East Grinstead Traffic Management Study Stage 3 Report – Release Statement
21 July 2012
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There has been a long history of transport work carried out for East Grinstead, and this is the third such study conducted by consultants Atkins Limited in recent years. This latest study was commissioned by West Sussex County Council in response to a request by East Grinstead Town Council. The aim was to look in more detail at the options for resolving the congestion problems along the London Road section of the A22 through East Grinstead.
The Stage 3 study was based on new traffic surveys and took account of Mid Sussex District Council’s estimates of the numbers of new homes expected to be completed in East Grinstead by 2021, the study’s forecast year. It focussed on the five junctions identified by the Town Council as being key to the smooth running of traffic along this route through the town. These were the A22/A264 junctions at Felbridge, Imberhorne Lane, Lingfield Road, Station Road and Moat Road.
The study found that these junctions (except Moat Road) could be brought back to within theoretical capacity under the ‘Do Minimum’ option such that they could accommodate existing traffic levels plus extra traffic generated by the 765 new homes which already have planning permission or have been allocated in existing Plans. These improvements are estimated to cost at least £900,000.
The study also found that a more significant level of junction improvement (‘Do Something’) could further reduce queues and delays including bringing Moat Road back to within theoretical capacity. However this level of intervention would cost at least £2.25m and it may be undeliverable if sufficient additional land is not made available. In both the ‘Do Minimum’ and ‘Do Something’ options the report recommends that measures to encourage alternatives to car use be implemented to help maintain the benefits of the proposed improvements in the longer term.
The study also investigated how much additional development (in excess of the 765 already committed) could be accommodated if the ‘Do Something’ improvements could be delivered. It was found that a further 190 homes could be enabled, on the assumption that they would be distributed across the town in small sites. However, the results also indicate that locating development where there is more reserve network capacity would help to limit its overall impact on the five key junctions.
An important caveat regarding the study’s approach is that it aims for a higher level of operating performance from its proposed improvements than developers would be required to provide when promoting further development in the town. Developers would just need to demonstrate that the ‘residual cumulative impact’ of new development on the existing traffic situation would not be ‘severe’ and they would not be required to improve it or bring congested junctions back to within capacity (National Planning Policy Framework, paragraph 32).
The status of the Stage 3 report is that it is a technical document which is expected to form part of the evidence base supporting local development planning processes. It is important, when considering the study’s findings, to bear in mind the specific assumptions that the study was based on, for example that any housing development in East Grinstead over and above existing commitments would be dispersed across the town.
Within the constraints of its assumptions, the report provides a useful projection of potential improvements to traffic capacity along the A22 London Road corridor and their implications for development planning.
Following the draft release of the Atkins report, EGTC commissioned MTRU to consider the plan and its conclusions. The report is found here.