Challenge

The local highway network is constrained by a junction with sub-standard highway visibility, and through which all development traffic had to pass. The local highway authority had resisted all development that intensified vehicular traffic through this junction on the grounds of highway safety. The challenge was to present a case that demonstrated no increase in traffic generation for our client’s site, and no intensification of vehicle movements through the sub-standard junction.

The difficulty lay in the existing and proposed land-uses, with the future residential and office land-use possibly likely to generate more traffic than the historic commercial land-uses, and therefore may have an adverse impact on road safety.

Result

A review of the extant planning consent concluded that B8 storage and distribution was a lawful use for the site. An exercise was undertaken to establish the maximum traffic generation that the extant consents were capable of generating. Mayer Brown argued that B8 trade retail would be an appropriate lawful use for the site, which would also have a significantly higher traffic generation than the proposed residential and office scheme.

A traffic generation and traffic impact case was prepared that concluded the proposed development would not intensify vehicular traffic movements through the problematic junction when compared to the maximum trip generation that could be associated with the extant lawful uses.

For further information please contact enquiry@mayerbrown.co.uk