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Work based travel plans

What are they?

A travel plan is a long-term management strategy enabling an organisation or developer to increase levels of sustainable travel for all journeys to and from a site. It should consist of a package of actions or measures aimed at promoting sustainable travel and reducing reliance on single occupancy car journeys.

This helps reduce car-dependent travel and congestion around our city, reduce pollution and helps promote a healthier lifestyle. Travel plans are generally required for all new large or expanding developments, and for some smaller ones where there is predicted to be a significant transport impact.

Travel plans are currently referred to in Part 8 of our Development Guidelines Supplementary Planning Document.

Development Guidelines Supplementary Planning Document [9.9MB*]

National guidance can be found in the document below and on the Department for Transport (DfT) website.

Good Practice Guidelines: Delivering Travel Plans through the Planning Process (DfT 2009) [1.34MB]

What is involved?

If a travel plan is requested, the developer or organisation is obliged to make contact with us at the earliest possible opportunity so we can advise on the appropriate content for the travel plan.
Clear responsibility for the travel plan rests with the developer or organisation, unless specifically agreed otherwise.

What should the travel plan contain?

A site audit report giving a description of the site, its function and information on how the site is accessed by all modes of travel.
An action plan to address and promote sustainable travel relating to the site covering, as appropriate, staff, customers and visitors.
Targets for various modes of travel agreed by the Council.
A method of monitoring travel patterns to and from the development site by all modes of travel. This will generally be done with a survey. The developer or organisation will generally be required, with support from the travel plan officer, to use the Council's web-based travel plan assessment and monitoring system, called 'iTRACE'. Alternatively, they may design their own survey if additional questions are needed, providing that it is still iTRACE compliant. The sustainable transport team can advise on this.
Travel plans in general should be linked to a transport assessment or transport statement. A planning officer will advise on what is required here as it will be related to the size and location of the site.
Travel plans generally require a linked car parking strategy to show how car parking spaces will be managed. This may be for such reasons as land efficiency, accessibility, restriction of overflow parking; as well as for sustainability and the simple economics of the site operation.
A car park management strategy or plan should be included with the travel plan and is often also subject to separate planning conditions. This should include intentions for future charging for staff parking, specifications for the operation of the car park, allocation of spaces, operating hours, and other details that affect the use of the car park.

Examples of work based travel plans

HellermannTyton

Work based travel plan for HellermannTyton [4.9MB*]

This is an excellent example of an iTRACE compliant travel plan, especially for organisations that are relocating and need to look at ways of managing travel and supporting their staff throughout the relocation process.

Langage Links

Langage Links is an example of a work based travel plan. This covers the whole of the business park and is known as an 'area-wide' work based travel plan.

Langage Links is a plan to enable employers, the Local Authorities and the Highways Agency to come together to improve travel options and information to staff and visitors to Langage Business Park.