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Devon County Council - Committee Report
Code No: PTE/15/47
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PTE/15/47
Cabinet
9 September 2015
A382 Corridor Improvements
Report of the Head of Planning, Transportation and Environment
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Recommendation: That the preliminary scheme layout shown on drawings DWG B11029/63/BW1/BW2/BW3 (attached to the report Appendix 3) be approved to proceed with a planning application and to commence land acquisition.
1. Summary
This report seeks approval to proceed with a planning application and land acquisition for a scheme to improve access to Newton Abbot and the A38 by improving the A382 corridor which connects them.
2. Background
The scheme is based upon achieving the following objectives:
Deliver development to the west of Newton Abbot;
Improve journey times to the west of Newton Abbot;
Improve safety on the A382; and
Encourage the use of sustainable modes of transport.
Current Issues
The A382 is a key route connecting Newton Abbot at Churchill's Roundabout with the A38 on the Strategic Road Network at Drumbridges roundabout. The existing road is of a low standard with poor alignment, high traffic flows and no facilities for pedestrians or cyclists.
The accident rate on the A382 is almost 60% higher than the national average for this type of road. In addition, the A382 was the 8th worst performing A road in Devon in terms of collisions over the 5 year period 2008-2012.
The section of the A382 into Newton Abbot town centre from Churchill's Roundabout is busy and slow moving at peak times. There is also a need for cycle route improvements in this area to tie into existing routes and improve access to secondary schools.
Future Development
Teignbridge District Council's adopted Local Plan sets out proposed residential and employment developments in the area between 2013 and 2033. In the Heart of Teignbridge (Newton Abbot, Kingsteignton and Kingskerswell), 6,000 homes and 11,000 jobs are included.
In particular this features a large amount of development (2,300 homes) to the west of Newton Abbot as shown in Appendix 1. This development will have a direct access onto the A382 and A383 with a street connecting the two through the development. Also included is 18 hectares of land for employment, part of which has been allocated at Forches Cross which will be accessed from the A382. These developments will result in significant traffic growth along this corridor, from vehicles travelling to and from Newton Abbot as well as vehicles travelling further using the A38 to Exeter and Plymouth. In addition, vehicles from the other development sites in and around Newton Abbot accessing the A38 may use these routes.
3. Proposal
Scheme Description
The scheme is currently progressing through detailed design and a Business Case submission where the following are proposed (shown on a map in Appendix 2):
Realignment and widening of the A382 to 10 metres between Trago Roundabout and Whitehill's Cross
Widening of the A382 between Drumbridges and Trago Roundabout to 2 lane dual carriageway
Jetty Marsh II connection
Shared pedestrian and cycle path along the A382
Pedestrian and cycle bridges at Forches Cross and Trago Roundabout
There is also the potential to extend the scheme from Forches Cross into the Houghton Barton development, opening up this development, with two route options for connecting the northern residential area with the A382.
Increased width will provide additional capacity and improve journey times, resilience and reliability on the A382. The Jetty Marsh II connection will reduce congestion at Churchill's roundabout and increase capacity for traffic accessing Newton Abbot town centre.
A new shared pedestrian and cycle path adjacent to the A382 to connect Drumbridges with Newton Abbot and other pedestrian and cycle infrastructure will provide a high quality facility for sustainable modes of transport from new developments to access employment at Heathfield, Forches Cross (planned) and Newton Abbot, and access to Stover School.
These proposals will tie in with improvements at Drumbridges, now on site, which feature increased capacity, signalisation and a new pedestrian/cycle bridge over the A38. Improvements to the A382 corridor would help maximise the benefits of this scheme.
Land Assembly
Private land belonging to a number of land owners will be required for this scheme. All land owners have been contacted and visited by the design team, and are aware of proposals for widening and realignment of the A382. Key land owners are Stover School, Stover Country Park, Stover Golf Club, Sibelco, private dwellings and local Farmers.
Stover Golf Club will be particularly affected due to the location of existing holes adjacent to the A382. DCC commissioned a Golf Course Architect to identify options for relocating holes and rearranging the course design, utilising land outside of the Golf Club's ownership to release the land currently used as a golf course for the road widening. A preferred option has been identified, and due to timescales required for providing new holes, negotiations are already underway regarding the land required for the relocated holes. A Planning Application for the relocated holes is expected to be submitted in parallel to the A382 Corridor Improvements scheme application.
Environment
Extended Phase 1 Habitat Survey Reports and Individual species surveys are complete. The Protected Species Report has been issued and contains an impact assessment of the scheme and recommendations for mitigation. Discretionary Advice Service (DAS) has been obtained from Natural England on all species survey methodology.
A desktop study has been completed for the Built Environment (Archaeology and Listed Buildings). Associated Geophysical surveys of important areas have been completed, as have archaeology trenching works within most of the significant areas. Current results have shown a low importance of finds within the impact area of the scheme.
An initial Flood Risk Assessment Report is complete where assessments on all existing culverts/bridges within the scheme are presented. Investigations are ongoing for Sustainable Drainage System (SUDS) design.
Landscape, Visual Impact and Noise and Air Quality studies are ongoing.
These elements will feed into a report which will be included in the Environmental Statement for the scheme, to be included in the planning application. It is also expected that the current study areas will be extended following pre-application planning advice.
4. Consultations, Representations and Technical Data
The Teignbridge Local Plan contains reference to support for "widening the A382 Bovey Tracey road between Newton Abbot and Drumbridges roundabout at the A38 and separate cycle lanes" in order to improve connectivity and accessibility within the Heart of Teignbridge. It also states that "the widening of the A382 between Newton Abbot and Drumbridges is considered necessary to improve the capacity of the existing lanes to ensure that the road can accommodate the future growth and to provide opportunities for new cycle links."
The Teignbridge Local Plan was submitted on 20 June 2013 with a public examination in September 2013. The Local Plan was adopted in May 2014. Teignbridge District Council carried out consultation on the Scoping Report for the Sustainability Appraisal in July 2009, on the "Issues and Options" in June 2010, a Preferred Options version in January 2012 and the Proposed Submission representation period started November 2012.
The A382 corridor improvement scheme is also included in the Heart of the South West Local Transport Board funding programme. A consultation was held in June 2013 on schemes to be put forward for inclusion in the programme which featured the A382.
A consultation on the preliminary scheme design was held in March 2015. A report has been produced detailing how the consultation was conducted and summarising the results. The report is available at http://www.devon.gov.uk/a382-consultation-summary-report.pdf. The majority of consultees were satisfied with the proposals. Generally those who disagreed with the proposals agreed that the road needs improvement of some form, but did not agree that this proposal was suitable. The main concerns were regarding traffic flows in nearby villages either at present or during construction of the scheme. Other major issues regarded the pedestrian/cycle path and its location on the southern side of the road. Access to Stover School was also raised as a significant concern.
As a result further consideration was given to which side of the road the pedestrian and cycle path was located. This has led to a design change where the path is now on the northern side between Drumbridges and Forches Cross. It then continues into Newton Abbot on the southern side with a bridge at Forches Cross.
5. Financial Considerations
The scheme currently has 6.5m allocated from the Local Transport Board (LTB) subject to approval of the full Business Case. Up to 1.4m is available in a signed Section 106 Agreement (S106) towards the A382 corridor from the Hele Park development. It is expected that 5.1m will be available from the Teignbridge District Council Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) towards infrastructure improvements in the area.
There is a need to be flexible in decision making to take advantage of future funding opportunities. However, it is currently proposed to deliver the scheme in three phases (see Appendix 2), using the funding currently secured for the scheme to deliver Phase 1. Phase 1 includes a new roundabout at Forches Cross with a connection into the Houghton Barton development, widening from Forches Cross eastwards, a new roundabout at Whitehill's cross, the Jetty Marsh II connection and associated footway/cycleway including further cycle route improvements in the vicinity of Churchill's roundabout, Jetty Marsh road and Exeter Road. Phase 2 includes widening from Trago roundabout to Forches Cross, associated footway/cycleway (extending to Drumbridges) and a bridge across the A382 at Forches Cross. Phase 3 completes the scheme with widening from Drumbridges south, improvements to the Trago roundabout and a pedestrian/cycle bridge.
Phase 1 is currently estimated to cost 13m which is expected to be delivered with the funding currently secured. Phase 2 is estimated to cost 11.5m which is to be included in a further bid for LTB funding as part of a package of improvements associated with the Houghton Barton development. Phase 3 is estimated to cost 4m which is expected to be funded by future development.
| Phase | Source | (m) |
| 1 | LTB (Growth Deal 1) | 6.5 |
| S106 (Hele Park) | 1.4 | |
| CIL | 5.1 | |
| 2 | Proposed CIL, LTB | 11.5 |
| 3 | Proposed developer / CIL | 4.0 |
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| Total | 28.5 |
6. Sustainability and Equality Considerations
Where relevant to the decision, the Equality Act 2010 Public Sector Equality Duty requires decision makers to give due regard to the need to:
eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other prohibited conduct;
advance equality by encouraging participation, removing disadvantage, taking account of disabilities and meeting people's needs; and
foster good relations between people by tackling prejudice and promoting understanding.
Taking account of age, disability, race/ethnicity (includes Gypsies and Travellers), gender and gender identity, religion and belief, sexual orientation, pregnant women/ new and breastfeeding mothers, marriage/civil partnership status in coming to a decision, a decision maker may also consider other relevant factors such as caring responsibilities, rural isolation or socio-economic disadvantage.
This may be achieved, for example, through completing a full Equality Impact Needs Assessment/Impact Assessment or other form of options/project management appraisal that achieves the same objective'
An Impact Assessment has been prepared, a copy of which has been circulated to Cabinet Members, and is available alongside this report on the Council's website at:
http://www.devon.gov.uk/index/councildemocracy/decision_making/cma/index_exc.htm
The scheme will have a positive impact on pedestrians and cyclists with the provision of a new shared pedestrian/cycle path and additional improvements in the Churchill's/Jetty Marsh roundabout area. This will connect to new facilities at Drumbridges and other routes into Newton Abbot. This will enable sustainable travel to/from new employment and residential developments on the A382 corridor. Access and safety will also be improved for children/parents accessing Stover School and other secondary schools in Newton Abbot.
In economic terms the scheme will facilitate travel and development which will have a beneficial impact upon the local economy by enabling employment and housing development in the area to proceed with mitigated impact.
7. Carbon Impact Considerations
There may be a slight adverse impact on air quality resulting from increased traffic flows however the scheme reduces stationary queuing traffic which will mitigate the air quality impacts and also reduces traffic through the Highweek area. Improving traffic flow also has the advantage of improving the fuel efficiency of engines and reducing certain emissions including carbon.
8. Legal Considerations
The lawful implications of the recommendations have been considered and taken into account in the formulation of the recommendations set out above.
9. Risk Management Considerations
The scheme is subject to the normal engineering risks. A quantified risk assessment has been undertaken and these risk costs have been included in the scheme estimate.
10. Public Health Impact
The scheme is subject to a Road Safety Audit with Feasibility and Stage 1 Safety Audits now complete.
It is estimated from accident rates that improving the standard of the A382 as proposed will reduce the number of collisions by 70%.
The scheme includes the provision of a shared pedestrian/cycle path which will encourage travel by sustainable modes between new developments, Heathfield and Newton Abbot.
11. Options and Alternatives
Initial Option Development
An Option Assessment Report has been produced which considered potential sustainable options such as demand management, walking and cycling, bus, rail and park and change. It was concluded that it is unlikely that any of these measures in isolation would achieve the change in travel behaviour necessary to deliver the development.
A number of options were then considered relating to improvements to the highway to the west of Newton Abbot. Low, medium and high cost widening options were considered of widening to 7.3 metres, widening to 10 metres and a dual carriageway respectively. The new Jetty Marsh II link and improvements to Old Exeter Road were also considered to compliment widening improvements, further increase capacity and allow a flexible approach.
Widening to 7.3 meters would improve the flow on the A382 in the short term but does not achieve the necessary capacity to deliver the expected growth. A dual carriageway along the whole route would provide room for further growth beyond the Local Plan period but would be significantly over providing for expected traffic flows. Widening to 10 metres would provide sufficient capacity to deliver the growth set out in the Local Plan.
The 7.3 and 10 metre widening options have a similar footprint of 15.6 and 18.1 metres respectively whereas a dual carriageway would be significantly larger at over 25 metres. The cost of the 7.3 metre widening is not expected to be significantly lower than for the 10 metre option.
Widening 10 metres also creates safer accesses as vehicles wishing to turn right are able to be passed, maintaining a flow of traffic through the junction. With a dual carriageway, right turners would have to cross two lanes of traffic and further widening might be required to maintain two lanes through junction.
Therefore the selected package of 10 metre widening from Drumbridges to Whitehill's Cross joining into the new Jetty Marsh II connection provides a balance between cost and capacity.
It was concluded that elements from both the sustainable transport and highway strategies would be required to achieve the objectives.
As the scheme has developed, some elements have been removed (Old Exeter Road improvements and a Park and Change site) to reduce the overall scheme cost, and are expected to be delivered as part of other packages or by future development sites.
Design Options
During preliminary design for the scheme, north, south and combined widening options were developed to meet the design criteria and avoid certain parcels of land. Of these options the preferred scheme has been identified as the south option.
This scheme seeks to avoid higher value land both environmentally and financially, in addition to providing the most appropriate alignment to meet the design criteria. The route negates a direct impact on the nationally important historic parks and gardens of Stover. Stover is Grade II registered and identified as 'at risk' by Historic England.
Following the consultation a design review was undertaken and the updated design is included in Appendix 3.
12. Reason for Recommendation
The scheme enables the traffic impacts of future development to be mitigated by allowing the development to take place. The scheme is consistent with the aims of the Devon and Torbay Local Transport Plan 3 with regard to economic growth.
Dave Black
Head of Planning, Transportation and Environment
Electoral Divisions: Newton Abbot South and Newton Abbot North
Cabinet Member for Economy, Growth and Cabinet Liaison for Exeter: Councillor Andrew Leadbetter
Strategic Director, Place: Heather Barnes
Local Government Act 1972: List of Background Papers
Contact for enquiries: Samantha Taylor
Room No: Lucombe House, County Hall, Topsham Road, Exeter EX2 4QD
Tel No: (01392) 383000
| Background Paper | Date | File Ref. |
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| Nil |
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st180815cab A382 corridor improvements
hk 03 270815
Appendix 1 to PTE/15/47
Location of Key Roads, Junctions and Developments
Appendix 2 to PTE/15/47
Scheme Location Map
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Appendix 3 to PTE/15/47
Scheme Drawings