Transport Planning & Consultancy

Transport Assessments and Statements for Travel Plans

We provide full Transport Planning services from inception and feasibility through to planning, post-permission, and detailed design.

Working with everyone from developers to local planning authorities, we span the public and private sectors. Our projects range in scale from single-unit developments through to large-scale town centre regeneration and urban extensions. Our work includes Transport Assessments, Transport Planning, Travel Planning, Accessibility Planning, Transport Modelling, and Safety Audits.

Our highly experienced teams also provide expert witness and appeal support for public inquiries and court hearings.

We operate from our Head Office in Woking and from our regional offices across the UK, including London and Bristol, combining local knowledge with a national perspective.

Transport Assessments

These assessments consider every transport impact in detail. When a project is expected to create disruption and ongoing changes to infrastructure sustainable development must be considered. Mayer Brown provides a thorough inspection of every transport implication created by a project.

Transport Statements

Transport Statements are simplified versions of Transport Assessments. These are used when the transport issues arising from the proposals are limited and a full Transport Assessment is not required.

In some cases, it may be that neither a Transport Assessment nor a Statement is required. These are circumstances where the transport impacts of a development are not significant. This means we need to negotiate with local planning authorities and relevant transport authorities on the best approach for the site.

The benefits of an expert Transport Assessment or Statement

Our Transport Assessments and Statements support successful travel plans. When obtaining planning permission, a travel plan with a transport assessment or statement is needed.

They help to mitigate traffic in the surrounding area, reduce environmental impacts, and support accessibility. Our work takes into account the health and vitality of communities local to the project. Wherever our projects are, our goal is to improve road safety and quality of life for the local people. This means our assessments boost the likelihood of a project being accepted.

Why do you need Transport Assessments?

Transport Assessments and Statements are used to assess and mitigate the negative transport impacts of a development and to promote sustainable transport. They are required for all developments which are anticipated to generate significant vehicle movement.

Our expert Transport Planning teams can provide simple Transport Statements through to full Transport Assessments.

Do you need a Transport Assessment, or will a Transport Statement suffice?

Transport Statements are simplified versions of Transport assessments and are used where it is agreed that the transport issues arising from the proposals are limited, and a full Transport Assessment is not required.

Where the transport impacts of a development are not significant, it may be that neither a Transport Assessment nor Statement is required. In this case, we are able to negotiate with local planning authorities and relevant transport authorities to agree on the best approach for the site.

Do you need advice on the best highways and transport strategy for a site?

We can produce all of the necessary full Transport Assessments using the most up-to-date industry-standard tools and computer software. We also provide advice on internal site layouts, including vehicle tracking for refuse and site delivery strategies.

Working closely with your architect and development consultancy team, we can provide advice on a scheme’s design as well as highlight constraints. We analyse a site’s accessibility by foot, cycle, public transport, and car in order to ensure it meets national and local planning application policies with regard to sustainable travel.

Using the latest AutoDesk vehicle tracking software, we can test layouts for use by service and delivery vehicles to ensure the most suitable are achieved. We can provide advice on car parking layouts and controls, from simple pay-and-display arrangements to ‘pay on foot’ barriers and ANPR-controlled surface and multi-story car parks.

Our assessments pay close attention to sustainable travel, supporting sustainable policies across every project. All of our consultants are champions of sustainable travel. 

Use our Transport Assessment expertise for your next project

Our Transport Assessments incorporate our detailed knowledge of transport and development planning policy and its interpretation by local authorities. This allows us to inform you of the best transport strategy for your development.

Site Feasibility Assessments

Site Feasibility Assessments comprise an initial highways and transport overview of potential development sites. They are based either on desktop assessments or comprehensive on-site reviews, depending on the scale of the project and your requirements. We use our expertise to maximise the development and potential of sites and alert our clients to key opportunities and potential additions to development proposals.

What is covered in a Site Feasibility Assessment?

Do you require information on:

• Whether you can achieve suitable access to your development site?
• Whether your site is accessible and sustainable?
• Whether you will receive highway approval for your development proposals?

Undertaking a Site Feasibility Assessment allows us to highlight issues early in the planning process. We can then provide you with a synopsis of the site’s highways and transport situations, and recommendations of potential planning permission development strategies. You will receive clear, quick, practical, and honest professional advice, allowing you to make informed decisions when purchasing land or entering into development-related contracts.

Travel Planning

The primary purpose of a Travel Plan is to identify opportunities for the effective promotion and delivery of sustainable modes of transport initiatives in connection with both proposed and existing developments. Initiatives will relate to walking, cycling, use of public transport, and car sharing.

Travel Plans are required to support planning applications for schemes that are likely to generate significant people-movement. They can help reduce the number of vehicle trips generated, reducing the scheme’s traffic impact and therefore the scale of highway improvements required, among other benefits. This can lead to reduced development costs and speed up the construction process.

Travel Plans can also be used effectively for existing sites where vehicle parking is an issue. The implementation of a comprehensive and targeted Travel Plan can help reduce parking demand, with obvious benefits for the site operator/occupier and the local community.

What are the benefits of a Travel Plan?

• Encourage sustainable travel
• Reduce vehicular traffic generation and associated negative impacts
• Reduce carbon emissions and climate impacts
• Create accessible, connected, and inclusive communities
• Improve health and quality of life
• Improve road safety
• Reduce the need for increased road capacity or new road development

Why use Mayer Brown for your Travel Planning?

We provide a full service and advice on development Travel Planning. The Travel Plans we produce and implement meet the relevant planning policy requirements and have tangible benefits which can be seen in consequent travel behaviour.

For new developments, a Framework Travel Plan is normally required at the initial planning application stage. This will set out an overview of the Plan to be implemented and is typically the subject of a planning condition or Section 106 planning obligation.

Following the implementation of a development, or for an existing site, we will produce and implement a fully detailed Travel Plan. If requested, we are also able to fill a Travel Plan Co-ordinator role and manage both the introduction of the plan and its performance over time. This will involve liaising and agreeing the plan with the local planning and highway authorities, the site occupiers, and the developer.

We can also design and prepare Travel Plan documents, and materials such as welcome packs, travel maps, timetables etc.

Accessibility Planning

Accessibility Planning involves the planning and provision of advice regarding the layout and design features of a development. This includes advising on the provision of items such as dropped kerbs, tactile paving, and signalised pedestrian crossings, and considering layouts from a movement perspective for people of all mobilities.

We ensure developments are accessible by people from all backgrounds and of all mobilities. Our expert team will ensure the best outcome for you in terms of design policy compliance and planning application fortune. Accessibility Planning is of great importance to us as we believe in ensuring high design standards and removing obstacles to access for the benefit of all users.

Why use Mayer Brown for your Accessibility Planning?

By providing planning and design under one roof, we are able to deliver holistic design solutions for all stages of development. We are known for quickly establishing productive and amicable working relationships with project teams and architects, enabling open and free-flowing communication.

Transport Modelling and Data Services

Transport modelling, data collection, and data analysis form key parts of any Highways or Transport Assessment, enabling potential developmental impacts to be assessed, and for the associated highway and road network, junction capacities, travel options, and route choices to be evaluated.

Through Transport Modelling and Data Management we are able to assist your decision-making process on site selection, site layout, and infrastructure requirements. We seek to avoid technical jargon by providing you with clear and concise modelling output summaries and recommendations.

Our modelling work and data manipulation enables us to produce detailed Transport Assessments, Travel Plans, and Accessibility Assessments, which are needed to support planning applications and local plan site allocations. Our modelling also serves to inform proposed road layout options, ensuring the design is appropriate to the development.

The benefits of using Mayer Brown for Transport Modelling and Data Services

We have experienced and highly trained modelling teams and individuals who can undertake the most complex of assessments. From the outset of a project, we are able to prepare data collection briefs, obtain competitive quotes, and commission the appropriate surveys.

We have established good long-term working relationships with a number of traffic survey companies. This enables us to tailor survey briefs to specific requirements and has afforded us fantastic insight into the workings, operations, and methodology of a variety of traffic surveys.

Our modelling capabilities include:

• Junction and Network modelling using a range of recognised software, including LinSig, Junctions 9 (ARCADY/PICADY), TRANSYT, and microsimulation models using PARAMICS
• Car Park Capacity Assessments
• Public Transport Capacity Assessments
• Pedestrian and Cyclist Accessibility Isochrones using GIS (Manifold)
• Journey to Work Isochrones using GIS (Manifold)
• Database Management
• Traffic Survey Analysis
• Accident Analysis

Transport Planning Case Studies

For examples of recent Transport Planning projects Mayer Brown have undertaken please view our case studies for Headley Court, Supermarket Development at Olney Buckinghamshire  and Winter Gardens, Bournemouth - Mixed Use Development.