Paul Basham Associates were approached by Brimble Lea and a Private Client who had the vision of creating a destination farm shop that would include a deli, kitchen café, butchers, florist, lifestyle store and food market off the A303.
The Brief
Paul Basham Associates were approached during the initial inception stages of the project to confirm the best location of the site from three land parcels in terms of access, with the aim of later submitting a detailed planning application for the 740sqm development.
Our Approach
In the first instance, we undertook several traffic surveys and a review of the sites available to understand and appropriately assess the potential access locations. It was also important to understand how the farm shop would generate trips and how these would be distributed across the network given that this would be slightly different from that of a typical retail store. Once it was agreed that the best form of access was via the upgrading of an existing access on the A303 slip road we prepared a Technical Note to inform pre-application discussions with National Highways.
To support the detailed planning application, Paul Basham Associates prepared a Transport Assessment. This provided details on access, trip generation, trip distribution, parking provision, servicing arrangements as well as the impact of the development on the surrounding highway network.
Once feedback was received from South Somerset District Council and National Highways, a meeting was held to discuss the concerns raised and how these could be overcome. Following this meeting and consistent liaison with National Highways and South Somerset District Council, a Stage 1 Road Safety Audit was completed alongside an updated Transport Assessment. This liaison was critical and fed into a successful result, with the application being granted in October 2019.
Post planning, Paul Basham Associates also assisted with the Stages 2 and 3 Road Safety Audit briefs in accordance with National Highways guidance and aided in the commissioning of the audits by an independent auditor.
The Result
We are thrilled to see that Teals Orchard farm shop is open and thriving!