July 2006
Transport Statement - July 2006
Cereal Partners Production Facility, Staverton, West Wiltshire
Introduction
Mouchel Parkman has been appointed by Cereal Partners UK to produce a transport statement in support of a planning application at their existing production facility at Staverton, West Wiltshire. The application is for minor alterations to the existing buildings. Following a meeting between Cereal Partners UK and West Wilts District Council, the local authority requested an assessment of the transport issues relating to the application. This transport statement provides the information requested and is to be read in conjunction with the supporting environmental statement produced by Cereal Partners UK (CPUK).
Background
The background information regarding the existing production facility is described in detail in the supporting planning statement and summarised below.
CPUK is a partnership between Nestle SA and General Mills Inc. Cereal Partners built a new cereal production facility on the Nestle site at Staverton in 1998. Subsequent to the closure of the Nestle Chilled Dairy plant in late 2004, Cereal Partners now control the operations of the whole site. The existing development has a floor space of 27,633 sq.m, all of which has been used for various production uses in the last three years.
The company is proposing to transfer the production of several products from the Hertfordshire site to the Staverton facility. This will involve using the available Nestle Chilled Dairy plant production floor space. The net output from CPUK will increase from existing levels towards the levels of output achieved when Nestle occupied the Chilled Dairy plant. Although this project will increase the activity on site, in terms of traffic, it will be less than it was before the closure of the Nestle Chilled Dairy plant (see below).
Development Proposals
The development proposals involve minor changes to the buildings to accommodate new equipment. No increase in production floor space is proposed. The minor changes to the buildings are as follows:
· A new connection corridor will be constructed linking the Dairy and Cereal Buildings.
· A temporary changing facility will be demolished make way for a hard-standing for a hydraulic plant room with acoustic enclosure.
· Some penetrations will be made between the Dairy and Cereal plant providing access for pedestrians and internal transport between the two buildings where they abut.
· An ancillary building area will be increased in height to accommodate a new cleaning system
· The former Sports and Social club will be removed, as it is no longer required.
The net effect of the above changes on floor space will be a reduction of 161.3 sq.m. Details of the areas of these buildings are attached to the planning application (appendix 3) and shown on Table 1. The project should be completed by late 2007.
There are no changes proposed to the site access and no changes to the existing car parking provision.
A recent travel survey has indicated that 20% of employees travel to work in modes other than cars. It is proposed that CPUK will take measures to reduce the reliance on cars as a means of transport.
Transport Issues
The existing floor space is 27,633 sq.m. All of this floor space has been used for various production uses in the last three years. There is no increase in production floor space and the total floor space will be reduced by 161.3 sq.m. The new build is as follows:
· A new connection corridor will be constructed linking the Dairy and Cereal Buildings.
· A new hard-standing for a hydraulic plant room with acoustic enclosure.
· Some penetrations will be made between the Dairy and Cereal plant providing access for pedestrians and internal transport between the two buildings where they abut.
· An ancillary building area will be increased in height to accommodate a new cleaning system
The new build identified above will not generate additional traffic flows. In terms of normal transport impact the new build will not have an adverse impact on the highway network.
Notwithstanding the above, the traffic flows which could be generated by the proposed development compared with the traffic generated when Nestle occupied the Chilled Dairy plant is significantly lower. The existing and proposed development traffic flows are summarised on Table 2. The predicted traffic flows are 40% less than what the existing development has achieved in the last three years.
Summary
The above assessment has demonstrated that the development proposals will not result in an adverse impact on the highway network.