Travel Plans

The Planning Authority may require that a Travel Plan is submitted alongside other documents to support development proposals and an application for planning permission.

Aim of a Travel Plan  

The overarching aim of a Travel Plan is to encourage travel behaviour change and encourage more sustainable forms of travel to reduce the travel impact of development proposals. A Travel Plan should be produced as a standalone document but it should aim to address transport issues identified in the Transport Assessment. A Travel Plan is a strategy that is considered over the longer term for a development, usually the first five years of the development coming into use.

Content of a Travel Plan

A Travel Plan should consider :-

• The development type and its location;
• Travel surveys to show how people are expected to access the development and provide timescales for collecting traffic surveys when the development is operational, usually within six months of opening;
• The objectives for the Travel Plan (ie promote sustainable travel to and from the development);
• Targets to be set over a five year period. The targets will need to be SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timebound). The targets should show an increase in the use of sustainable travel modes over the life of the Travel Plan.
• The measures that will be implemented to support the achievement of the targets;
• The management of the travel plan, which should identify the Travel Plan Co-ordinator (the organisation or person) who will oversee the implementation, management and monitoring of the Travel Plan.  
• The monitoring of the travel plan, which will need to demonstrate the monitoring programme including the frequency for collecting travel survey information.
• An Action Plan, which provides a way of communicating the measures to be undertaken, the timescales associated with the delivery of measures and monitoring, the responsibilities of the parties involved and the funding of measures.

If you require advice on a Travel Plan, a Travel Plan produced or the role of the Travel Plan Co-ordinator to be performed then please contact us.