11.1 The overall aims of the Plan are to provide a balanced approach to transport facilities within the District by limiting demand for travel by car, particularly in peak periods; to encourage greater use of other modes of transport such as public transport and cycling and to integrate transport facilities more closely to land use proposals through the Movement Studies for Leatherhead and Dorking.
11.2 The objectives of the strategy are as follows:
To make the best use of the existing transport network and encourage measures which reduce demands for travel by car.
To support the need for a high quality strategic road network where this can be achieved within environmental constraints.
To promote transport management schemes which ameliorate environmental problems.
To promote new public transport initiatives where they could reduce the demand on the highway system.
To minimise the impact of traffic on the environment arising from new development proposals.
To promote road safety measures and provide facilities and a safer environment for cyclists, pedestrians and those with mobility disabilities.
11.3 Strategic needs for public transport and the primary route network must be balanced against preserving the quality of the environment whilst considering the needs of both urban and rural areas and maintaining and improving access to these areas.
11.4 The roads in Mole Valley suffer increasing congestion and this makes it difficult to absorb further development without aggravating the problem. Car ownership is already about 50% higher than the national average. Besides serving the District's own traffic generators many of the roads connect other larger population and employment areas, the M25 Motorway and Gatwick Airport. The quality of the countryside, the character and living conditions of the villages are spoilt from unsuitable rural lanes being used by commuter traffic. Congestion results in poor accessibility into Leatherhead and Dorking town centres at peak travel times and a deterioration of the local environment. A fundamental principle therefore of this Local Plan is to limit development likely to generate new peak hour car movements. At the same time, wherever practical within local authority powers, the Plan seeks to encourage greater use of public transport, cycling and walking.
11.5 Policies in this Chapter of the Local Plan have been formulated within the wider transportation planning context of:
Planning Policy Guidance Note 13 -Transport
Regional Planning Guidance for the South East (RPG9) 1994
Surrey Structure Plan 1994
A New Transport Plan for Surrey 1996.
11.6 The new way for the County Council to seek Government funding for transport schemes is through the Local Transport Plan (LTP). The first full LTP submission for a 5 year programme of measures was made in July 2000. The latest LTP represents the most authoritative and up-to-date plan and programme of transport schemes for Mole Valley and the County.
11.7 Surrey County Council, as Highway Authority for Mole Valley, is responsible for transport planning, including the maintenance and construction of roads. The Secretary of State for Transport is the Highway Authority responsible for the M25 motorway. Responsibility for highway maintenance, minor improvements, transport initiatives and road safety matters in the District is dealt with by a Partnership Transportation Sub-Committee consisting of an equal number of County Councillors and District Councillors. The District Council has responsibility for the provision and management of off-street public car parks. As the main organisation responsible for transportation planning in Surrey, the County Council liaises closely with the Department of Transport, Railtrack, train operating companies and the bus operators to co-ordinate policy.
11.8 Surrey Structure Plan 1994 Policy MT1 calls on local authorities to use all appropriate measures to manage and control the demand for travel by car, particularly in the peak periods and in town centres in order to reduce congestion and pollution. The demand for peak period travel by car should not be solved by more road building. In a district like Mole Valley such schemes would be environmentally unacceptable. Other measures to manage demand and encourage the provision of acceptable alternatives to the car, such as increased public transport and cycling facilities, should be promoted. Spare capacity exists on some parts of the public transport network in Mole Valley; indeed its greater use should assist in the provision of improved levels of services.
11.9 The Council and Surrey County Council believes in a balanced transport strategy. Whilst supporting environmentally acceptable highway improvements that accommodate through movements, help the local economy, improve safety and reduce the environmental effects of traffic, both Councils wish to see this supported by traffic management measures including wide use of "traffic calming".
11.10 In addition to movement studies, other approaches through a variety of management measures can be undertaken to limit road capacity and reduce speed, where appropriate. Measures appropriate to Mole Valley are described later in this Chapter.
11.11 Accessibility to town centres such as Leatherhead and Dorking requires new measures if they are not to become over congested or environmentally damaged. These problems have been examined by carrying out movement studies, a concept promoted in the first Transport Plan for Surrey. Each movement study entails a study of all transport modes taking a comprehensive view of problems and possible solutions. Proposals that have been identified through these movement studies will be implemented through the "package approach" included within the Local Transport Plan (see paras 11.36 - 11.38).
The demands for travel by car will be managed and controlled, particularly in peak periods and in and around Dorking and Leatherhead town centres, in order to secure environmental improvements, to increase safety and to reduce traffic congestion and pollution. Movement studies for these town centres and neighbouring areas will establish comprehensive transport solutions.
11.12 The scale, type and location of development needs to have regard to the capacity of the existing road system in Mole Valley and its ability to accommodate more traffic in the short to medium term. The Plan therefore seeks to ensure that new development should be integrated as satisfactorily as possible within the transport network and that improvements to the network should be made where necessary as part of those developments. The road system in Mole Valley will remain under pressure over the Plan period, particularly on the more urbanised sections of the main traffic routes. Any additional traffic generated along these routes therefore would further impede movement and make conditions more hazardous.
11.13 The Council will aim to ensure that all proposals for new development in the District accord with the principle of maintaining a high environmental quality. All proposals will therefore be assessed in relation to their impact on the environment, both in individual and cumulative terms, with a view to resisting those proposals which are considered to be potentially damaging.
11.14 Much of the road network in the urban areas of Mole Valley is at or near to capacity. Increasing the capacity in many cases would create unacceptable levels of environmental damage. New traffic generating activities, especially those creating peak hour movements will be strictly controlled.
Development will normally only be permitted where it can be demonstrated that it is or can be made compatible with the transport infrastructure and the environmental character in the area, having regard to all forms of traffic generated by that development. Where appropriate developers will be expected to provide for, or contribute to, transportation initiatives or highway works that should provide adequate capacity to at least the end of the Plan period. In particular, proposals for major developments will only be permitted where it can be demonstrated that in order to accommodate the traffic generated by that development appropriate measures are made to obviate the environmental impact, and there is appropriate provision for:
off-street vehicular parking, and
suitable servicing arrangements, and
vehicular access and egress and movement within the site, and
capacity on the transport network and in the vicinity of the development, and
access and egress to be obtained, or improved, to and from the primary route and distributor road networks, and
public transport services, and
pedestrians and cyclists, and
people with disabilities.
Where a particular part of the highway network already endures high traffic flows significantly above its operational and environmental capacity, then only small-scale development or redevelopment, which leads to little or no new traffic generation, will be permitted. The cumulative effects of existing and committed development on the operational capacity and environmental character of congested areas as a whole will be taken into account in the determination of development proposals. The provision of new accesses onto principal traffic routes will not normally be permitted where access can only be gained from those networks.
11.15 For the purposes of this Policy, major developments will be assessed, not just in terms of their physical size and impact, but also with regard to the sensitivity of the surrounding environment to accommodate the likely traffic generated.
11.16 Department of Transport Circular 6/91 requires that any improvements that are necessary to a trunk road and/or its junctions as a result of development must be capable of providing sufficient additional capacity for 15 years after opening. This design period is likely to extend beyond the life of this Plan. The M25 is the only road in the Plan area which will be affected by this requirement.
11.17 Over the years facilities have been developed to serve the needs of road users. These range from basic facilities such as lay-bys to single sites offering a comprehensive range of facilities available 24 hours a day. A substantial facility already exists on the A24 at Box Hill while lay-bys exist elsewhere in the District.
11.18 In 1989, Surrey County Council adopted a strategy for roadside facilities on the Primary Road Network. The main thrust of the Strategy was to set out a comprehensive and coherent approach to the provision of roadside facilities by a detailed review of existing facilities and an identification of gaps in provision. No suitable locations to meet identified needs were proposed in Mole Valley. Therefore no specific provision is made in this Plan.
11.19 Surrey County Council's Strategy for Roadside Services includes a list of criteria to be applied to proposals for new service facilities, in order to ensure that such petrol filling stations and restaurant developments are not unduly harmful to the environment or detrimental to road safety. If it is decided to proceed with improvement of the A24 between Clark's Green and the County boundary on a new alignment, then consideration will be given to the need for alternative replacement facilities. As only a relatively small section of any road improvement south of Capel would lie in Mole Valley the most suitable location may not lie within the Plan area.
The Council, in conjunction with Surrey and West Sussex County Councils and Horsham District Council, will investigate the need and location for new service facilities associated with the improvement of the A24, south of Capel.
11.20 Annex A in Planning Policy Guidance Note 13 on Transport advises that Structure and Local Plans may include policies on Motorway Service Areas. A number of sites in Surrey were examined as part of a Government study in the 1980s. As a result a new comprehensive service area has opened at Clacketts Lane on the County boundary with Kent. The Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions was minded to grant planning permission for a further service area between Junctions 9 (Leatherhead) and 10 (Wisley) of the M25, but this decision was quashed in the High Court and will be re-examined at a Public Inquiry to consider the location of Motorway Service Areas for the whole of the M25. An additional service area on the M25 within Mole Valley is considered inappropriate, not just for locational and Green Belt reasons, but also because of the adverse environmental impact it would cause in terms of noise, disturbance, fumes and general loss of amenity.
The Council will resist any proposal for a Motorway Service Area associated with the M25.
The County Council's current car parking standards will be applied as maxima and having regard to:
the developer's own requirements, subject to road safety or traffic management implications, and
the accessibility of the location to means of travel other than the private car, and
the possibility of payments in lieu of car parking spaces being made to assist in public transport provision and in facilities for pedestrians and cyclists.
11.21 The County Council's current car parking standards are set out in 'A Parking Strategy for Surrey', which was published in November 1999 as interim Supplementary Planning Guidance. The standards are expressed as maximum parking levels for all development, except in the case of housing. The District Council has adopted the standards for the purposes of development control.
The Council will continue to review the demand for off-street parking facilities and, subject to the need to reduce demand for travel by car, the availability of resources and suitable sites additional provision may be made.
11.22 The Council is responsible for providing, maintaining and managing public parking facilities. The Council operates a system of long and short-stay parking spaces in all its parking facilities throughout the District. The Council has limited financial resources available for the provision of new parking facilities or extending existing ones, and through necessity, priority will be given to towns and larger villages where demand is greatest. In some cases the availability of suitable sites can be a problem.
11.23 Surrey Structure Plan 1994 Policy MT6 states that Local Plans should promote measures that minimise the impact of traffic, particularly in residential and shopping streets. This can be carried out through the introduction of traffic management or calming measures. The Surrey County Council maintains a "rolling programme" of such minor works which is reviewed annually.
The District Council in conjunction with Surrey County Council, will support suitable measures for traffic calming within the District in order to reduce through traffic on minor roads, improve road safety and protect residential amenity and provide improved facilities for pedestrians and cyclists.
11.24 Traffic calming refers to any method, or combination of methods, by which traffic would be forced to slow down, particularly on minor roads. Such methods could be restrictive, such as weight restrictions or width restrictions, or could be physical obstructions such as road humps, rumble strips, chicanes, mini roundabouts and footway widening at junctions, all accompanied by appropriate signing. In designing traffic calming schemes, improving provision for the safety of pedestrians, cyclists and the disabled will rank equally in importance to slowing and/or discouraging vehicular traffic.
11.25 In addition to such measures being introduced in Leatherhead and Dorking, the Council also wish to see this approach being applied to the more sensitive rural centres of population. In the Dorking Rural Box, (that is, south east of Dorking bordered by the A25, A217, the County boundary and A24) measures in the Local Transport Plan include:
suitably designed rural traffic calming measures in villages;
a blanket 40 mph speed limit outside the villages;
gateways at the entrances to the area, and
improved facilities for vulnerable roads.
Measures to promote safe and attractive pedestrian environments in Leatherhead and Dorking town centres will be investigated and introduced where appropriate and subject to the availability of funding.
11.26 The Council believes that the problems faced by pedestrians especially when they come into conflict with motorised traffic should be accorded high priority. It is vital that in these locations, safe, attractive, functional and well signposted pedestrian routes are provided. The High Street and much of Church Street in Leatherhead have already been pedestrianised. These shopping streets are being resurfaced and enhanced under a phased scheme. Opportunities for the enhancement of pedestrian facilities or the provision of new facilities as part of town centre developments will be encouraged by the Council. The feasibility of improving existing pedestrian facilities particularly in Dorking will be explored.
11.27 Bus priority measures for Leatherhead and Dorking are included for implementation under the Local Transport Plan.
11.28 Permanent park and ride facilities are not considered appropriate in Mole Valley. Both Leatherhead and Dorking are relatively small towns where access to facilities by car is not such a significant problem as in many larger towns and cities. Furthermore, in view of their size it is not considered that a park and ride scheme would be practical except for temporary measures to cope with Christmas shopping.
The Council will encourage environmentally acceptable schemes to resolve local parking problems in all parts of the District, especially those affecting residents.
11.29 The Council recognises that there are considerable local parking problems across the District. These include problems in Dorking and Leatherhead where there is competition for the limited on-street parking from residents, shoppers and other short-stay visitors and those working in the local area. Satisfactory solutions to these problems which meet the agreement of local people and relevant authorities are not easy to find. However, the Council will continue to investigate problems brought to its attention with a view to implementing practical and environmentally acceptable schemes. The possibility of introducing Controlled Parking Zones is being considered, including residents' parking schemes where there are currently identifiable problems with on-street parking.
11.30 The Council is concerned that heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) using narrow country lanes and travelling through villages on roads not designed for that purpose have a detrimental effect in terms of safety and amenity. However, in many cases, such vehicles need to gain access to farms and other landholdings located within the rural areas. HGVs should be channelled onto high quality, suitably engineered roads in order to assist the protection of the environment, to assist the safe and efficient transportation of goods and to reduce the maintenance requirements of local roads.
11.31 The identification of a distributor road network has been examined by Surrey County Council. It will be expected to play an important role in this respect as measures such as signing and publicity will be used to ensure that the majority of HGVs remain on the primary and distributor routes identified in the hierarchy. The siting of facilities for drivers of HGVs will be encouraged along the Primary Road Network, subject to environmental considerations, to reduce the number of diversions away from the network.
11.32 Development proposals will be resisted where the effects of HGV generation and attraction are environmentally unacceptable. Surrey County Council will be encouraged to introduce Traffic Regulation Orders to control the movement of lorries, and by making representations to the Traffic Commissioner with regard to applications for goods vehicle operating licences. In the rural areas of the District to the south east of Dorking, measures are being introduced to control lorry movements.
The Council will seek to control the movement of heavy goods vehicles within the Plan area by:
resisting development proposals which would have a detrimental impact on the environment by reason of a material increase in the generation and attraction of heavy goods vehicles within villages and along unsuitable country roads;
by supporting and encouraging Surrey County Council to introduce Traffic Regulation Orders to control the movement of heavy goods vehicles, where appropriate;
by making representations to the Traffic Commissioner regarding applications for goods vehicle operating licences which would have a detrimental impact on the environment of the area by reason of heavy goods vehicle movements.
11.33 The M25 Motorway carries the heaviest volume of traffic of any road in the country. The section passing through Mole Valley has been widened to four lanes in each direction. The Highways Agency has stated that for the foreseeable future there are no further plans to widen the M25 beyond dual 4 lanes between Junctions 3 and 10 (M20 - A3).
The following major highway improvement scheme is proposed:
A24 - Clark's Green to West Sussex boundary.
Where the land which may be required for the construction of this scheme outside existing highway boundaries has been identified, it is shown on the Proposals Map and will be safeguarded against other forms of development.
11.34 The Clark's Green to West Sussex County Boundary scheme forms part of a joint scheme with West Sussex County Council to improve the A24 from Capel to Horsham. A route has been safeguarded and is shown on the Proposals Map.
11.35 The effects of major highway construction works on traffic flows on the surrounding local road network will be assessed to ensure that any adverse environmental impact is minimised.
The following feasibility studies are to be carried out:
A243/A24 route management study, including improvements to A243 from the Kingston boundary to M25 (junction 9) and A24 Mickleham Bends.
A25 route management study.
11.36 The Leatherhead Movement Study examined ways of improving transport modes based in the area around the town centre and includes improvements to public transport, pedestrian and cycling facilities that will be integrated with the proposed highway improvements. These schemes will be implemented through the Local Transport Plan. Details of the schemes for the town centre are included in Chapter 10 (Policy LTC2) and shown on the Inset of the Proposals Map. Previous technical work on options to improve the Bypass will be incorporated in the A243/A24 route management study.
11.37 The Dorking Movement Study also proposes ways of improving all transport modes in and around the town centre through the Local Transport Plan (see para. 9.34). Accessibility to facilities is important for both studies, whilst ease of traffic movement in Dorking for other purposes is secondary to maintaining or improving environmental conditions, particularly for pedestrians and cyclists.
11.38 In line with Surrey County Council's Traffic Management Plan, priority on the A25 through the town centre will be changed to aiding pedestrians and cyclists. The Dorking Movement Study balances the need to improve the shopping environment by ameliorating the effects of traffic. Particular regard is being paid to the capacity and environmental conditions for the A25 through Dorking along Chalkpit Lane and Ashcombe Road.
11.39 The A243/A24 route management study will examine ways of improving the A243 from the County Boundary with Kingston to the M25 (Junction 9) and the need for on-line improvements at Mickleham Bends. The study will also include an examination of that part of the A24 south of the Holmwood roundabout to Beare Green. Proposals emerging from the study will supplement the Leatherhead and Dorking movement packages.
11.40 The A25 route management study is an examination of the Surrey section of the A25 in Mole Valley and Tandridge. It will concentrate on localised improvements to both junctions and the links between junctions with a view to reducing accidents and implementing highway improvements where deemed necessary. The outcome will have an impact on the Dorking movement package.
11.41 The District Council co-operates with the County Council through a partnership arrangement in the review and implementation of minor highway improvements. Wide criteria for the selection of these improvements have been adopted, which includes environmental considerations, as well as the prime objective of reducing traffic accidents. The Council will support schemes proposed by Surrey County Council where such schemes are important for the safety of local residents and horse riders and where they will create environmental improvements, encourage walking and cycling and alleviate traffic accidents.
11.42 New public transport infrastructure and services will be promoted where they can help to reduce the demands on the highway network and can aid those who have no access to private transport and to encourage the utilisation of the existing transport network to its maximum potential consistent with social and environmental considerations.
11.43 Bus services are a key element in the transport system, particularly for those without access to a car and those dependent upon public transport for mobility. The high levels of car ownership in the District do not satisfy the needs of all the population because even in a car-owning household not everyone has regular access to a car, particularly on weekdays. Those groups of people who are particularly dependent on bus transport are the elderly, children and other adults in households where another adult is already using the car.
11.44 Provision of bus services changed following "deregulation" under the 1985 Transport Act. This now means that Surrey County Council only subsidises those bus services not provided for by commercial operators as resources permit. In selecting services to be provided, the County Council takes account of need and the financial and operational factors in providing them. The Council supports Surrey County Council in co-operating with commercial operators and apprising them of the requirements for additional services.
11.45 A range of measures to improve bus services are set out in the Local Transport Plan. Contributions to the financing of infrastructure improvements and new services will be sought from developers in any suitable larger-scale developments.
11.46 The Council believes the rail network is likely to have a key part to play in providing for transport needs in the District and in particular for access to Leatherhead and Dorking. Schemes to improve rail facilities have been considered as part of the Movement Studies for the two towns and are referred to in the Local Transport Plan.
In conjunction with Surrey County Council, Railtrack and train operating companies, the Council will encourage the retention and enhancement of rail services and will support improvements to existing, and the provision of new interchange facilities and better use of station car parks as well as secure cycle parking. Any proposals resulting in the loss of station car parking will be strongly resisted unless the need for it no longer exists and is unlikely to be required in the foreseeable future, or suitable alternative provision is made for it.
11.47 Within the context of the Surrey Structure Plan 1994 Policy MT17, the Council supports and encourages cycling as an alternative means of travel to the car for short journeys and recreational purposes. The effect of this is not only to reduce peak hour traffic flows and congestion but also to reduce the environmental impact of traffic at all times, not only in the peak. The Council will support Surrey County Council in seeking to ensure that all road improvements, new traffic management schemes and other traffic control measures cater for the needs of pedal cyclists.
11.48 Cycle routes are required to link to shops, schools, stations and other public places, as well as longer-distance routes into adjacent Districts. In developing a cycle network the broad strategy of providing routes using existing cycle paths, quiet roads, purpose-built paths, cycle lanes and shared cycle and pedestrian paths will be followed.
11.49 Improved facilities for cyclists, ranging from the consideration of segregated cycle routes, cycle lanes on carriageways and cycle parking facilities in urban areas through to the provision of safe recreational cycle routes in rural areas, have been included in the Dorking and Leatherhead Movement Studies and Local Transport Plan. A cycle guide produced by Surrey County Council contains a number of recreational on-road cycle routes which are wholly or partly within Mole Valley. These have been signposted in order to enable cyclists to find the route easily and to warn motorists that there may be cyclists around.
The Council will encourage measures to improve conditions for cyclists which reduce potential conflict with motor vehicles and pedestrians by considering their needs in the design of highway and traffic management schemes, the provision of cycle parking in appropriate locations and the promotion and development of a District-wide network of cycle routes.
11.50 The Local Transport Plan contains a number of targets which are directly related to cycling:
to raise the cycling proportion of all trips in Surrey from 2% in 1999 to 4% in 2006 and 8% in 2016.
to raise the cycling proportion of school trips in Surrey from 7% in 1999 to 9% in 2006 and 20% in 2016.
improved accessibility to town centres, schools and colleges.
road casualty reduction. To help deliver these targets the Local Transport Plan has the objective of improving the quality of journey and the facilities at the cyclists' destination.
11.51 Specific measures in the Local Transport Plan focus on a cycling link between Therfield School, Leatherhead and Ashtead, providing a link between Leatherhead Station and Waterway Road / Mill Lane and improving cycle links in Dorking, including to Ashcombe School.
11.52 Through the detailed implementation of the Local Transport Plan, the A25 route management study, safe routes to schools projects and initiatives to protect and encourage vulnerable road users on rural lanes, cycling infrastructure will be enhanced in consultation with the Mole Valley Cycling Forum.
11.53 Existing cycle parking provision is not always convenient, of sufficient quantity or secure enough. Extensive use is therefore made of street furniture for securing cycles, which can cause obstruction and hazards for pedestrians. The Council considers that developers should be required to provide cycle parking and other facilities for cyclists in order to encourage greater use of cycles for work, shopping and other purposes. The Council will press for such parking facilities to be covered and secure. Developers of large sites may also be required to contribute to cycle route infrastructure improvements and the Council will actively pursue development-related cycle network improvements.
The Council will seek to improve cycling safety and convenience by requiring new developments to provide for the needs of cyclists, including secure parking facilities.
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