Havant Road, Emsworth

Paul Basham Associates helped Barratt Homes to achieve full consent for a 161 unit scheme between Havant and Emsworth. We also undertook the S278 design and submission process for this project and are the Travel Plan Coordinators.

With the site having a long history, our team were brought on board in 2015 to ensure that the highway elements of the development were fully assessed, as the site fronts onto the busy A259 and lies adjacent to the A27. We were tasked with taking the site through the planning application process, then to undertake the S278 design and submission. This included the production of highway design and specification of a signalised junction and the associated roundabout improvements.

Pre-application discussions with Highways England and Hampshire County Council identified some potential issues with the site from a highways perspective. The Transport Assessment which was then submitted as part of the application provided a full assessment of the development proposal's impact on the local road network, including at a number of key junctions within Havant and Emsworth.

A Travel Plan was required to support the application which will cater to the individual needs of site users, whilst being an attractive and collaborative addition to the existing Travel Plans in the area (including the local Emsworth Primary School).

Due to the busy nature of the A259 in rush hour periods, an access needed to be designed to not only cater for the development traffic without unacceptably impacting upon Havant Road, but also to try alleviate some of the existing issues at peak times both along Havant Road and at neighbouring junctions. 

As a result and further to ongoing liaison with Highways England (HE), Hampshire County Council (HCC) and Havant Borough Council (HBC), our team designed a signalised junction which included the widening of the existing highway to allow for significant space for a right hand turning lane and associated ghost island and a traffic light system that would also allow for controlled pedestrian crossing facilities across the junction. The implementation of this junction also meant that we had to relocate an existing bus stop; this brought on various other required improvements such as the design of a new tactile crossing point just east of the junction to allow pedestrians to get to the bus stop, together with improvements to the highway, revised road markings and redesign of the existing cycling provisions.  

Due to the anticipation of an increased traffic volume as a result of the introduction of the new dwellings, improving the roundabout to the West became a planning condition and so we were asked to include it in our S278 application. In order to improve the roundabout we simply remodelled it by adjusting the way the lanes worked. This was done by proposing new road markings and an island, as well as resurfacing the highway where necessary.

Alongside Barratts we attended the planning committee, at which the fantastic result of a unanimous approval of all members was obtained.

We worked closely with Barratt Homes and Hampshire County Council throughout the S278 process, and after addressing comments and ensuring all parties were happy with the design proposals, technical approval for the Section 278 was achieved.

The site is currently under construction and we're looking forward to seeing residents move in and assisting them with all their travel related queries as the developments Travel Plan Coordinator.