In-depth guidance for highways development

This guidance is to help you create great places and thriving communities as Buckinghamshire grows.

To make the most of the growth opportunities, it is important that growth happens in the right way.

This guidance aligns with the objectives in our Strategic Plan and Local Transport Plan. It helps you to prepare successful proposals, and includes:

• the information we require for different sizes and types of development
• principles for designing new developments that meet transport and highway requirements
• how we consider transport impacts
• how we consider cumulative impacts where multiple developments affect a single area

This will make it easier for you to provide well-connected developments that meet our transportation needs.

The guidance is grouped into four sections, each with guidance boxes for our specific (numbered) guidance points:

• Section 1 - Creating great developments in Buckinghamsh
• Section 2 -Designing for transport in your development
• Section 3 - Managing your development’s transport impact
• Section 4 - Delivering works on the highway

Use this guidance together with:

• checking the policies in our Local Transport Plan
• legislation
• other local and national guidance including:
  • local plans
  • neighbourhood plans
  • National Planning Policy Framework
  • Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004
  • National Planning Practice Guidelines – Transport Assessments and Travel Plans
  • Buckinghamshire’s Countywide Parking Guidance
  • Buckinghamshire’s Sustainable Travel Plan Guidelines for Developers
  • Relevant local transport strategies (such as the developing strategies for key growth areas)
  • The Buckinghamshire Traffic Signals Design Standards
  • Highways Act 1980
  • Traffic Management Act 2004
  • New Roads and Streetworks Act 1993
  • Manual for Streets 1&2
  • Standards for Highways guidance, including:
  • Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (DMRB)
  • Manual of Contract Documents for Highway Works (MCHW)
  • The Sustrans Handbook for Cycle Friendly Design (2014)
  • London Cycling Design Standards (2016), where appropriate within Bucks
  • Department for Transport advice note Adoption of Roads by Highway Authorities
  • Department for Transport Guidance on the use of tactile paving surfaces
  • Department for Transport ‘s Traffic Signs Manual
  • Department for Transport ‘s Inclusive Mobility guide
  • Chartered Institution of Highways & Transportation’s Designing for Walking and Planning for Walking guidance
  • Charted Institution of Highways and Transportation’s Buses in Urban Developments
  • The Construction Industry Research and Information Association’s (CIRIA’s) The SUDS Manual (C753)

This Guidance will also apply to any replacements, additions or alterations to the documents above.

Use the Buckinghamshire Council Route Hierarchy to distinguish between different types of road and you should use it to help with your developments.

You should view these categories alongside our regularly updated list of streets, which identifies individual roads.