Agenda item

On a motion from Councillor Joanna Wright, seconded by Councillor Robin Moss, it was unanimously

RESOLVED that

Council notes that:

1. Government figures show that HGV traffic nationally is increasing. The most recent figures (September 2021) show that whilst car traffic had decreased, there was an 8.9% increase in HGV traffic in just one year.

2. The growth of HGV traffic on many of our local roads generates noise and air pollution and undermines residential safety. It can have a real impact on the quality of life of residents living on affected streets, including sleepless nights and mental health problems. It affects cyclists and pedestrians, especially older or vulnerable people and families with small children.

3. One significant cause of HGV traffic along unsuitable roads is the use by lorry drivers of Google Maps and/or sat navs that are only intended for car use. In extreme cases, HGVs are routed up narrow, unsuitable routes and become stuck (one example is Brooklyn Road, Lambridge).

4. Locally, a large volume of HGV traffic is caused by new development. Residents frequently report frustration that the appropriate routing of construction traffic is not given sufficient care and attention as part of the planning process, and may feel like an afterthought, when from their perspective it should be front and centre.

5. Bath and North East Somerset Council does not require a ‘Construction Traffic Management Plan’ to be submitted at the same time as a planning application for major development.

Council resolves to:

6. Ask the Cabinet Member for Transport to write to Government Transport Minister Mark Harper asking for his view on the Local Government’s Association’s call for HGVs to be required to use commercial satnavs; and expressing this Council’s support for such a measure.

7. Ask officers to review the ‘National and Local Information Requirements – Planning Applications (including Outline, Reserved Matters and Variation of Condition)’ document and to pass this matter to the relevant Policy Development and Scrutiny Panel to consider the value of making the submission of a ‘Construction Traffic Management Plan’ a mandatory validation requirement for planning applications for major developments that should be accompanied by appropriate enforcement. This will allow our officers, councillors and the public to have access to more information when determining the suitability of planning applications.
8. Subject to the PDS review and funding being identified, produce a ‘Construction Traffic Management Plan’ guidance document for developers that highlights the importance of routing construction traffic away from narrow, unsuitable and residential roads in order to ensure that this is an integral feature of any planning applications and is actively considered at the earliest possible stage in the planning process.

[Notes;

1.  The above successful resolution contains wording proposed by the Conservative group – the italicised section in point 7 “that should be accompanied by appropriate enforcement” – which was accepted into the substantive by Councillor Wright.

2.  The above successful resolution contains additional wording proposed by the Liberal Democrat group to refer this matter to Scrutiny – the bold wording in points 7 and 8 – which was accepted into the substantive by Councillor Wright.]