Parking guidance for new developments

Buckinghamshire is made up of four districts, each with their own characteristics and population make-up, ranging from densely populated towns such as Aylesbury and Wycombe, to small, rural communities. Within each district there is further variation in the character and make-up of the population. There is also significant variation in the accessibility of public transport in different areas as can be seen in Appendix 1. As a result, it would be unrealistic to create one set of standards for the whole county.

To ensure that the standards reflect this variation, we have divided the County into zones, which take into account the different requirements of urban and rural areas. This is explained further in sections 1.5.3.1 – 1.5.3.2 below.

In urban areas, residents have more opportunity to walk, cycle, and use public transport to move around. Consequently, car ownership tends to be lower in urban areas than in rural areas. Hence, it is not always necessary to provide as many car parking spaces for residential developments in urban areas. This is particularly important given the limited availability of land in urban areas and the importance of ensuring land is developed in the most efficient way. The standards are still calculated to provide enough parking for these areas, based on real-world evidence, but avoid providing too much.

In contrast, residents in rural areas are likely to be more dependent on cars for their day to day trips due to limited access to public transport; fewer designated cycle and footpaths; and more widely dispersed services. This must be reflected within the standards.

Therefore, residential standards have been produced for three zones based on ward population size and accessibility by public transport. We were able to map the bus routes found within the county, and layer them on top of the district zone maps. From this we can see a clear connection between zone allocation and accessibility. The zones are based on wards, as this is how the Office of National Statistics (ONS) provides us with the cross tabulation of data. Each ward has been assigned to one of the three zone types, as set out in Table 1.

Where there are a number of wards that lie within large towns and larger villages, these have been grouped together to give a more realistic figure in terms of population size. Aylesbury, High Wycombe, Buckingham and Beaconsfield are all examples of where major town boundaries have been combined to give a total population. This approach ensures that the correct level of residential parking provision is provided across the county. The list of wards by zones can be found in Appendix 2.

The boundaries of the zones are not intended to be applied rigidly, and the flexibility of the guidance creates the opportunity to consider local circumstances, so that different zone’s standards can be applied where appropriate. For example, any extension of development should be treated as part of that urban area. Another example is mixed urban and rural wards, where some parts should be treated as Zone A and others as Zone B or C.

As with the residential standards, the non-residential standards are designed to reflect the differences between town centre urban locations, and rural areas. Due to the nature and usage of non-residential developments, a two-zone approach has been adopted. The 2 zones are Zone 1 and 2, with Zone 1 generally being more accessible, and Zone 2 being generally less accessible.

The boundaries of the non-residential zones are, therefore, designed to differentiate between Buckinghamshire’s urban and less-urban areas. Areas in Zone 1 are those which fall within the boundaries of urban areas defined by the respective district councils for the following towns:

• Amersham on the Hill Town Centre
• Aylesbury
• Chalfont St Peter District Centre
• Chesham Town Centre
• High Wycombe
• Marlow
• Princes Risborough

Maps provided by the district councils to define these areas are set out in Appendix 3 and should be referred to in identifying whether a development is defined as being within Zone 1. All other areas fall within Zone 2.

Some local planning authorities have expressed an interest in the option of including an additional town centre zone for both residential and non-residential developments. This could allow them to apply a different standard where they feel a town centre has different needs and would be possible within the flexibility provided by this guidance.