SPECIFICATION:

  Land use Planning Research 2002-03

  Delivering sustainable residential environments: PPG3 and highway adoption procedures.

INTRODUCTION

  1.  Planning Policy Guidance Note 3 (PPG3), published in March 2000, makes fundamental changes to planning for housing. It places the pursuit of sustainable development at the heart of both the forward planning of new housing and the consideration of housing proposals through development control. PPG3 is central to the Government's polices for securing an urban renaissance, protecting the countryside from unnecessary development and meeting the housing needs of all in the community.

  2.  PPG3 requires new development of the highest quality. It looks for the best use to be made of the land we have available and for new development to be built in a sustainable way, sensitive to the needs of people and the impact it has on the environment. Planning authorities are expected to adopt policies which:

—  create places and spaces with the needs of people in mind, which are attractive, have their own distinctive identity but respect and enhance local character;

—  promote designs and layouts which are safe and take account of public health, crime prevention and community safety considerations;

—  focus on the quality of the places and living environments being created and give priority to the needs of pedestrians rather than the movement and parking of vehicles;

—  avoid inflexible planning standards and reduce road widths, traffic speeds and promote safer environments for pedestrians; and

—  promote the energy efficiency of new housing where possible.

  3.  The road layout and highway standards currently used by some local highway authorities do not fully reflect PPG3's emphasis on sustainable residential environments. There is anecdotal evidence that housebuilders experience difficulties in reaching agreement with local highway authorities to adopt[36] estate roads in developments which have been designed to accord with PPG3. The key areas of tension are said to relate to road width and layout, and parking.

AIM AND OBJECTIVES

  4.  The aim of this research is to determine whether local highway authorities are reluctant to adopt residential developments designed to reflect PPG3, the extent of such practices, why they take place and how they might be overcome.

  5.  The study therefore has the following objectives:

  (i)  to identify and assess the extent, nature and causes of any local highway authority reluctance to adopt road layouts that benefit from a planning permission and reflect the approach to securing sustainable residential environments set out in PPG3;

  (ii)  to determine the part if any played by practice guidance on roads and footways issued, or endorsed by Government or the Highways Agency; and as necessary;

  (iii)  to make recommendations on how best to secure the effective delivery of the sustainable residential environments sought by PPG3, identifying measures that can be taken immediately as well as longer term action.

SCOPE

  6.  The focus of the research is the interaction between local planning authorities, local highway authorities and housebuilders in the delivery of the sustainable residential environments sought by PPG3 through:

  (i)  the adoption of relevant development plan policies and preparation of design guides;

  (ii)  development control; and,

  (iii)  the agreements made under section 38 of the Highways Act.

  7.  The research should take into account local government organisation and whether there is any meaningful difference in delivering sustainable residential environments between unitary authorities and authorities in two-tier arrangements. Decisions on housing proposals taken by the Secretary of State and on his behalf by the Planning Inspectorate should also be considered within the scope of this research.

  8.  The research will take into account practice guidance published by Government. It will in particular consider the approach, interpretation and implementation by local highway authorities of Design Bulletin 32 and its companion guide Places, Streets and Movement, and consider the influence on local highway authorities of Better Places to Live, the companion guide to PPG3 that considers the design of residential environments.

  9.  The research will also need to take into account other guidance produced by Government and the Highways Agency, which may influence how local highway authorities discharge their responsibilities under the Highways Act. The research will draw as appropriate from the range of material and advice that is available from other sources, including the House Builders Federation and the Institute of Highways and Transportation.

PROPOSED APPROACH

  10.  The Department does not wish to specify a preferred detailed approach to this research, but it is expected that the project is likely to include the following key elements:

  (i)  a short literature review;

  (ii)  interviews with key stakeholders (including, but not exclusively, local planning authorities, local highway authorities and housebuilders); supplemented as appropriate by a questionnaire survey; and,

  (iii)  case studies to secure an in-depth examination of the relevant issues and provide a sound basis for the recommendations made.

  11.  The Department, and steering group as appropriate, will expect to be involved in the preparation of and agree the questionnaire for any survey and selection of case studies.

OUTPUTS

  12.  The following outputs are sought from the project:

  (a)  an inception report setting out the key findings from 10(i) above;

  (b)  an interim report that (i) describes the approach used to identify possible case studies based on the findings set out in the inception report and, as appropriate, from findings secured through 10(ii); and, (ii) identifies possible case studies; and,

  (c)  a final report which draws on the outputs set out in paragraph 10 and which meets the objectives set out in paragraph 5.

  13.  The final report should be prepared to allow for wider dissemination. No limit is placed on the size of the report but the findings should be presented clearly, supported as appropriate by graphic presentation.

CRITERIA FOR EVALUATING THE TENDERS

  14.  Tenders are invited to identify an appropriate programme to deliver the outputs.

  15.  Tenders will be judged on performance against the following criteria:

—  how well they address the research objectives;

—  the quality of the ideas presented;

—  the relevant skills and experience of the research team;

—  the robustness and suitability of the proposed approach in meeting the requirements of the specification;

—  the adequacy of the proposed project management arrangements;

—  the track record of the tender in delivering quality and succinct reports to schedule.

  16.  Tenders will need to demonstrate that they have the following skills and attributes:

    (a)  an understanding of how highway and land-use planning processes affect the design, engineering and appearance of road layouts and residential environments; and their management;

    (b)  a broad-based team capable of drawing upon a wide range of expertise and capabilities, including but not exclusively highway engineers, land-use planners and urban designers, and proven project management experience with a good track record in delivering high quality outputs on time, to budget and in accordance with client expectations;

    (c)  an ability to produce practical advice in a clear, succinct and user-friendly form, with a minimum of technical jargon, including quality illustrations and other visual material in support; and

    (d)  an ability to work closely with the Department's Contract Manager throughout the project.

MANAGEMENT

  17.  The contractor will be supervised by a DTLR official who will act as Nominated Officer for the project and be responsible for day-to-day management. The Department will expect a named member of staff to be in sole charge of the project.

  18.  The project will be overseen by a Steering Group to monitor progress and provide advice. The Department will determine membership of this group. It is envisaged that at least four meetings will be held between the contractor and the steering group, although this will be agreed with the successful tender. The meetings will include an initial briefing and reviews of progress arranged around the anticipated outputs.

  19.  From time to time the contractor will be expected to subject work in progress to peer group review via a "sounding board" determined by the Department on the advice of the contractor. Subject to the programme agreed with the successful tenders, it is anticipated that a sounding board would comment on the initial findings and the case studies.

REPORTING

  20.  The Department will require the contractor to prepare and circulate copies of all progress and interim reports and discussion papers to each member of the Steering Group. The tender should allow for 10 copies of each paper, including Progress and Interim reports, to be discussed by the Steering Group. These should be provided at least 10 working days before a meeting.

  21.  A draft Final Report should be submitted for discussion with the Department not less than four weeks before the final steering meeting. The Department will require delivery of six copies of the draft Final Report.

  22.  It is likely that the Department will make arrangements for the publication of the report. However, tenders should be aware that the research contractor might be required to publish the final report on behalf of the Department. If a contractor is asked to take responsibility for publication, the guide will need to be printed to the Departmental standard. Further advice can be provided on the Departmental standard if required. Where the contractor does not have the facility to meet this requirement in-house, it will be necessary to enter into a sub-contract with one of the Department's approved contractors. Prior to publishing, the contractor would be required to sign a non-exclusive "Crown copyright: first publishing right".

  23.  An initial discussion on publishing arrangements, including costs and dissemination will take place at the post tender stage. Tenders should however indicate their willingness and ability to undertake responsibility for publishing the final report if requested to do so.

  24.  Tenders would be expected to consider the prospective audience for the report as a means of calculating the number of reports needed whether or not they are asked to publish themselves.

  25.  Any information supplied by the Department to the contractor during the project must be returned no later than one month after the end of the contract period. A copy of any presentation materials used in the Final Report or meetings or seminars (slides, overhead projection transparencies etc) will be required by the Department for retention. The contractors will not use the information from this research for any purpose other than to meet the terms of the contract, without the Department's prior consent.

TIMESCALE

  26.  It is estimated that the project timescale will be no more than (eight) months, commencing in (May 2002).