Eastern Corridor HQPT Major Scheme

The vision for Plymouth is that by 2020 the city will be one of Europe’s finest, most vibrant waterfront cities, where an outstanding quality of life is enjoyed by everyone. Central to achieving this vision is the provision of a transport network that balances the needs of all users, creating a cleaner, greener, safer and more sustainable environment.

These aspirations are being developed within the Local Development Framework (LDF). The LDF is a set of documents that guide planning and development in Plymouth until 2021 and beyond. One of the largest areas of expansion is to the east of the city, along what is termed the 'Eastern Corridor'.

Developments along the Eastern Corridor

The Eastern Corridor is broadly used to describe the following area:

From the city centre -along the A374 through Cattedown - along the A379 through Plymstock and Sherford and ending at Langage Business Park, north of the A38.

By 2026 this corridor will accommodate in excess of 7,000 new homes and a number of new employment sites and facilities including a park and ride site and service at Deep Lane junction on the A38.

The main sites for development include:

Plymstock Quarry - mixed use development of approximately 1,650 new homes, 21,000 square metres of B1 office space, a primary school and a mixed use shopping centre.

Sherford - mixed use development of approximately 5,500 new homes, up to 67,000 square metres of business and commercial space, up to 16,740 square metres of mixed retail accommodation; community, sports and open space facilities, including a community park, three primary schools and one secondary school, one health centre, and a park and ride interchange at Deep Lane junction.

Langage Business Park - strategic employment site, currently under construction is a power station and energy park, an application is due in 2008 for a further 20,000 square metres expansion to the employment land.

The City Council is 'minded to approve, subject to receipt of additional information, imposition of conditions and Section 106', the Sherford planning application and this is detailed in its committee reports' minutes on the Planning Committee pages. The application for Plymstock Quarry is currently being assessed and evaluated. The highway authorities continue to be engaged in master planning and pre-application work with the developers for the Langage Business Park extension.

Outline of the Eastern Corridor HQPT Major Scheme

The Eastern Corridor High Quality Public Transport (HQPT) Major Scheme will be a package of public transport infrastructure supported by small scale highway improvements. An ambitious scheme is needed to secure the transport, economic and environmental opportunities that exist on the Eastern Corridor.

The implementation of a HQPT service, linking the proposed park and ride facility at Deep Lane junction to Plymouth city centre is fundamental to the sustainable development of sites along the Eastern Corridor. The public transport vision is for a limited stop Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) type system that will seek to provide for all the developments along the Eastern Corridor with the service starting from Deep Lane junction and running to the city centre.

Other destinations to be served will also be investigated in the future. The public transport routes will include a range of segregated bus priority measures.

The delivery of the HQPT and its supporting transport infrastructure will require not only financial contributions from developers seeking to locate along the Eastern Corridor, but will also require a complementary bid to the Department for Transport (DfT) for funding from the Regional Funding Allocation (RFA) programme.

What is a major transport scheme?

Major transport schemes are projects that cost more than £5 million to deliver with bids submitted to the DfT in the form of a comprehensive business case, including full engineering, economic and environmental appraisals and following full public consultation on options.

For more information on what makes up a major scheme bid business case please visit the WebTAG website.

Scheme description

This scheme centres on a public transport solution to ensure the sustainable delivery of the proposed growth to the east of the city. At this stage there are a number of different highway and infrastructure options that need to be tested and refined further, however, the scheme needs to be in line with Plymouth City Council's vision as set out in the Local Transport Plan, LDF Core Strategy and the North Plymstock AAP.

The scheme will potentially include:

• a park and ride service to abstract and encourage trips from the A38
• a high frequency service throughout most of the day with at least 12 journeys per hour
• quality vehicles marketed as a dedicated and easily recognisable brand to ensure a high profile
• fully accessible vehicles with low floor technology
• high quality passenger infrastructure to make the service attractive to everyone including car users
• features to reduce boarding time for passengers such as smart card ticketing
• dedicated bus priority lanes and priority at junctions to reduce bus journey times relative to the car
• as many elements as possible of a BRT system, this uses the best design elements of light rail vehicles with the low cost flexibility associated with traditional bus services

Passenger infrastructure

Stops - minimal stopping points are proposed within the new community and along the HQPT route.

These are:

• Deep Lane junction park and ride
• Sherford (north, central and south)
• Plymstock Quarry
• East End
• City centre

Interchanges - these need to be convenient and accessible for users, interchanges will offer a pleasant, safe and secure waiting area with travel information and journey planning services provided including Real Time Passenger Information, as well as secure cycle parking and improved pedestrian facilities and environments.

Why do we need these improvements?

To enable development to be delivered along the corridor and to provide viable transport choices to people living and working in Plymouth.

The HQPT system will bring major benefits to existing communities with improved public transport to places like Plymstock, Plympton and the East End of the city (areas of Coxside, Cattedown, Prince Rock and St Judes). It will help to improve accessibility and social inclusion, reduce the growth of traffic congestion and support the sustainable growth of the city.

Who is developing the major scheme bid?

The major scheme bid for the Eastern Corridor is being developed and led by Plymouth City Council in partnership with Devon County Council and the Highways Agency. The City Council will also be the lead authority on the promotion of the final scheme.

The South West Regional Assembly has concluded that there is a strong case for inclusion of the Eastern Corridor HQPT scheme within the Regional Funding Allocation programme to 2016.

Who will pay for the scheme?

The scheme will be funded from a mix of sources including developers, Plymouth City Council and the DfT, through its Regional Funding Allocation programme. The Regional Funding Allocation had originally allocated £16 million for the Eastern Corridor HQPT scheme, primarily for improvements to Deep Lane junction on the A38.

After further consideration the allocation has been increased to £53 million, and will enable improvements to be made along the length of the A379 from Deep Lane junction to the city centre.

In order to access the funding required to deliver the Eastern Corridor HQPT major scheme it is necessary for significant preparation and development to be undertaken. The cost of such development work can vary from £200,000 to over £500,000 and is dependent on scheme type and likely environmental impacts. Some development costs of major schemes can be reclaimed from the DfT, but only after acceptance for funding has been obtained.

The City Council has submitted a bid to the DfT and the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) for Community Infrastructure Funding (CIF) to accelerate ahead of programme the East End parts of the Eastern Corridor HQPT Major Scheme. For more information about the CIF bid please visit the project news page.

What work have we done?

Opportunity for increased development along the Eastern Corridor was first detailed in the Plymouth Local Plan and the Devon Structure Plan. A number of transport studies have subsequently been undertaken on the eastern approaches to the city.

These studies form part of the evidence base for the Eastern Corridor HQPT major scheme and have helped to detail the various options to be investigated. These studies include:

• Eastern Gateway Framework Study 2004
• Eastern Corridor Study 2005
• East of Plymouth Infrastructure Study 2007

Some preliminary design and feasibility work has already been carried out along with the stage 1 environmental studies for noise, air quality, water, ecology, archaeology and landscape. These will help us understand the likely impact of some of the options we are investigating.

We have also undertaken regular community consultation in the East End and Plymstock that has helped in identifying options and how best to progress them.

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