High Street, Pontarddulais

Apex provided transport planning and highways advice to support an outline planning application for the redevelopment of a brownfield site on High Street, Pontarddulais, to deliver up to 150 residential dwellings.

The site is allocated within the Swansea Local Development Plan as part of allocation SD A: South of Glannffrwd Road, Pontarddulais, which comprises two development parcels. The proposals therefore form part of a wider, coordinated allocation intended to deliver new housing supported by appropriate infrastructure and sustainable transport connections.

Apex oversaw and approved the preparation of a comprehensive Transport Assessment and Travel Plan to support the application and provided ongoing technical support throughout the planning process, including post-application engagement with the highway authority.

Apex provided transport planning and highways advice to support an outline planning application for the redevelopment of a brownfield site on High Street, Pontarddulais, to deliver up to 150 residential dwellings.

The site is allocated within the Swansea Local Development Plan as part of allocation SD A: South of Glannffrwd Road, Pontarddulais, which comprises two development parcels. The proposals therefore form part of a wider, coordinated allocation intended to deliver new housing supported by appropriate infrastructure and sustainable transport connections.

Apex oversaw and approved the preparation of a comprehensive Transport Assessment and Travel Plan to support the application and provided ongoing technical support throughout the planning process, including post-application engagement with the highway authority.

We prepared a comprehensive Transport Assessment to support the outline application, informed by detailed site analysis, policy review and extensive pre-application engagement with Swansea Council and the highway authority. Two pre-application meetings were attended to agree the assessment scope, access strategy and Spine Street principles at an early stage.

Masterplanning and Spine Street delivery

A key issue was the delivery of a Spine Street through the site in accordance with LDP allocation requirements. Through detailed discussion with the local planning and highway authorities, working alongside the wider project team, Apex was involved in developing a suitable and deliverable strategy in line with policy.

This included upgrading the existing highway along the site frontage to Spine Street standards, with an access arrangement linking the eastern and southern site boundaries to accommodate larger vehicles. This work ensured that the allocation requirements could be met in a deliverable and policy-compliant manner.

Access design and active travel connectivity

We designed three new vehicular access points into the site, supported by appropriate geometry and visibility. Extensive on-site walking and cycling infrastructure was incorporated into the masterplan, including the delivery of a new active travel route within the site boundary.

An active travel review was undertaken to assess and identify improvements to off-site walking and cycling connections, linking the site to the town centre, nearby bus stops and Pontarddulais rail station. This work demonstrated that the site is well connected by sustainable modes of travel and that opportunities exist to encourage non-car travel. A reasonable and proportionate contribution was agreed towards the delivery of off-site active travel improvements.

Traffic impact assessment and junction modelling

Vehicle trip generation and highway safety were assessed as part of the Transport Assessment, demonstrating that the proposals would not result in unacceptable impacts on the local highway network.

Detailed junction modelling was undertaken at key junctions to assess future year network performance.

Following submission of the application, detailed discussions were held with the highway authority, who raised queries in relation to modelling outputs at a key signal-controlled junction.

In response, Apex prepared further technical analysis using LinSig, incorporating obtained site-specific cycle times and saturation flows to accurately replicate on-the-ground conditions, given the junction operates under MOVA control.

This additional work demonstrated that development traffic would result in only negligible changes to junction operation, with minimal and non-material forecast queue length increases associated with the proposals in a future year scenario. The modelling approach and conclusions were accepted by the highway authority as a robust and reasonable representation of junction operation.

Following submission of the Transport Assessment, Travel Plan and post-application technical inputs, the highway authority confirmed that it would not raise an objection to the proposals, subject to agreed conditions and mitigation.

The transport evidence demonstrated that the development could be accessed safely, that the Spine Street requirements could be delivered, and that the impact on the surrounding highway network would not be material.

Planning permission was therefore granted in 2024.

The approved scheme supports the regeneration of a brownfield site in a sustainable location, delivering new homes underpinned by a robust access strategy, strong active travel provision and a proportionate, evidence-led transport assessment.