Transport Assessment Executive Summary

Executive Summary

WSP Development and Transportation (WSPD/T) has been commissioned by East Hampshire District Council to provide transportation and highways advice for the proposed Whitehill / Bordon eco-town. This report sets out the Public Transport Strategy for the proposed development and forms part of a wider set of documents which includes a Transport Assessment, Travel Plan and associated Technical Notes.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) presently owns and operates on land within and to the west of the existing Whitehill / Bordon conurbation. Between 2011 and 2016 the MOD is expected to release this land following the Defence Training Review. This has resulted in an opportunity to satisfy the growing demand amongst residents of Whitehill / Bordon for a town with facilities comparable to those of their neighbouring market towns such as Farnham and Alton. A steering group has been formed to look at the issues that the release of MOD land will raise.

The development proposals involve the provision of 5,500 residential dwelling units in addition to employment, retail, community and educational land uses to serve both the new and existing populations.

The process of identifying a suitable public transport strategy for the Whitehill / Bordon eco-town has identified the need for a two-tier approach comprising: 1.

Four local bus services each with stops accessible within a 400m walk of any part of the town, each converging at a central ‘Transport Hub’ with a frequency of at least six vehicles per hour; and

2.

Rapid public transport services providing access to principal employment destinations within the wider sub-region and railway stations on South West Main Line network.

The local bus services will integrate with and complement the existing bus service provision with Whitehill / Bordon. Vehicles will make use of the latest available engine technologies of exemplary environmental standards. Real Time Passenger Information systems will be provided at all bus stops within Whitehill / Bordon which will in turn be complemented by travel planning facilities available at the central Transport Hub. The design of the system will be future-proofed so that a form of personal rapid transit such as ultra and trams could be introduced in the future to replace the conventional buses.

To demonstrate this local transit service complements the Green Vision for the town, and to reflect its cloverleaf service routing, it is suggested that it is branded ‘E-clover’ Rapid public transport services will provide fast connections to wider destinations with no stops in between Whitehill / Bordon and their target destinations. Each service will be provided by articulated buses or vehicles with similar capacity following current UK examples. As with the local bus services the vehicles will be of an exemplary environmental standard so as to underpin the status of Whitehill / Bordon as an ecotown.

During the forthcoming stages of the project the public transport strategy will need to be informed by the developing detailed masterplan and vice versa. This two-way interaction will form the basis of detailed routing, scheduling and costing strategies for each service.

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Introduction

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1.1.1 WSP Development and Transportation (WSPD/T) has been commissioned by East Hampshire District Council to prepare a Public Transport Strategy for the Whitehill / Bordon eco-town proposal. This document forms part of a wider set of documents produced by WSPD/T which also includes a Transport Assessment Report (TAR) and Travel Plan. The Public Transport Strategy should therefore be read in conjunction with these reports.

1.1.2 Government agencies, local authorities and community organisations are working together to secure a sustainable future for the town of Whitehill / Bordon. The north east Hampshire town’s development has been driven partly by the Ministry of Defence (MOD), and partly by the expansion of Bordon and Whitehill. The proposals will see the town developed into an eco-town of exemplary standards of sustainability.

1.1.3 For the past twenty years there has been growing demand from local residents for a town with facilities comparable to those of their neighbouring market towns, Farnham, Alton and Petersfield. The decision by the MOD to relocate army training offers the opportunity for the redevelopment of Whitehill / Bordon. Consultation with local residents on a green vision for this opportunity has already begun.

1.1.4 Following a successful bid by East Hampshire District Council, Whitehill / Bordon has been short-listed for eco-town status. It is one of 15 towns short-listed and if selected as one of the final towns will receive a great boost in government funding, advice and support.

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1.2.1 Whitehill / Bordon falls within the boundary of East Hampshire, some 50 miles southwest of London. The town is bisected by the A325 which connects to the A31 to the north providing access to Guildford and to the M4 and London via the A331. To the south the A325 connects to the A3 which provides access to Portsmouth and other principle south coast destinations such as Southampton via the M27. Figure 1 illustrates the town’s location in relation to its surrounding region and highway network.

1.2.2 It is proposed that the sustainable development of Whitehill / Bordon will comprise 5,500 residential dwellings in addition to a variety of ancillary uses to provide employment and infrastructure to the existing and future population. Figure 2 illustrates the conceptual masterplan for the Whitehill / Bordon eco-town.

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1.3.1 This report provides an assessment of the future demand for public transport within the Whitehill / Bordon area given modal shift targets for 2026 and 2036 as detailed within the TAR and Travel Plan. A number of options for delivering public transport services to meet this future demand are assessed and a preferred option is presented along with an assessment of revenue.

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1.3.2

The report is set out in 12 chapters, structured as follows:

Chapter 2 provides a review of the existing public transport provision within Whitehill / Bordon and identifies areas where existing provision is lacking; Chapter 3 outlines the assessment of the forecast levels of public transport demand given the future modal shift targets and existing travel patterns within the Whitehill / Bordon area; Chapter 4 assesses the existing opportunities and constraints within Whitehill / Bordon and its surrounding area in terms of public transport provision; Chapter 5 assesses a range of local public transport options for serving destinations within Whitehill / Bordon; Chapter 6 assesses a range of public transport options for serving destinations in the wider area including links to existing rail services to and from London; Chapter 7 assesses the viability of reopening the former railway between Bordon and Bentley and the Longmoor Military Railway; Chapter 8 provides a comparison of available public transport technologies and identifies preferred options for providing local and rapid public transport services for Whitehill / Bordon; Chapter 9 presents the proposed local public transport strategy within Whitehill / Bordon taking into consideration the assessment of options undertaken in Chapter 5; Chapter 10 presents the proposed rapid public transport strategy which will provide connections from Whitehill / Bordon to the wider area and mainline rail services taking into consideration the assessment of options undertaken in Chapter 6; Chapter 11 provides an outline revenue and cost assessment for introducing both the local and rapid public transport strategies; and Chapter 12 sets out a summary and conclusion of the report.

1.3.3 Due to the need to provide connections both within Whitehill / Bordon and the wider area a two-tier approach is being promoted comprising locally based provision and connections to wider destinations via rapid public transport services.

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