A1P (1) MAJOR HIGHWAY SCHEMES - A5225 ... - Wigan Council

at food stores, where car parks could be used by town and district centre shoppers,
thereby facilitating linked trips.
10.164 Under the terms of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004,
RPG13 has become the Interim Regional Spatial Strategy. It is, therefore, part of the
development plan for each relevant LPA area and has the full weight of s38(6). For this
reason, and because it is addressed more closely to local circumstances, it should be
given more weight than the advice of PPG13. PPG13 itself (paragraph 53) advises that
Regional Planning Bodies and LPAs may adopt more rigorous standards than those set
out in PPG13 (annex D) where this is appropriate.
10.165 PPG13 (paragraph 54) advises that, for individual developments, car
parking provision above maximum standards may be permitted where the need for this
has been demonstrated through a Transport Assessment. This is reflected in the second
paragraph of the reasoned justification to policy A1S. An objector contends that the
reasoned justification text is an over-generalised version of the advice of PPG13
(paragraph 54) but, in my view, it is a fair representation of it. An objector argues that the
UDP should provide guidance on how a Transport Assessment would demonstrate the
requirement for extra parking and how this would be linked to Travel Plans and other
initiatives to promote modal shift. In my view it is sufficient for the RDD to require that a
Transport Assessment be used to demonstrate why parking in excess of the maximum
standards is needed. The detailed measures to be employed in the assessment will vary
from one scheme to another and are best determined at development control stage.
The encouragement of reduced parking provision
10.166 An objector argues that the UDP should encourage reduced parking
provision in areas well served by public transport or existing parking spaces. It should
consider the use of shared car parking in appropriate circumstances. The second element
of policy A1S does this. It provides that the scope for providing car parking below the
maximum standard will be considered against the factors of accessibility of the site by
public transport and the availability of off-street and on-street parking spaces. These
latter categories of car parking are of a type which would be likely to be shared.
The relevance of maximum parking standards
10.167 An objector notes the reference to maximum car parking standards in both
policy A1S and Appendix 9. He argues that, as a general principle, these should be
replaced with minimum standards. The references to maximum parking standards are,
however, soundly based on the advice of PPG13 (paragraph 52) that policies in
development plans should set maximum levels of parking for broad classes of
development.
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