The bus sector is being encouraged to respond to proposed changes to the government’s National Planning Policy Framework by the 24 September deadline to help ensure that new housing developments are adequately served by public transport.
With the government planning to build 1.5 million homes over the course of the next parliament, concern has been expressed that this will create more car-dependent new housing developments.
Campaign group Transport for New Homes (TfNH) is pleased to see in the document guarantees of infrastructure development for green-belt areas but points out that a very small proportion of new development will take place on land with this designation.
It says in response to the proposals: “We recommend responses that call for infrastructure guarantees to apply for all greenfield development and not just green/grey-belt. Otherwise, these updates to the NPPF will not achieve their aims. More broadly, it is time for a completely different approach explicitly oriented around transit.”
TfNH Director Steve Chambers adds: “I would encourage anyone responding to that consultation to call for it to be extended to all greenfield development. There is no reason that how the land is designated should make a difference to whether they are able to get a bus to work.”
The Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) is planning to feed back on the proposals. Its Chief Executive, Graham Vidler, says: “We welcome the opportunity to respond to this consultation, which offers an important opportunity to put bus first. CPT has engaged with is members about this consultation and will be responding”.
Meanwhile, former ALBUM and Bus Users UK Chair Ben Colson, who is now involved in transport and local planning issues, says operators should respond to the consultation, particularly aligning their responses to those on the Buses Bill, which promotes bus franchising.
The founder of the eventual Stagecoach acquisition Norfolk Green says: “The more organisations that respond to the consultation, both positive and negative, the better. Operators need to highlight the need to align between this consultation on planning and the consultation already ongoing on franchising and make sure that the point is made they’re drawn together.”
TfNH has long campaigned on this issue, highlighting the problem in a 2022 report.
