Getting Around
As well as considering the best ways for people to get in and out of Hensford Park, while minimising the impact on the surrounding area, a great deal of time has been spent looking at how residents would move around within the new neighbourhood.
The masterplan for Hensford Park has been drawn up to minimise dependence on the private car. Hensford Park will be a walkable neighbourhood, which means that everyday needs can be met close to home.
Public transport links, shops, schools, open space, and workplaces will be easily accessible for most people on foot and no more than a 15-minute walk away. This is sometimes called “internalisation”, meaning people don’t need to travel in and out so often.
In practice, this means that people will be happy to walk if it is easier than getting in the car, driving, finding a parking space, walking to their destination, then doing the reverse to get back home. This reduces traffic and cuts carbon emissions, making streets safer and less polluted – and promotes health and wellbeing.
Further proposals include:
An electric vehicle hub with vans, cars and bikes available for hire.
Co-working spaces to support people who are able to take advantage of working from home or hybrid working.
Delivery hubs to support internet shopping while enabling delivery vans to make fewer stops.
Traffic could be cut further by the use of delivery hubs where shoppers pick up their online purchases at a central location such as a local store or a purpose-built locker facility.
Locally, it has been calculated that commuting accounts for 40% of road traffic at peak times, with the school run accounting for a further 30%. The remaining 30% is largely for leisure, shopping and business.
Many residents of Hensford Park, with schools, shops, open space and workplaces near to home, will be able to walk or cycle to get where they need to go, rather than sit in traffic.
The existing DA2 housing allocation was primarily focused on bringing forward residential development without consideration for how day-to-day needs could be met within the site.
This can lead to additional traffic, which could otherwise have been contained within or close to the site. The proposals for Hensford Park provide a new centre for the local area which includes the wider DA2 allocation, along with improved links towards existing facilities such as the town centre and railway station which not only benefit Hensford Park but also existing areas.
By bringing about small changes to the wider locality, the impact of Hensford Park can be managed sustainably rather than creating additional road capacity which only leads to higher traffic volumes.