3: Background Information

Public Transport in the District

3.1. Public transport provision in the New Forest District is currently limited. With regards bus provision:

a. Routes - they generally follow the existing transport corridors, focusing on the main settlements rather than form a comprehensive 'spider's web'; and

b. Frequency and timetable - key routes (including services through Fordingbridge and Ringwood; Southampton and Lymington services; and main Waterside routes) do provide some evening and/or Sunday services, however remaining areas of the District do not have such service patterns.

3.2. The District is also served by railways that operate between Southampton, Portsmouth and London to the east and Bournemouth and beyond to the west. Stations are situated close to the centres of Totton and New Milton. In addition to this, though still regular, a less frequent shuttle service is provided to Lymington Town and Pier. As with bus services, the focus is on this provision at the main settlements.

3.3. There are ferry services that operate from the District, the first linking with the railway at Lymington with regular services to the Isle of Wight for both vehicles and foot passengers. There is also a foot passenger service operating daily between Hythe and Southampton, though has no evening service.

3.4. Therefore, whilst taxi and car share schemes do exist in some the very rural areas, much of the District has low or very low accessibility characteristics. This means lower parking standards are not always considered appropriate for non-residential developments that rely on its workforce from within the District.

Car ownership levels in the District

3.5 Car ownership in the New Forest District stands at about 1.4 cars per household based on Department for Transport statistics from 2020. This figure has remained broadly consistent and is the same figure that was recorded in the 2001 Census. This is more than the national average, but very close to the average for Hampshire (excluding the cities of Portsmouth and Southampton). Car is the dominant mode of travel in the District as it is in Hampshire, with 45% of households having two or more cars or vans. The parking standards take this and the rural nature of the District into account.

3.6 Car ownership has also been analysed by 'cars per person' at a finer grain across the District using data from 2018. This shows that all but a few areas in the centre of the main settlements (Totton and Ringwood in particular) have car ownership significantly above the national average.

3.7 Along with increasing levels of low emission and electric vehicles, driven by national targets to phase out petrol and diesel fuels, further research points to a rise nationally in autonomous and shared vehicles - the latter pointing to a potential reduction nationally of car ownership, though this is only expected in the longer term.

Electric and Ultra-low emissions vehicles

3.8 There are two key drivers for change that are impacting the transport industry:

• Air pollutants: particles or chemicals (Nitrogen Oxides and Particulate matter) that are released into the atmosphere with the potential to cause harm to human health or the natural environment. The most common are coronary heart disease, strokes, lung cancer, and child asthma.
• Greenhouse gas emissions (Carbon dioxide, methane, and Carbon monoxide): these have a global impact. A sustainable future will look at both direct and indirect emissions of greenhouse gases.

3.9 Reducing emissions of all major air pollutants is a major challenge and transitioning to zero emission road transport will require a long-term solution to the poor air quality in our larger settlements. Electric and hybrid vehicles are important emerging technologies essential to address these drivers for change and achieve the national commitment to phase out new combustion engines, with the end of sale of new petrol and diesel cars to end by 2030.

3.10 The following figure shows the ultra-low emission vehicles ownership in New Forest District. Whilst the figures in the graph still represent a small proportion of the overall vehicles registered in the District, the trend clearly shows an increasing ownership of this vehicle type.

Figure 1: Number of licensed ultra-low emission vehicles in New Forest District (Department for Transport statistics 2020)

3.11 The success of electric and hybrid vehicles as technologies is in part dependent on there being a readily available supply of vehicle charging points. In the context of car parking, national and local policies are now addressing this by ensuring an adequate provision of spaces for charging plug-in and other ultra-low emission vehicles.

Economic vitality, and the quality of the environment

3.12 It is important to ensure that a realistic and sufficient level of motor vehicle and cycle parking is provided where new development takes place. Ensuring that there is an adequate supply of labour within the District to support the economy of the area is critical in ensuring that existing businesses thrive, business retention and to attract inward investment to the District. The availability of sufficient car parking has a role in economic vitality and improving accessibility to necessary local services and facilities, particularly in rural areas and for the less mobile including people with disabilities.

3.13 Taking account of climate change as a driver for change through prioritising opportunities to walk, cycle and use public transport is key factor for this SPD to support. It is equally as important to approach parking requirements and standards with some flexibility to ensure land is used efficiently, having regard to existing parking provision, the realistic needs arising from the proposed development, and the accessibility of the location by other travel modes. At non-residential locations, there will also be a need to manage the demand for car travel by ensuring that the availability of car parking space does not discourage the use of alternative transport modes whilst ensuring that car parking does not adversely impact on the surrounding local area.