Agenda item - Draft Revised Parking Guidance Supplementary Planning Document

Draft Revised Parking Guidance Supplementary Planning Document

Minutes:

The Committee received and considered the draft revised Parking Guidance SPD.

 

The draft revised parking guidance had been prepared to reflect the up-to-date guidance set out in the NPPF and to support the policies contained in the Runnymede 2030 Local Plan. The guidance had been prepared taking account of national planning guidance and the updated parking guidance published by Surrey County Council in November 2021. The additional consultancy work undertaken by Project Centre Limited also provided the Planning Committee with further detailed advice and alternative recommendations around parking standards for new office developments and PBSA schemes and the Committee agreed their preferred options in relation thereto as set out in the resolution below. The guidance sought to provide a degree of certainty for developers and communities in respect of the levels of vehicular and cycle parking that would be required in association with new development but also provided flexibility to assess individual schemes where that might be more appropriate given the nature of development proposed. The draft revised guidance also sought to take account of the locational characteristics and the ability to travel by walking, cycling and use of public transport where those modes of travel were convenient options, the need to plan for greater use of electric vehicles in the future and the potential need to control on-street car parking in certain locations through the use of controlled parking zones (CPZs). In presenting the report the Local Plans Manager confirmed that there was no known negative equality implications.

 

The Committee was supportive of the draft SPD and confirmed their preferred options in relation to parking standards for new office developments and PBSA schemes. The words ‘Car-free (Blue Badge parking only)encouraged’ would be deleted from the proposed parking standard  for sites within RHUL and Egham Station Sustainable Access Zones as it was felt this undermined the standard. The draft SPD would be subject to a 6-week period of public consultation to seek the views of local communities and other interested parties on the draft guidance. During that consultation Officers would ascertain if SCC was supportive of Priority Parking Areas. Furthermore as part of the public consultation on the SPD, Project Centre Limited and officers in the Planning Policy team would be arranging an evening presentation for any members of the public who would find it helpful to find out more about the parking standards contained in the SPD, particularly those related to PBSA and new office developments. This would include a question and answer session and Members would be informed of the dates when the consultation would run and the date of the presentation.

 

Once public consultation feedback had been considered, the SPD would be reported back to the Planning Committee for final consideration and potential adoption.

 

The Local Plans Manager was thanked for her work on the draft SPD.

 

        

            Resolved that:

 

1.     The draft revised Runnymede Borough Parking Guidance Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) including the standards shown in 2 and 3 below be approved for public consultation for a period of six weeks.

 

2.     The vehicular parking standard for inclusion in the draft Runnymede Parking Guidance SPD for new office development be:

 

1 car parking space per 200sqm in town centre locations (within 400m of a bus stop providing a minimum of 4 buses per hour and located within 800m of a train station) and 1 space per 30sqm in all other areas (Project Centre Limited recommended standard).

 

3.     The vehicular parking standard for inclusion in the draft Runnymede Parking Guidance SPD for new purpose built student accommodation be

 

Sustainable access zone

Proposed parking standard (maximum)

Sites ONLY within RHUL Sustainable Access Zone

Staff: 1 space per 2 staff

Student: 1 space per 7 beds

Sites ONLY within Egham Station Sustainable Access Zone

Staff: 1 space per 2 staff

Student: 1 space per 7 beds

Sites within RHUL AND Egham Station Sustainable Access Zones

Staff: 1 space per 2 staff

Student: 1 space per 10 beds.

 

Sites OUTSIDE Sustainable Access Zones

Individual assessment, requiring robust justification of parking levels and sustainable access.

 

Supporting documents: