Communities and Local Government written question – answered at on 6 January 2010.
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment his Department has made of the effect of predicted future changes in the level of car ownership on future planning policy for (a) transport and (b) parking.
The Department for Transport produces forecasts of travel demand (trips to and from each local authority) within the TEMPRO dataset, which can be obtained free of charge from
These forecasts are based on demographic data and a car ownership forecasting model (which takes into account GDP). The growth factors from TEMPRO represent the national benchmark for growth in travel demand; as such, TEMPRO is widely used by scheme promoters.
Regional planning bodies and local authorities may take account of TEMPRO and other relevant information when formulating their transport policies. The current set of regional spatial strategies (RSS) combines planning with transport planning to deliver strategic policies to shape the region and guide future transport developments. In future, regional planning bodies will also have regard to national policy statements when preparing the new single regional strategies. The RSS sets parking policies at the region level to ensure a consistent approach is used between local authorities in the area, in order to avoid wasteful competition.
Local authorities are required to have regard to relevant regional and national planning policies when preparing their Local Development Documents (LDDs), including the Core Strategy. The local area will also have a Local Transport Plan (LTP), which sets out the authority's local transport strategies and policies, and an implementation programme. LDDs should have regard to the LTP when identifying and allocating sites for development and formulating objectives for the improvement of the local area. Similarly the recently published statutory LTP guidance emphasises that LTPs should be prepared in the context of the broader policies and objectives contained in relevant regional strategies and should reflect and support local development frameworks.
Local authorities are best placed to determine the parking policies that are appropriate for the local area. Planning Policy Guidance Note 13: Transport (PPG 13) states that these policies "should set maximum levels of parking for broad classes of development", allowing authorities to take account of local factors. Planning Policy Statement 3: Housing (PPS 3) notes that specifically in residential areas, parking policy should "take account of expected levels of car ownership, the importance of promoting good design and the need to use land efficiently".
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