To reward awareness of existing local transport and identify improvements to make it more sustainable.

• Promote the development of an initial transport assessment for the site.
• Promote the implementation of travel solutions that are relevant to the challenges and opportunities of a specific site.
• Raise awareness, understanding and accessibility of travel options, and local amenities, allowing for affordable access to services.
• Encourage more sustainable transport and movement of people and goods, to and around the site.
• Encourage designers to account for the travel needs of future occupants, thereby allowing for better management in operation.
• Reduce congestion and improve safety on the site and local roads.
• Increase attractiveness of the site to potential users.

The National Planning Practice Guidance indicates that travel plans should be considered in parallel to development proposals and that they should be integrated into the design of a new site.

Based on evidence of the anticipated transport impacts of new developments, Travel Plans are a long term management strategy for implementing the mitigating measures addressed by the Transport Assessments or Statements1Department for Communities and Local Government. 2012. National Planning Policy Framework. 2012. .

They intend to promote sustainable and active travel. Their purpose is to deliver transport and transport-related benefits to the development itself and the wider community. As they include a package of actions designed to address the needs of the users in that local area, effective but unpopular solutions, such as parking restrictions, can be combined with popular but expensive solutions, such as bus subsidies, to ensure that the negative impacts are neutralised by the benefits.

The transport tools proposed by the Travel Plan are user-focused and ensure the increase and improvement of travel choices to the users, cost savings and improved company image and staff health and wellbeing.