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Home >> business and economy >> transportation
02/09/2010 17:11:34
Frequently Asked Questions
A travel plan is typically a package of practical measures to encourage staff to choose alternatives to the car. Employers are encouraged to develop travel plans, aimed at reducing car use for travel to work and for travel for business.
Apart from the intended benefits for the environment a travel plan offers benefits to the organisation, its employees and the local community. It may help to relieve an on-site parking or congestion problem, or it may help to improve public transport services where there was previously a deficiency. In turn it may relieve stress on employees by improving their health by walking or cycling, or through the opportunity to reduce the amount they travel, perhaps by working at home.
A plan should be site specific and include a range of measures which will make a positive impact at that site, e.g. setting up a car sharing scheme, providing cycling facilities, negotiating improved bus services, offering attractive flexible-working practices. The concept is to make the alternatives more feasible and more attractive to employees.
A travel plan will have clear objectives and a set of targets, which can be measured and monitored in order that the organisation can measure how effective the plan is.
An effective travel plan is one which is supported by senior management who recognise the added value of bringing together key parts of the organisation internally (for example, building managers, fleet managers, personnel managers, business managers). In addition, working with the local authority and local transport operators is important if effective changes are to be made. Finally, teaming up with neighbouring organisations will give value to many of the measures introduced in your plan.
A travel plan need not cost your organisation lots of money and it may help to save money while helping to improve the environment. Travel plans will help to address wider problems of social exclusion and crime and safety, at the same time as reducing the costs to society caused by delays and congestion and poor health.
Is it compulsory to have a travel plan?
It is not usually compulsory to have a travel plan these are usually voluntary but having a travel plan will bring many additional benefits.
Businesses that are developing new sites, changing or expanding a current site may need to produce a Travel Plan in order to comply with planning guidelines PPG13 or section 106.
How can a travel plan help me as an employer?
Reduce demand for on-site parking
Improve recruitment and retention
Improve efficiency - less time wasted on late arrivals / deliveries
Reduce business mileage
Reduce fleet management costs
Reduce sickness rates - walkers and cyclists will be healthier
Help you to gain environmental accreditation ISO14001 or EMAS
Improve environmental image
What can I do as a employer?
As an employer you have a role to play by introducing and encouraging measures to your staff.
Some suggestions are:
Providing information about local public transport to staff and visitors
Offer cheap or interest free loans for public transport season tickets
Loans for cycle purchase
Encouraging car share for commuting and business journeys
Designate the ''best'' car park spaces for regular car sharers
Provide secure, covered cycle parking and, if possible, lockers and showers/changing facilities
Manage business mileage to reduce time and distance driven
Offer incentive to use rail rather than a car for appropriate business journeys
Provide up-to-date information on non-car travel in a manner and at location(s) convenient to your staff
Offer Teleworking / Homeworking
Provide pool cars
Upgrade your fleet to alternative fuel vehicles when next up for renewal
Offer onsite facilities - creche, leisure, snack bar, dry cleaning service
Why should I consider a Travel Plan?
Transport problems in the UK have an effect on everyone:
Increasing numbers of vehicles on our roads add to congestion and pollution
Congestion causes delays to traffic - causing late deliveries and staff
Increasing emissions contribute to global warming
Reliance on the car and reduced levels of activity has lead to poor health and obesity
Communities have become noisier and busier
More traffic means greater risk of road casualties
Where do I start?
Before you start implementing any measures you need to:
Engage senior management support
Allocate staff time to work on the Travel Plan
Survey your staff, your site and your business
Involve your staff along the way
Identify objectives, targets and measures
Raise awareness
Only then will you be able to launch your Travel Plan. Once launched someone will need to be responsible for its ongoing promotion and a point of contact.
Where can I get help with my Travel Plan?
It may seem a daunting task to set up a Travel Plan but remember that you are not alone.
The local authority has a Travel Plan Officer who will be able to offer you advice and guidance. Contact the Design and Transportation manager on travelplan@fareham.gov.uk.
Free help is available from the Environment and Energy Helpline on 0800 585794 or www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/sustainable/travelplans (this is an external hyperlink).
This is site specific advice, a free government funded service, to help you develop an effective travel plan for your business, school or organisation. You can get up to five days free advice to help you overcome the problems you face in getting your travel plan up and running.
How much will it cost me to set up a Travel Plan?
It is difficult to say how much it will cost, but many of the measures that you implement will eventually help you make savings.
One widely used example is that of the cost of car parking spaces. The total cost of maintaining and or renting a car parking space could be anything between £30 and £3000. Car parking spaces that are no longer required due to an effective travel plan could then be put to a more profitable use.
More effective use of staff time, more effective fleet management, policies on business mileage could produce significant cost savings for your business.
Income from car parking charges could be used for related use - a Travel Plan Co-ordinators''s salary, a workbus, cycle parking.
Can I stop thinking about the Travel Plan once I have finished it?
No a travel plan is a living thing, your organisation will need to review it regularly in order to keep on making improvements and to ensure that you are meeting the targets that you have set yourself.
You may find that some of the measures you have taken may not have the expected results and you need to find alternatives. On the other hand your situation may change or your organisation may have noted areas for improvements.
You may be so successful that you may wish to set yourself higher targets. You will constantly need to market your Travel Plan in order to remind current staff and inform new employees.
What is the business case for a Travel Plan?
A Travel Plan may be seen to be simply an environmental tool but it is likely to have wider benefits.
There may be cost savings from new working practices (flexible hours, 9 day fortnights, teleworking, homeworking), or business travel guidelines. An effective travel plan will help to meet existing requirements for example environmental management, quality assurance. A Travel Plan could be a co-ordinating business tool - looking for savings across the company rather than separate cost centres.
My organisation is too small to have a Travel Plan - is this a problem?
No organisation is too small to make simple changes eg. the provision of cycle parking, changing facilities, and most basic off all the availability of public transport information.
On a larger scale joining with others, your neighbours or the local business park, will help you to deal with your site problems.
How can a Travel Plan help me as an individual?
Travelling to and from work other than as a driver can reduce stress
Walking (from the bus stop, train station, home) or cycling to work can improve your levels of fitness, health and reduce the risk of heart disease.
Car sharing or buying season tickets can save you money
Using the train or bus gives you extra thinking / meeting time, and can be less stressful than driving
Travelling in with others could help you to meet your work colleagues
Where do I get information about public transport?
There is a great amount of information available via the internet, telephone lines and local bus and cycle route maps.
Where do I get information about public transport?
There is a great amount of information available via the internet, telephone lines and local bus and cycle route maps.
Are travel plans anti-car
Travel Plans are not anti-car, they emphasise the travel choices that are available and offer practical measures on how to make them more attractive to everyone. There will be a number of instances when it is more practicable to use a car.
In areas where car ownership is low it is important that alternatives to the car are widely available, in order to assist the local economy, make employment opportunities available, and combat social exclusion for example.
What if I need my car for work?
In this instance you may consider the following:
Planning meetings and journey so that you do not need to use the car everyday
Converting to an alternative fuel vehicle
Combining your trips where possible so that you plan visits to sites or clients on one morning or day
When purchasing a new car consider buying a car with a smaller size engine
For shorter journeys replace the car with the bus, walk or cycle
Share with other people who are already travelling
What do the Planning Enforcement team do?
The team investigates allegations of breaches of planning control including:
unauthorised development, or uses;
unauthorised works to a listed building - both internal and external works;
unauthorised display of advertisements;
non-compliance with conditions of planning permissions; and,
untidy sites where these are considered detrimental to local amenity
unauthorised work to trees which are protected or are located in conservation areas
N.B Works to trees which are protected or are located in conservation areas without the consent of the local planning authority is an offence.
What is the extent of planning controls?
Planning controls relate to any development. The definition of ''development'' for the purposes of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 is considered to include "carrying out of building, engineering, mining or other operation in on or under land or the making of a material change of use of any building or other land".
(N.B all mining and waste planning issues are dealt with by the County Council).
Do you require planning permission for all development?
No, many minor developments are exempt from the need for planning permission by the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995. You should always contact the local planning authority to find out if you need planning permission before commencing any development
Is it an offence to undertake development without permission?
No, under the Act it is not considered to be an offence to fail to comply with planning controls, although you are advised to contact the local planning authority prior to carrying out works which might require approval. Should a local planning authority consider it expedient to issue an enforcement notice against a development which is unauthorised then non-compliance with this notice is an offence, for which the maximum fine is £20,000.
What happens if a condition on a planning permission is not complied with?
The local planning authority has the power to issue a breach of condition notice against which there is no right of appeal. It is an offence not to comply with such a notice. This offence maybe prosecuted in the magistrates court with a maximum fine of £1,000.
Is it an offence to undertake works to a listed building?
Yes, if these works are considered to affect the character and integrity of the building.
Is it an offence to display an advertisement without consent
Some advertisements are exempt from the need for express advertisement consent. Advertisements which do not require consent are those which enjoy deemed consent under the provisions of the Town and Country Planning (Control of Adverts) Regulations 1992. Booklets and advice can be obtained from the Local Planning Authority.
What information is required for an alleged breach to be investigated?
Address of land or building where breach alleged
Details of alleged breach
Complainant contact name and address and telephone number.
Any additional relevant information/other interested parties
How do I report an alleged breach?
by completing and submitting a Complaint Form which can be found on this page on the website. http://www.fareham.gov.uk/council/departments/devcontrol/complaint.asp. Please note that you will be required to provide your name, address and telephone number for any complaint to be investigated. Your details will be kept confidential. Complaints can also be made in writing to the address shown below.
Department of Development Control
Fareham Borough Council
Civic Offices
Civic Way
Fareham
PO16 7TT
What are the stages of an investigation?
Complaint registered and acknowledged - 4 days
First site visit made - 10 days
Complainant will be kept informed of progress with investigations.
What action may be taken where a breach of planning controls is found to be occurring?
Once a complaint has been investigated and a breach identified, depending on the severity of the breach a number of things may happen:
negotiate a satisfactory solution
seek a retrospective planning application
if no application is forthcoming or the breach is serious then an enforcement notice may be issued
In the case where significant harm is being caused by the breach it may be appropriate to issue a stop notice in conjunction with an enforcement notice or seek a legal injunction to stop the unauthorised activities.
It is important to note that the enforcement of Planning Control is a discretionary power and in some circumstances it may not be expedient to take action
Is there a right of appeal?
On an enforcement notice, listed building enforcement notice and an advert discontinuance notice, there is a right of appeal. The appeal is made to the Planning Inspectorate.
Is there a period after which development becomes immune from enforcement action?
Yes, The period within which planning enforcement action can be taken is limited to:
4 years for operational development and change of use to any building for use as a single dwelling house
10 years for all other changes of use and breaches of conditions
If you wish to confirm that development is immune from planning enforcement action, you are advised to make an application for a Certificate of Lawfulness.
Is there a period after which development becomes immune from enforcement action?
Yes, The period within which planning enforcement action can be taken is limited to:
4 years for operational development and change of use to any building for use as a single dwelling house
10 years for all other changes of use and breaches of conditions
If you wish to confirm that development is immune from planning enforcement action, you are advised to make an application for a Certificate of Lawfulness.
Transport Issues
The County Council is the Highway Authority with overall responsibility for transport planning. You can access the Hampshire Local Transport Plan (HLTP) (this is an external hyperlink) on Hantsweb for information on the 5 year plan for the County.
The Fareham Local Development Framework and Fareham Borough Local Plan sets out the development proposals and policies for the Borough. This is a statutory document approved by the Secretary of State which includes the long term development strategy in line with the HLTP.
Fareham Borough Council developed a non-statutory transport plan called "Transportation in Fareham" in 1999. That plan has now been reviewed and and a copy of the updated plan can be found at "Transportation in Fareham 2004-2011" (242 Kb) 
. The purpose of this document is to set out the future of transportation and inform the Local Development Framework, influence the statutory Hampshire Local Transport Plan and to secure funding for the listed schemes.
For information on the above, please contact the Head of Engineering and Transportation on Tel: 01329 236100 or e-mail engineering.transportation@fareham.gov.uk.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Travel Plan?A travel plan is typically a package of practical measures to encourage staff to choose alternatives to the car. Employers are encouraged to develop travel plans, aimed at reducing car use for travel to work and for travel for business.
Apart from the intended benefits for the environment a travel plan offers benefits to the organisation, its employees and the local community. It may help to relieve an on-site parking or congestion problem, or it may help to improve public transport services where there was previously a deficiency. In turn it may relieve stress on employees by improving their health by walking or cycling, or through the opportunity to reduce the amount they travel, perhaps by working at home.
A plan should be site specific and include a range of measures which will make a positive impact at that site, e.g. setting up a car sharing scheme, providing cycling facilities, negotiating improved bus services, offering attractive flexible-working practices. The concept is to make the alternatives more feasible and more attractive to employees.
A travel plan will have clear objectives and a set of targets, which can be measured and monitored in order that the organisation can measure how effective the plan is.
An effective travel plan is one which is supported by senior management who recognise the added value of bringing together key parts of the organisation internally (for example, building managers, fleet managers, personnel managers, business managers). In addition, working with the local authority and local transport operators is important if effective changes are to be made. Finally, teaming up with neighbouring organisations will give value to many of the measures introduced in your plan.
A travel plan need not cost your organisation lots of money and it may help to save money while helping to improve the environment. Travel plans will help to address wider problems of social exclusion and crime and safety, at the same time as reducing the costs to society caused by delays and congestion and poor health.
Is it compulsory to have a travel plan?
It is not usually compulsory to have a travel plan these are usually voluntary but having a travel plan will bring many additional benefits.
Businesses that are developing new sites, changing or expanding a current site may need to produce a Travel Plan in order to comply with planning guidelines PPG13 or section 106.
How can a travel plan help me as an employer?
Reduce demand for on-site parking
Improve recruitment and retention
Improve efficiency - less time wasted on late arrivals / deliveries
Reduce business mileage
Reduce fleet management costs
Reduce sickness rates - walkers and cyclists will be healthier
Help you to gain environmental accreditation ISO14001 or EMAS
Improve environmental image
What can I do as a employer?
As an employer you have a role to play by introducing and encouraging measures to your staff.
Some suggestions are:
Providing information about local public transport to staff and visitors
Offer cheap or interest free loans for public transport season tickets
Loans for cycle purchase
Encouraging car share for commuting and business journeys
Designate the ''best'' car park spaces for regular car sharers
Provide secure, covered cycle parking and, if possible, lockers and showers/changing facilities
Manage business mileage to reduce time and distance driven
Offer incentive to use rail rather than a car for appropriate business journeys
Provide up-to-date information on non-car travel in a manner and at location(s) convenient to your staff
Offer Teleworking / Homeworking
Provide pool cars
Upgrade your fleet to alternative fuel vehicles when next up for renewal
Offer onsite facilities - creche, leisure, snack bar, dry cleaning service
Why should I consider a Travel Plan?
Transport problems in the UK have an effect on everyone:
Increasing numbers of vehicles on our roads add to congestion and pollution
Congestion causes delays to traffic - causing late deliveries and staff
Increasing emissions contribute to global warming
Reliance on the car and reduced levels of activity has lead to poor health and obesity
Communities have become noisier and busier
More traffic means greater risk of road casualties
Where do I start?
Before you start implementing any measures you need to:
Engage senior management support
Allocate staff time to work on the Travel Plan
Survey your staff, your site and your business
Involve your staff along the way
Identify objectives, targets and measures
Raise awareness
Only then will you be able to launch your Travel Plan. Once launched someone will need to be responsible for its ongoing promotion and a point of contact.
Where can I get help with my Travel Plan?
It may seem a daunting task to set up a Travel Plan but remember that you are not alone.
The local authority has a Travel Plan Officer who will be able to offer you advice and guidance. Contact the Design and Transportation manager on travelplan@fareham.gov.uk.
Free help is available from the Environment and Energy Helpline on 0800 585794 or www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/sustainable/travelplans (this is an external hyperlink).
This is site specific advice, a free government funded service, to help you develop an effective travel plan for your business, school or organisation. You can get up to five days free advice to help you overcome the problems you face in getting your travel plan up and running.
How much will it cost me to set up a Travel Plan?
It is difficult to say how much it will cost, but many of the measures that you implement will eventually help you make savings.
One widely used example is that of the cost of car parking spaces. The total cost of maintaining and or renting a car parking space could be anything between £30 and £3000. Car parking spaces that are no longer required due to an effective travel plan could then be put to a more profitable use.
More effective use of staff time, more effective fleet management, policies on business mileage could produce significant cost savings for your business.
Income from car parking charges could be used for related use - a Travel Plan Co-ordinators''s salary, a workbus, cycle parking.
Can I stop thinking about the Travel Plan once I have finished it?
No a travel plan is a living thing, your organisation will need to review it regularly in order to keep on making improvements and to ensure that you are meeting the targets that you have set yourself.
You may find that some of the measures you have taken may not have the expected results and you need to find alternatives. On the other hand your situation may change or your organisation may have noted areas for improvements.
You may be so successful that you may wish to set yourself higher targets. You will constantly need to market your Travel Plan in order to remind current staff and inform new employees.
What is the business case for a Travel Plan?
A Travel Plan may be seen to be simply an environmental tool but it is likely to have wider benefits.
There may be cost savings from new working practices (flexible hours, 9 day fortnights, teleworking, homeworking), or business travel guidelines. An effective travel plan will help to meet existing requirements for example environmental management, quality assurance. A Travel Plan could be a co-ordinating business tool - looking for savings across the company rather than separate cost centres.
My organisation is too small to have a Travel Plan - is this a problem?
No organisation is too small to make simple changes eg. the provision of cycle parking, changing facilities, and most basic off all the availability of public transport information.
On a larger scale joining with others, your neighbours or the local business park, will help you to deal with your site problems.
How can a Travel Plan help me as an individual?
Travelling to and from work other than as a driver can reduce stress
Walking (from the bus stop, train station, home) or cycling to work can improve your levels of fitness, health and reduce the risk of heart disease.
Car sharing or buying season tickets can save you money
Using the train or bus gives you extra thinking / meeting time, and can be less stressful than driving
Travelling in with others could help you to meet your work colleagues
Where do I get information about public transport?
There is a great amount of information available via the internet, telephone lines and local bus and cycle route maps.
Where do I get information about public transport?
There is a great amount of information available via the internet, telephone lines and local bus and cycle route maps.
Are travel plans anti-car
Travel Plans are not anti-car, they emphasise the travel choices that are available and offer practical measures on how to make them more attractive to everyone. There will be a number of instances when it is more practicable to use a car.
In areas where car ownership is low it is important that alternatives to the car are widely available, in order to assist the local economy, make employment opportunities available, and combat social exclusion for example.
What if I need my car for work?
In this instance you may consider the following:
Planning meetings and journey so that you do not need to use the car everyday
Converting to an alternative fuel vehicle
Combining your trips where possible so that you plan visits to sites or clients on one morning or day
When purchasing a new car consider buying a car with a smaller size engine
For shorter journeys replace the car with the bus, walk or cycle
Share with other people who are already travelling
What do the Planning Enforcement team do?
The team investigates allegations of breaches of planning control including:
unauthorised development, or uses;
unauthorised works to a listed building - both internal and external works;
unauthorised display of advertisements;
non-compliance with conditions of planning permissions; and,
untidy sites where these are considered detrimental to local amenity
unauthorised work to trees which are protected or are located in conservation areas
N.B Works to trees which are protected or are located in conservation areas without the consent of the local planning authority is an offence.
What is the extent of planning controls?
Planning controls relate to any development. The definition of ''development'' for the purposes of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 is considered to include "carrying out of building, engineering, mining or other operation in on or under land or the making of a material change of use of any building or other land".
(N.B all mining and waste planning issues are dealt with by the County Council).
Do you require planning permission for all development?
No, many minor developments are exempt from the need for planning permission by the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995. You should always contact the local planning authority to find out if you need planning permission before commencing any development
Is it an offence to undertake development without permission?
No, under the Act it is not considered to be an offence to fail to comply with planning controls, although you are advised to contact the local planning authority prior to carrying out works which might require approval. Should a local planning authority consider it expedient to issue an enforcement notice against a development which is unauthorised then non-compliance with this notice is an offence, for which the maximum fine is £20,000.
What happens if a condition on a planning permission is not complied with?
The local planning authority has the power to issue a breach of condition notice against which there is no right of appeal. It is an offence not to comply with such a notice. This offence maybe prosecuted in the magistrates court with a maximum fine of £1,000.
Is it an offence to undertake works to a listed building?
Yes, if these works are considered to affect the character and integrity of the building.
Is it an offence to display an advertisement without consent
Some advertisements are exempt from the need for express advertisement consent. Advertisements which do not require consent are those which enjoy deemed consent under the provisions of the Town and Country Planning (Control of Adverts) Regulations 1992. Booklets and advice can be obtained from the Local Planning Authority.
What information is required for an alleged breach to be investigated?
Address of land or building where breach alleged
Details of alleged breach
Complainant contact name and address and telephone number.
Any additional relevant information/other interested parties
How do I report an alleged breach?
by completing and submitting a Complaint Form which can be found on this page on the website. http://www.fareham.gov.uk/council/departments/devcontrol/complaint.asp. Please note that you will be required to provide your name, address and telephone number for any complaint to be investigated. Your details will be kept confidential. Complaints can also be made in writing to the address shown below.
Department of Development Control
Fareham Borough Council
Civic Offices
Civic Way
Fareham
PO16 7TT
What are the stages of an investigation?
Complaint registered and acknowledged - 4 days
First site visit made - 10 days
Complainant will be kept informed of progress with investigations.
What action may be taken where a breach of planning controls is found to be occurring?
Once a complaint has been investigated and a breach identified, depending on the severity of the breach a number of things may happen:
negotiate a satisfactory solution
seek a retrospective planning application
if no application is forthcoming or the breach is serious then an enforcement notice may be issued
In the case where significant harm is being caused by the breach it may be appropriate to issue a stop notice in conjunction with an enforcement notice or seek a legal injunction to stop the unauthorised activities.
It is important to note that the enforcement of Planning Control is a discretionary power and in some circumstances it may not be expedient to take action
Is there a right of appeal?
On an enforcement notice, listed building enforcement notice and an advert discontinuance notice, there is a right of appeal. The appeal is made to the Planning Inspectorate.
Is there a period after which development becomes immune from enforcement action?
Yes, The period within which planning enforcement action can be taken is limited to:
4 years for operational development and change of use to any building for use as a single dwelling house
10 years for all other changes of use and breaches of conditions
If you wish to confirm that development is immune from planning enforcement action, you are advised to make an application for a Certificate of Lawfulness.
Is there a period after which development becomes immune from enforcement action?
Yes, The period within which planning enforcement action can be taken is limited to:
4 years for operational development and change of use to any building for use as a single dwelling house
10 years for all other changes of use and breaches of conditions
If you wish to confirm that development is immune from planning enforcement action, you are advised to make an application for a Certificate of Lawfulness.
.|.
.|.
.|.
Fareham Borough Council, Civic Offices, Civic Way, Hampshire, PO16 7AZ
Tel: +44 (0)1329 236100 | Mobile Text/Photo: 07876 131415 | Fax: +44 (0)1329 821770
