National Planning Policy Framework, Chapter 15: Promoting sustainable transport (TR1–8)
This is Chapter 15 of the National Planning Policy Framework.
Applies to England
The objective of the policies in this chapter of the National Planning Policy Framework is to ensure that transport considerations are taken fully into account in the preparation of development plans and the evolution and assessment of development proposals; using a vision-led approach to embed the role that transport infrastructure and choices can play in creating well-designed, sustainable, inclusive and popular places.
Plan-making policies
TR1: Vision-led approach to planning for transport
1. Sustainable transport should be considered from the earliest stages of plan-making, so that it is reflected in the vision for the plan area and its specific proposals, and forms an integral part of a plan’s strategy for creating well-designed, sustainable, inclusive and popular places. This should be done by:
a. Making sustainable transport considerations part of early engagement with local communities, highway and transport authorities, transport infrastructure providers, operators, land promoters and neighbouring councils. This is so that proposals reflect local views, evidence relating to accessibility, capacity and transport service provision, and take opportunities for prioritising and maximising sustainable movement across the area. Plans should align land use policies and allocations with wider strategies (such as Local Transport Plans, Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plans and Rights of Way Improvement Plans) and investments in transport to ensure that the potential impacts of development on transport networks are understood and addressed;
b. Locating proposed development where it can support sustainable patterns of movement and make effective use of existing or proposed transport infrastructure, reflecting the principles in policy TR3. The Connectivity Tool should be used to inform the assessment and selection of sites for development alongside other relevant quantitative or qualitative evidence;
c. Supporting an appropriate mix of uses across the plan area, and within strategic sites, to minimise the number and length of journeys needed for employment, shopping, leisure, education and other activities;
d. Identifying and protecting sites and routes which will widen transport choice and are essential to facilitate sustainable development, including networks for walking, wheeling and cycling, and public transport infrastructure; and
e. Providing for any transport facilities that need to be located in the area, or for their necessary expansion or adaptation, and the infrastructure and wider development required to support them. This includes uses such as ports, airports, lorry parking facilities, freight interchanges, public transport hubs, roadside services, electric vehicle charging and bus and rail depots. In doing so plan-makers should consider whether such development is likely to be a nationally significant infrastructure project and any relevant national policy statements, and the importance of maintaining a national network of aviation airfields.
2. Spatial development strategies and local plans may set thresholds for what constitutes a significant amount of movement arising from new development, based on the circumstances of their areas, for the purposes of applying policies TR3 and TR6.
TR2: Local parking standards
1. Development plans should set local parking standards for residential and non-residential development, across the plan area or for specific sites or sub-areas, in a way which aligns with the transport vision for the plan and opportunities to promote sustainable transport.
2. Maximum standards for car parking should be set where they will support efforts to encourage the use of sustainable transport modes and shared transport, optimise the density of development in well-connected locations, or where they are necessary for managing the local road network.
3. Parking standards should take into account:
a. The connectivity of development in different locations by different modes of transport, especially in terms of access to employment and day-to-day services;
b. Opportunities for improvements in walking, wheeling, cycling and public transport;
c. Local car ownership levels and travel trends, and opportunities to promote car sharing and other schemes which may reduce vehicle parking requirements;
d. Providing sufficient spaces for electric vehicle charging, blue badge holders, pedal and electric cycles and e-scooters, considering likely future demand and the need for associated infrastructure; and
e. The appropriateness of setting different standards for the type and mix of development, including to address specific business requirements where commercial standards are being set; and of using ranges where a degree of flexibility is desirable.
National decision-making policies
TR3: Locating development in sustainable locations
1. So that development is located where it can support sustainable patterns of movement, enable good accessibility for different users and make the most of existing and proposed transport infrastructure, development proposals should reflect the following principles, taking into account the vision for the site, the type of development and its location:
a. Development proposals which could generate a significant amount of movement, in the context of the area within which they would be situated, should be in locations that are sustainable (or which can be made so, taking into account planned improvements, including any provided for as part of the development itself). This means the location should limit the need to travel, particularly by private car, and offer a genuine choice of transport modes for residents and users, unless the nature of the development would make this impractical;
b. Opportunities should be taken to utilise existing or proposed transport infrastructure in optimising the amount or density of development which can be accommodated in different locations, especially where this can support more walking, wheeling, cycling and public transport use;
c. Any significant adverse impacts from the development on the transport network (in terms of capacity and congestion), or on highway safety, should be mitigated to an acceptable degree using a vision-led approach;
d. The environmental impacts of traffic and transport infrastructure should be identified, assessed and taken into account – including taking opportunities to avoid or mitigate any adverse environmental effects, and to secure net environmental gains such as reductions in air pollution; and
e. In rural areas, opportunities to improve walking, wheeling, cycling and public transport and enhance the connectivity of an area should be taken where they exist and can be supported by the development proposed.
2. The Connectivity Tool should be used alongside other relevant quantitative or qualitative evidence in assessing the connectivity of particular locations proposed for development.
TR4: Street design, access and parking
1. To contribute to creating well-designed places, transport considerations should be integral to the design of development, proposals for which should:
a. Give priority first to walking, wheeling and cycle movements, both within the scheme and with neighbouring areas; and second – so far as possible – to facilitating easy access to high quality public transport, with layouts and densities which maximise the catchments for bus or other public transport services;
b. Incorporate or contribute towards appropriate features to support this prioritisation, such as permeable street networks, continuous footways and segregated cycle facilities which are adequately lit, sufficient secure and accessible cycle parking, regularly spaced public seating and good quality waiting facilities for public transport;
c. Ensure that the arrangement of streets and other routes help to create places that are safe, inclusive and attractive for all users (particularly for women and girls, for other groups who may be vulnerable to crime or the fear of crime, and for those with limited mobility). This includes reflecting relevant aspects of policy DP3(2), as well as employing measures to:
i. Minimise the scope for conflict between pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles;
ii. Meet the needs of disabled people, older people and children in relation to all modes of transport, and
iii. Avoid unnecessary street clutter.
d. Allow for the efficient delivery of goods, and ease of access by service and emergency vehicles, in ways which do not compromise key place-making principles (set out in policy DP3(2)); and
e. Provide a suitable number of parking spaces for a range of transport modes where appropriate, reflecting the location and nature of the development (including its connectivity), any locally-set standards in the development plan, and including adequate provision of spaces and infrastructure that allow for the charging of electric vehicles in safe, accessible and convenient locations. A flexible approach to applying parking standards should be taken where the reconfiguration of retail or other sites which attract large numbers of customers would make better use of previously developed land, and there is evidence that a certain number of spaces needs to be retained to meet specific operational and commercial requirements.
2. The principles set out in national design guidance[footnote 46] should be used to inform how this policy is applied.
TR5: Roadside facilities
1. Development proposals for roadside facilities located outside settlements should:
a. Meet an evidenced need to improve the safety and welfare of road users, or to improve access to electric vehicle charging infrastructure or other alternative fuels, if new or significantly expanded facilities are being proposed. This includes the provision of overnight lorry parking facilities to address any local or wider shortages and reduce the risk of parking in locations which lack appropriate facilities or could cause a nuisance; or
b. Improve driver welfare and security, support changes in transport technology, or improve environmental impacts (such as through the facility’s design, landscaping or measures to support climate change mitigation), where the proposal is to upgrade existing facilities without significant expansion.
2. Development proposals should not result in the loss of existing roadside facilities unless alternative provision with good access to the strategic transport network is being provided in the local area, or it can be shown that the facility is no longer needed or viable.
TR6: Assessing transport impacts
1. Development proposals that are likely to generate significant amounts of movement should be supported by:
a. A transport statement or transport assessment (depending on the extent and significance of the transport issues involved), which is proportionate to the nature and scale of the development, so that the likely impacts of the proposal for transport can be assessed and monitored; and
b. A travel plan, which indicates how sustainable transport objectives will be delivered, monitored and managed over time.
2. Transport assessments and statements, and travel plans, should reflect the transport vision for the development and the transport strategy for the area in which it is located, and how these are intended to be achieved (including, in the case of travel plans, identifying fallback options if initial measures do not deliver the expected outcomes).
3. In assessing movement patterns and potential impacts, including whether they are considered to be severe, reasonable future scenarios should be considered, taking into account impacts at relevant times of the day, potential cumulative impacts, multimodal trip generation and the promotion of sustainable modes of travel, and realising the transport vision for the development itself. Development proposals should be considered having regard to these potential impacts and the other policies in this Framework which are relevant (including TR3, TR4 and DP3(2)(d)).
4. Development proposals should be refused if they would have a severe adverse impact on the transport network (in terms of capacity and congestion, including cumulative impacts), or an unacceptable impact on highway safety; taking into account any mitigation measures proposed as well as any wider network improvements, including measures to support sustainable patterns of movement. This applies both during the construction phase and following completion.
TR7: Marine ports, airports and other aviation facilities
1. Development proposals involving the provision, expansion or alteration of port, airport, advanced air mobility and aviation facilities[footnote 47] (and development ancillary to them) should:
a. Facilitate the modernisation, diversification and improvement of facilities, including through innovation in the handling of goods and passengers, and the transition to zero emission vehicles and the use of low and zero carbon fuels; or
b. Be for a freight and logistics use which accords with policy E3; or
c. Help to maintain a national network of aviation airfields, and support an airfield’s economic or public service role (for example in serving business, leisure, training and emergency service needs).
2. All development proposals to which this policy applies should have an acceptable environmental effect in terms of noise, air quality, greenhouse gas emissions, the transport network, landscape, visual and marine impacts, taking into account any applicable standards and relevant national decision-making policies in this Framework.
TR8: Public rights of way
1. Development proposals should:
a. Protect and enhance the network of public rights of way, including through suitable diversions agreed with the highway authority; and
b. Take opportunities to extend, link or improve the quality of existing routes where this enables one or more of the following:
i. Improved access to green spaces and the countryside;
ii. New direct and circular routes and connections between local and long-distance footpaths, bridleways and cycle routes;
iii. The provision of accessible, safe and convenient links to services and facilities; and
iv. Improved connections with public transport stops and interchanges.
This is Chapter 15 of the National Planning Policy Framework
Continue to Chapter 16: Promoting healthy communities (HC1–8).
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Footnotes
46. Manual for streets published in: Designing and modifying residential streets: Manual for streets and the Design and Placemaking planning practice guidance. ↩
47. Including new technologies, for example droneports, vertiports and other autonomous vehicle facilities. ↩