Travel Plan

A Travel Plan (formerly referred to as a Green Travel Plan) is a series of initiatives or measures devised in such a way so as to achieve the objectives or aims of a workplace, school, or other organisation to encourage safe, healthy and sustainable travel options. Typically the aim is to restrain travel by car which can free up car parking space, make a positive contribution to the community and environment and help to reduce the number of cars on the road and hence emissions, delay and congestion. Every Travel Plan is different and bespoke to the purpose for which it is written, but most travel plans follow a structured process in their development.

A Travel Plan will normally include:

• An audit of existing sustainable travel arrangements
• A survey of existing travel patterns where an 'end user' is known
• An outline of the role of the appointed Travel Plan Coordinator
• Measures to encourage the use of each category of sustainable transport
• An explanation of the Annual Action Plan
• Time table of key events, targets and monitoring
• Liaison arrangements with the Local Planning Authority or Local Travelwise team.

A Travel Plan is a dynamic document and it is part of the Travel Plan Coordinator's role to administer and carry out the annual travel plan survey and to devise with the Local Planning Authority, or its Travelwise team, the most appropriate measures to be included in the Annual Action Plan to achieve or retain targets for the various modes of travel.

Although Travel Plans originally related to major employment sites this situation has now extended into all forms of development. We have extensive experience in producing travel plans for all types of development including:

• Residential development
• Commercial, industrial and mixed use sites
• Health service providers, including major hospital sites
• Educational establishments
• Retail developments, including foodstores
• Leisure development

Travel Plan Framework

Where an “end user” or “users” is not known a Travel Plan Framework is produced which sets out the above but in a format which will be used to devise subsequent individual plans for each element of the development.

Travel Plan Coordinator

Once approved by the Local Planning Authority the implementation of the Travel Plan necessitates the appointment of a Travel Plan Coordinator. Where appropriate this role is often taken in house by a member of staff employed at the development but with large scale mixed use or residential schemes the role of Travel Plan Coordinator is usually assigned to a specialist provider.
Sanderson Associates has extensive experience in acting as a Travel Plan Coordinator and have recently acted (or are currently acting) as Travel Plan Coordinators in a number of large scale developments some examples being:

• Residential development at Handsworth
• Residential development at Darnley Sheffield
• Retail development at Kilner Way Sheffield
• A mixed retail and distribution (B8) development at Anlaby
• Business Park, Willerby Hill, Hull
• Residential development at Guiseley, Leeds