News: Highway Authority's supplementary response to 75-home development

Hampshire County Council’s Highway Authority has provided supplementary comments on James Painter’s planning application for 75 new homes near Drove Road. Their comments are based on information and analysis that he has provided.

Their observations include:

  • The personal injury accident data indicate no trends on the local highway network that would be made worse by the proposed development
  • The proposed junction with Drove Road appears to meet their visibility requirements and the swept path of vehicles entering and leaving is reasonable
  • No refuse vehicle tracking has been provided and is required
  • The applicant’s provided road safety audit does not identify any concerns with the new site access
  • The two gates at the bottom of the cycleway/footpath should both be at least as wide as the existing gateway
  • A further formal pedestrian crossing point should be provided across Drove Road
  • Visibility splays should be provided for the cycleway
  • They note that no localised improvements are identified by the applicant for Coley Lane or Village Street
  • They made a site visit to assess walking and cycling infrastructure and noted that “there is limited space to provide any formalised footways along the aforementioned routes, requiring pedestrians to walk within the carriageway and along the virtual footway arrangements”
  • Predicted increases in forecast peak hour traffic would not “result in highway safety concerns for existing or future residents”
  • The Highway Authority wishes to engage with the applicant to investigate whether he would be able to provide funding to improve on-demand bus and taxi services
  • They have undertaken further analysis of trip rates, given concerns over using data from the Whitenap development in Romsey. They have used data from Test Valley Farm and further modelling of trip rates “associated with the community space” and have concluded that “both sets of trip rates are appropriate for the site and are reflective of future AM and PM peak hour trip generation from the development”
  • They are satisfied that the site access would operate safely in highway capacity terms