Travel Plans

Do you need a Travel Plan to support an application or to discharge a Planning Condition or Agreement?

Successive national planning policies and transport best practice guidance publications have identified Travel Plans as a “key tool” to exploit opportunities for the use of sustainable transport modes for the movement of goods or people.

Travel Plans use targeted measures to promote the use of public transport and active travel in favour of travel by private vehicle. The impact of a Travel Plan is measured by periodic travel surveys against desirable targets.

Best practice currently defines Travel Plans as follows (web-based ‘Planning Practice Guidance‘, DCLG, 2014):

“Travel Plans are long-term management strategies for integrating proposals for sustainable travel into the planning process. They are based on evidence of the anticipated transport impacts of development and set measures to promote and encourage sustainable travel (such as promoting walking and cycling). They should not, however, be used as an excuse for unfairly penalising drivers and cutting provision for cars in a way that is unsustainable and could have negative impacts on the surrounding streets."