Transport for New Homes
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| Transport for New Homes | |
|---|---|
| Name | Transport for New Homes |
| Type | Advocacy research charity |
| Founded | 2015 |
| Location | London, England |
| Focus | Urban planning, housing, transport |
Transport for New Homes
Transport for New Homes promotes transport‑led design for housing developments in England, advocating alternatives to car dependency and influencing planning debate. The organisation produces research reports, case studies and guidance aimed at policymakers, developers and local authorities, engaging with planning frameworks and infrastructure programmes. Its work intersects with debates involving housing supply, sustainable transport, and urban design across Greater London, Bristol, Manchester, Birmingham and other English regions.
Background and objectives
Transport for New Homes was established amid national discussions around the Housing and Planning Act 2016, National Planning Policy Framework, and delivery targets set by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. Its founders and contributors drew on precedents from Cambridge University urbanists, University College London researchers, and practices seen in Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Freiburg im Breisgau and Portland, Oregon. Objectives include reducing car dependency, increasing walking, cycling and public transport use, and improving quality of life in growth areas such as Thames Gateway, Greater Manchester Combined Authority catchments and new garden communities promoted under Local Enterprise Partnerships.
The organisation targets multiple stakeholders, including elected members of London Assembly, planning officers in unitary authorities like Milton Keynes Council and Eastleigh Borough Council, and transport bodies such as Transport for London and the Department for Transport. It engages with industry forums alongside bodies like the Royal Institute of British Architects, Royal Town Planning Institute and Institution of Civil Engineers.
Design standards and guidance
Transport for New Homes publishes guidance that references standards and manuals from institutions such as the Department for Transport, National Highways, Design Council CABE and academic outputs from Bartlett School of Planning and University of Westminster. The guidance advocates layouts that prioritise links to stations such as Norwich railway station and tram networks like Manchester Metrolink and aligns with modal hierarchy approaches employed by Dutch Cycling Embassy examples.
Design criteria emphasised include access to frequent services like those on the Great Western Main Line, proximity to interchanges like Birmingham New Street station, and adoption of street design principles used in projects by practitioners associated with Gehl Architects, Arup and Atkins. The guidance critiques standard estate patterns common in postwar developments and references retrofit approaches from Sustrans and Living Streets campaigns.
Planning and assessment processes
Transport for New Homes advocates embedding transport appraisal in local plans and masterplans, recommending assessment methods comparable to those used by Network Rail, Highways England and strategic transport models in Transport for London. It calls for travel planning and modelling that reflect realistic mode‑shift scenarios rather than traffic‑maximising projections employed in appeals before Planning Inspectorate hearings.
The organisation engages with statutory instruments such as the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and anticipates requirements set by neighbourhood plans under the Localism Act 2011. It recommends public‑consultation practices akin to those used by Peabody Trust and English Heritage for heritage‑sensitive sites, and promotes viability testing methodologies referenced by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
Implementation and infrastructure strategies
Implementation advice focuses on phased infrastructure delivery, early provision of walking, cycling and bus priority measures, and using funding mechanisms seen in Community Infrastructure Levy and Section 106 agreements. It highlights case studies involving bus rapid transit schemes analogous to Leeds-Bradford Metrolink proposals and station‑led regeneration examples like King's Cross Central.
Transport for New Homes promotes tactical urbanism interventions, trial layouts and low‑cost pilots similar to programmes run by Living Streets and the Mayor of London's street transformation initiatives. It encourages partnerships with transport operators such as Stagecoach Group, Arriva and FirstGroup to secure bus services for new neighbourhoods, and supports active travel infrastructure modelled on Sustrans's National Cycle Network corridors.
Impacts and outcomes
Published reports document differences between developments designed for car dominance and those prioritising sustainable modes, drawing comparisons with international projects in Hammarby Sjöstad and Vauban. Outcomes highlighted include reduced parking ratios, increased walking trips, and higher public transport patronage where early service provision mirrored schemes around Crossrail stations. Studies cite benefits for public health referenced by Public Health England and social outcomes noted by Joseph Rowntree Foundation research.
Transport for New Homes has influenced revisions to local development frameworks in authorities such as Cambridge City Council and informed policy discussions at regional institutions including the West Midlands Combined Authority and Tees Valley Combined Authority.
Criticism and controversies
Critics argue Transport for New Homes underestimates practical constraints faced by housebuilders, local highway authorities and major infrastructure bodies like National Highways. Debates have occurred with commercial developers represented by organisations such as the Home Builders Federation and estate agencies familiar from Savills and Knight Frank analyses. Some planners contend the organisation's mode‑shift assumptions conflict with viability appraisals used in appeals to the Planning Inspectorate and contested at inquiries involving developers and local authorities.
Other controversies relate to representativeness, with critics invoking tensions between advocacy groups like Campaign for Better Transport and statutory duties held by transport authorities such as Transport for London and county councils. Disputes have surfaced in media outlets and policy forums where commentators from think tanks like the Institute for Public Policy Research and Centre for Cities weigh competing priorities for housing delivery and transport investment.