Paul Basham Associates' Eastern Transport Planning team were set to work to assist with an application for the redevelopment of an existing office building at Buckingway Business Park.
The Brief
The proposed development would comprise a new mixed-use site made up of both warehouse and office use classes along with upgraded vehicle access.
Our Approach
The team began with a visit to the existing site to gain a full understanding of the local highway conditions. During the site visit it became clear that the proposed access arrangements would now be a key consideration for the scheme to support heavy goods vehicles. An assessment of the existing capacity and width of the access road determined that minor adjustments to the access strategy and internal layout could be applied to accommodate larger goods vehicle access and turning.
This team's progress was then compiled within a Transport Statement report which provided an overview of the existing site and the development proposals, including a demonstration of the safe operation of the site and a detailed justification for support of the application from a highways perspective. A key element of this was the TRICS Trip Generation Assessment which demonstrated that the proposed development would produce a lower number of vehicle movements when compared to the operation of the existing site as well as a detailed parking strategy. This allowed the team to justify that the proposals would not significantly impact the surrounding highway based on the conclusion that there would be an overall reduction in vehicle movements to and from the site.
The Result
Having tailored an approach well suited to satisfy the local planning and highway authorities and meet the needs of the client, the planning application was submitted in October 2023 and in response, planning approval was granted in February 2024.