HIGHFIELD ROAD, DARTFORD

PROJECT

We were instructed by Rehoboth International to support a permitted development scheme which would replace an existing office building with a residential development consisting of four residential flats along with associated cycle parking.

The site is situated along Highfield Road on the edge of Dartford Town Centre. Given the site’s Town Centre location the site benefits from access to an extensive range of local facilities along with numerous bus and rail services. Therefore, the site is located in a highly sustainable location. As such, given the location of the site, the development proposals were for a car-free development.

APPROACH

We prepared a Transport Statement to support the planning application. The Transport Statement was required to demonstrate the sustainability of the site given the car-free nature of the scheme and the likely impact of the proposed development.

To determine the sustainability of the site we undertook a detailed review of the site’s accessibility through a desktop review of the pedestrian and cycle facilities along with bus and train services and census data in the form of mode share and car ownership statistics. In addition, a review of local parking restrictions was undertaken to establish whether residents of the scheme would be able to park on the local road network. Given the sustainability of the site and the lack of available on-street parking, a car-free development was considered to be appropriate.

In addition, the Transport Statement showed that the development proposals would have a beneficial impact on the local highway network, in terms of operational capacity, when compared to the existing land use.

OUTCOME

The planning application was approved by the Local Planning Authority in March 2023.