24. ANP18: Sustainable Transport & Parking
24.1Sustainable transport - Re-shaping transport systems has the potential to enhance quality of life. Better facilities for walking, cycling and public transport, alongside reductions in car traffic creates benefits including improved health, and air quality, more hospitable public spaces, greater footfall to support rural enterprise and helps to meet environmental targets. The transport sector is responsible for approximately 36% of all UK energy use so reducing car usage can bring significant benefits.
24.2The rural nature of Albury parish and the poor provision of public transport means many parishioners are dependent on private car usage. There are no schools in the parish or doctor’s surgery and bus services do not run frequently to benefit commuters and school children. APPENDIX I - Travel and Traffic report. The Guildford to Redhill railway line runs through the middle of the parish but there are no stations within its boundaries. The closest stations are Chilworth (2 miles to the west) and Gomshall (2.5 miles to the east). These stations are, unfortunately, only served infrequently. There are also stations at Clandon (6 miles) and Effingham Junction (10 miles) which sit on the line to London – these are popular with commuters but require the use of vehicles to access the stations.
24.3The Neighbourhood Plan Parish Consultation 2024 identified traffic and traffic calming as one of the most significant problems in the parish. Some traffic issues cannot be addressed through a Neighbourhood Plan. This policy is included to provide direction to the Parish Council of the issues raised and to enable them to act accordingly and provide policy that affects development that is designed poorly and could exacerbate the problem and is covered in the Report Recommendations to the Parish Council.
24.4The Travel and Traffic Evidence Report, APPENDIX I sets out the problems currently facing the parish with regards to increased traffic volumes, speeding, and lack of parking particularly at community and tourist facilities, pubs and cafes. Any new development that does not take into consideration these issues will make them worse and be detrimental to the landscape, ecology, biodiversity, travel and residents’ access to the parish. There is already an identified need for more parking in Albury village and Sherbourne Farm (Silent Pool site), and new provision will be supported.
24.5There are a few bus services that service the parish. The No 32 to Guildford is a half hourly service at peak times reducing to a bus every 1 to 2 hours at weekends. This and other routes are unsuitable to service doctor’s surgeries, nor do they operate at times to suitable for school travel. The Parish Council are requested to lobby SCC and bus companies:
to provide ‘commuter time’ bus services for school children and commuters who need to access stations and towns. This is reinforced by ANP15: Net Zero, Climate Change And Building Design.
Investigate if such a service could be linked with other villages
A community bus service with other local parishes should be investigated for peak time travel to local towns, railways stations, schools, and doctor’s surgeries. The reduction of bus services should be resisted.
The policy seeks to encourage safe, accessible and convenient means of walking and cycling in the parish. It refines GLP Policy ID3 by providing local emphasis to its provisions and to reflect Net Zero Transport policy.
Many roads in the parish have no pavements, and those that do are often unsuitable for those who require the use of mobility aids, such as wheelchairs or scooters; or for parents with babies in prams or buggies and many crossing points are hazardous and unpleasant. Increasing the width of pavements (particularly on The Street in Albury Village) will be supported.
Long distance walking routes cross the parish including, the North Downs Way, a designated national trail following the historic route of the Pilgrims Way from Newlands Corner to Chantry Wood, and the Tillingbourne Valley, and a footpath linking the source of the Tillingbourne River with the River Wey. These should be supported with better signage.
There is only one signed advisory cycle route through the parish, the National Cycle Network route 22. NCN22 connects Shere to Shamley Green passing through Little London, Brook and Farley Green. There is no connecting link from the NCN22 to Albury village around Albury Park via New Road, nor an onward advisory cycle route to serve Chilworth Station. The Parish Council are asked to address this.
MAP F – Showing Cycle Route NCN22 Through the Parish (Surrey County Council)
24.6The local road network comprises largely unimproved rural B-class roads and unclassified country lanes as well as part of the A25 from the junction at A248, up the hill to Newlands Corner and on to the Guildford Manor Hotel and Spa. The other A road in the Parish is the A248 which begins at the junction with the A25 and proceeds through the centre of Albury village. This road is referred to as the ‘Guildford southern by-pass’. There is concern about the increasing volume of traffic using the A248 and in other areas of the Parish. Given the limited employment opportunities within Albury Parish, most people commute to work outside the neighbourhood area.
24.7Guildford Lane is the road link between Guildford and Albury. The passing places are difficult to maintain and there is regular flooding on the bend at White Lane Farm. The blind corner and the build-up of silt on the approach to White Lane farm from Albury, makes this a dangerous part of the road. The Parish Council is asked to work with SCC Highways to ensure that flooding and runoff are addressed as needed.
24.8The Active Travel MAP K shows the full extent of the Network, which allows applicants to determine if their proposals should take this policy into account. Where proposals include provision for landscaping, new means of access or new layouts, there may be an opportunity to relate the land better to the Network and/or improve the attractiveness of rural routes, through tree planting for example. At the very least, the policy requires that proposals that will undermine the existing Network of footpaths and cycle networks will be refused permission. The extension of, and improvements to, the existing footpaths (shown in MAP M) and cycle routes (shown in MAP F & MAP L) are identified as opportunities to improve the Network and Active Travel
24.9The Neighbourhood Plan Consultation 2024 identified The Street in Albury, Church Lane, Weston Fields and Newlands Corner as areas of particular concern to parishioners due to increased traffic speeds, narrow pavements and poor visibility. The Parish Council are asked to address these issues by forming a Traffic Calming Group with an ongoing remit to address these and other traffic ‘hotspots’ in the parish. The provision of a crossing on The Street near the village shop and pub and average speed cameras should also be considered. Opportunities for more parking in Albury village should also be explored.
Policy ANP18 – Sustainable Transport & Parking
Development proposals that provide publicly accessible footpaths and/or cycleways within the site connecting to the public highway, where practical and feasible, will be supported where agreed with the local highways authority. These should be sensitively designed to minimise the impact on the street scene.
To encourage and enable an increase in walking and cycling, all new residential and non-residential development, where reasonable and viable, will be expected to make a financial contribution to a package of local sustainable transport measures, to be agreed with the Parish Council.
All development proposals must provide sufficient on-site parking, in accordance with current GBC parking standards for new development and should not rely on parking on roads.
All new residential and non-residential development should provide electric vehicle charging infrastructure in accordance with current Building Regulations and/or GBC standards. These should be sensitively designed and located to avoid harm to heritage assets or their settings, the character of the area, as defined in the Albury Design Guidance APPENDIX A, and Surrey Hills National Landscape. Consideration should be given to extending its usage
Proposals for employment, leisure or retail development should provide electric charging points for staff and visitors. to the wider community
All development proposals must provide safe, secure, accessible, and sheltered cycle parking in accordance with current Guildford Borough Council standards which should be sensitively designed and sited in keeping with the surrounding area.
New car park facilities in Albury Village and Sherbourne Farm will be supported.
Figure 23 - Traffic Jam At Brook Crossing
Traffic Jam At Brook Crossing
- Cyclists Through Albury
