Traffic forecasts help win public and officer backing

Plans have been approved to build an 81-apartment development on former industrial land in Watford.  The Whippendell Marine site will be sensitively transformed to blend with the local environment, by brownfield land developers, Oakford Homes.  Motion demonstrated that the residential development would not cause severe impact on the local transport network.  The company has been the driving force behind efforts to promote active and sustainable transportation options to future occupants.

The Oakford Homes project will deliver three blocks of flats comprising market and affordable housing.  The scheme lies between Whippendell Road and Sydney Road, to the southwest of the town centre.  Chris Coates, Managing Director of Oakford Homes, says, “Motion’s transport planners supported the public consultation process and confidently presented the arguments in an easy-to-understand demonstration.  The company’s ability to comfortably convey technical information to the general public is impressive.”

Concerns parked

The development includes parking for 83 vehicles, including a car club space.  Any concerns about an increase in traffic, or reduction in on-street parking, were quickly and effectively allayed.  Motion’s Managing Director Phil Bell recalls, “The predicted traffic generation from the previous industrial use of the site was compared with forecasts for the proposed new homes.  Hertfordshire County Council considered the predicted increases in traffic to be insignificant and acceptable.”

Vehicles will enter and leave the Whippendell Marine site via an improved access onto Sydney Road, which will be widened to accommodate the additional traffic.  Chris Coates adds, “Early consultation between Motion and Hertfordshire County Council helped us to establish the principle of the revised access and identify other key stipulations.”  The remaining access points onto Sydney Road and Whippendell Road will be removed.

This article first appeared in the Summer 2019 issue of Insight.

Image credit: © JTP Architects