Fastest way to travel from new homes is still car

Despite efforts over recent years to promote sustainable travel when building new houses, car as a mode of transport is still 1.5 times faster nationally to reach key destinations from residential development, including two times faster to reach hospitals.

Findings come from the study, "The Location of Development 4", examining the location of approved planning applications for major residential developments across England. The research was produced by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) and aimed to explore access to a range of key destinations that represent local services and community facilities from new developments.

The research used data on planning permissions from LandTech and journey time estimates from the Department for Transport, looking at housing developments that were granted planning permission over the period 2012-2021 to compare the extent they might deliver better access to a range of key destinations that represent local services and community facilities.

Key findings from the study period (2012 to 2021) showed:

• accessibility of destinations from approved new homes remained broadly constant. Newly approved housing developments were similar to the existing housing stock in their journey times to destinations;
• there were inequalities between regions and between urban and rural areas. Approved homes in London were the most accessible while those in the South West and East of England are the least accessible;
• there was little or no improvement in the take up of public transport over the option of driving to local facilities from newly approved homes. The car as a mode of transport was 1.5 times faster nationally to reach key destinations from residential development, including 2 times faster to reach hospitals;
• cycling was a competitive alternative to driving by car, taking nationally only 1.3 times as long to reach key destinations from approved new homes;
• the majority of new homes were approved within walking distance of a GP (93%) and a primary school (73%). 32% were within a 20 minute walk to large employment centres with at least 5,000 jobs and 46% to a town centre.

The general trend shown from the statistics showed that there have been no significant changes over the ten-year study period in journey times to destinations from newly approved developments. GPs and primary schools are the most accessible destinations, with secondary schools, town centres and employment centres further away, and hospitals the least accessible to new homes. Driving is the fastest mode of transport, followed by cycling, public transport and walking.

Victoria Hills, chief executive at the RTPI, said: "It is essential that planning policies truly serve communities by creating environments that support health and sustainability. Planning should work for the people it impacts, ensuring communities flourish in healthy, well-connected places.

"To avoid repeating the mistakes of the past decade, the new NPPF must prioritise housing development in areas that reduce car reliance, bridge regional accessibility gaps, and support genuinely sustainable, vibrant communities. The time for policymakers to act is now."

For more information see, the:

• The Location of Development 4.