| search | civil engineering |

home |  module material |  study tools |  useful info

This topic will only be explored briefly, as the subject of planning encompasses much more than transport studies. The current legislation in the UK, or more precisely England and Wales is that the role of the town and country planning system is to 'regulate the development and use of land in the public interest.' Simply, this means that new and/or major development has to be scrutinised for its impact on the local environment, and ensure compliance in the government's overall sustainable planning strategy.

 Transport planning for large cities like London can be a complicated job

Introduction to UK Planning Framework

As many will know, planning permission must be granted for any development of land, be it an extension to a private dwelling or a major road scheme, or even an airport, for example. The planning policy can be set at various levels, for example through a government white paper directive, regional planning guidance (RPG) or planning policy guidance notes (PPG, of which #13 is the most relevant to transport). However, it is at the more local level that planning decisions are usually made. Each county or unitary authority in England and Wales has a Structure Plan and a Local Plan, of which a Local Transport Plan (LTP) [gloss.] is part. The Structure plan indicates a broad overview of all the planned development and issues in the wider area, and will closely resemble central government policy. The Local Plan will provide more specific information on how local authorities intend to allocate commodities such as housing and local services throughout their own area. In the context of this module we are interested in the Local Transport Plan as this details all matters related to transport and travel within a county. LTPs perform the following functions:

• Form a planning document setting out a programme for achieving sustainable and integrated transport
• Seek integration with land use planning and polices for education, health and the environment
• Form a bid for transport capital funding from central government

Greater Nottingham Local Transport Plan

Greater Nottingham's Local Transport Plan has four key elements:

• Policy and strategy formulation, particularly in respect of integrating transport and land use planning
• Transport demand management
• Management, maintenance and improvement of infrastructure with supporting revenue programmes
• Travel education and awareness to promote safe and sustainable travel behaviour

An appreciation of the Greater Nottingham Local Transport Plan may be aided by viewing:

• Nottingham Transport Strategy
  - Powerpoint presentation by Nottingham City Council, prepared in 2004.
• Nottingham: Turning Transport Around
  - Promotional Powerpoint presentation by Nottingham City Council, published in 2002.
• Chain Reaction: Freeing up the Ring Road
  - Promotional presentation (about 8 mins) by Nottingham City Council, in 'Big Wheel' style, about Ring Road developments, published in Autumn 2003.

In this topic...

	topic overview
	introduction
	history of uk transport policy
	traffic forecasts
	planning
	useful links
	exam-style questions

module material   study tools   useful info   home

Transport Issues

last modified: 11-Oct-2004
website design: Sanjiv Patel, IS Learning Team
[http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/about/administrative/is/services/elearning.php]