this would mean an increase of 170 cars, not 113 as stated. I would also consider data about car usage from 2011 is completely out of date and once again, not reflective of the current traffic flow. It is also worth noting the uniqueness of The St Fremund Way / Chesterton Drive junction which is already a pinch point for the area.

The plans show an option for a second access route via Campion school. This would deliver a safer route and a better option for construction lorries to use. This would also be needed for any further expansion such as phase 3 to complete the project of building 600 homes. Currently this is still under negotiation and vital for any further development. As an option which would negate the issues of traffic safety, noise, pollution and congestion that the current access route has, this negotiation should be completed before planning application be granted. Creating a second route to this development also offers a fantastic opportunity to deliver alternative transport options linking directly through to the cycle path on Sydenham Drive, to Campion School and to Asda. This would help reduce the overall traffic flow to the area reducing congestion and improving safety and wellbeing.

In Conclusion

It is unfortunate that new homes are having to be built on Greenfield land, something that has been overruled at a national level. It does not mean that these homes should be built to a standard which fails to deliver the best for their new residents or their neighbours. The highest standard of house build should be delivered in Passivhaus or equivalent housing standard, with local infrastructure that delivers safe, alternative transport and does not have a negative impact on existing local residents.

Considering the points outlined in this submission, I object to this application. As a minimum, before this application is granted the following need be asked of the developer:

a) A noise / vibration survey should be completed on; St Fremund Way, Emperor Boulevard, Admiral Way and Brimstone End.

b) A new traffic survey should be completed which is representative of 2020 traffic flows and not 2018. This should include a survey of the area to determine how many people use cars to travel to work.

c) Drawing 20376-01a should be added to the portal to view and a mitigation plan added to deal with construction vehicles travelling from Chesterton Drive to Brimstone End.

d) A mitigation plan to deal with how any extra traffic flow would deal with and not add to the speeding issues on St Fremund Way.

e) Negotiation to build a second access route with Campion school should be completed. This is important as it will help mitigate the current access plans and provide a route for construction vehicles for this and other phases of the build. It could also be a great way to offer an alternative transport route to local amenities, helping to remove vehicles off the road and helping a healthier and safer neighbourhood.”

Councillor Will Roberts, Green Party