Sustainable transport choices and the retail sector - advice to Government from CfIT

Chapter 2: Background

Key themes: sustainable transport

2.1 The Government's key themes for Sustainable Transport include:

• Balancing the need to travel with the need to improve quality of life.
• Focusing upon town / city centre development.

The policy structure

2.2 The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has responsibility to promote community cohesion and equality, as well as responsibility for housing, urban regeneration, land-use planning and local government. It unites the communities and civil renewal functions previously undertaken by the Home Office, with responsibility for regeneration, neighbourhood renewal and local government.

2.3 Responsibility for the delivery of a safe, environmentally-friendly, efficient and reliable national transport infrastructure rests with the Department for Transport (DfT). The Department for Transport determines overall transport strategy and manages relationships with the agencies responsible for the delivery of that vision.

The policy framework

2.4 The 1998 White Paper A New Deal for Transport: Better for Everyone expressed the Government's objective to move towards a more sustainable transport policy. In order to achieve this, the White Paper identified a need to reduce single occupancy car trips and a move towards more sustainable modes of transport such as walking, cycling and public transport. It also recognised that the car will remain the prime choice of mode, but seeks to make more efficient use through car share and car-pooling.

2.5 The White Paper put forward a number of policies aimed at creating a more sustainable future and achieving a better quality of life for all. In particular, it was proposed that local authorities would be enabled to reduce congestion in towns and cities by charging for the use of roads and for parking at the workplace. It was recognised in the White Paper that free parking at other developments (such as retail and leisure facilities) may also contribute to congestion, particularly at larger facilities, although the congestion is not as concentrated in the peak hour as that associated with work trips.

2.6 Transport 2010: The Ten Year Plan was launched in July 2000, and broadly followed the approach and principles of the White Paper, but with additional focus on the goal of cutting congestion. It identified the need for improved integration between land use and transport planning at national, regional and local levels to promote patterns of development that can be served more effectively by public transport. New planning policies would seek to increase the transport choices available for local journeys, and national planning guidance would be updated to ensure that new development provides safer and easier access to jobs, shopping, leisure and services. This means locating major travel-generating development in places such as town / city centres, and making more efficient use of land on prime sites, to help encourage use of public transport. It means encouraging shops and services at the neighbourhood level so people can walk or cycle for their day-to-day needs.

2.7 Sustainable development is a key policy that underpins the Government's approach to the planning system. The DCLG defines sustainable communities as "places where people want to live and work, now and in the future. They meet the diverse needs of existing and future residents, are sensitive to their environment, and contribute to a high quality of life". They are expected to be "well connected", with key features such as:

• transport facilities, including public transport, that help people travel within and between communities and reduce dependence on cars;
• facilities to encourage safe local walking and cycling;
• an appropriate level of local parking facilities in line with local plans to manage road traffic demand.

2.8 The Government has set out its position on planning policy in the shape of Planning Policy Statements (PPS) which must be taken into account by local authorities in making decisions on individual planning applications and appeals and in formulating their own local devlopment plans. To date the Government has issued the following PPS which are designed to ensure sustainable development:

• PPS 1: Delivering Sustainable Development
• PPS 6: Planning for Town Centres
• PPS 7: Sustainable Development in Rural Areas
• PPS 11: Regional Spatial Strategies
• PPS 12: Local Development Frameworks

2.9 The central focus of planning policies is to promote sustainable development, preferably in existing centres. Planning policy therefore targets edge-of-centre and out-of-centre developments by restraining their growth in inappropriate locations. Only when this is not appropriate should edge-of-centre and out-of-centre locations be considered. Policy guidance and statements emphasise the link between land use planning and transportation, and are further enhanced within the Regional Spatial Strategies and Local Development Frameworks strategic planning process.

National trends

2.10 Trends within the retail and transport sectors have changed dramatically over the past two decades.

"Until the 1960s the majority of people relied on public transport to get them to work and for leisure and shopping journeys. The most convenient place to shop, therefore, was the town or village centre. As car ownership has increased, town centres with their restricted parking facilities and traffic jams have become less attractive. This led to the development of out-of-town supermarkets, shopping centres, leisure complexes and park and ride facilities. This phenomenon first took off during the mid-1980s and, at its peak in 1989, 74 new out-of-town shopping developments, retail warehouse parks and factory outlet centres (whose size were 4,645m2 and greater (gross) were completed in Great Britain" (Office for National Statistics, ONS).

Transport trends

Key themes: Dramatic increase in car ownership. Changes in household structures (decreases in household size) and an associated increase in trip generation, and lower average car occupancy. Real costs of motoring have remained relatively constant, while the cost of public transport has increased. Increases in disposable income and consumer expenditure and anticipated continued rises. Increased willingness to travel longer distances (to access retail and leisure destinations), therefore increased attractiveness of car-based journeys and increased vehicle mileage.

2.11 Traffic levels have grown by 81% between 1980 and 2004. The majority of this growth occurred in car traffic, which has risen by 85% since 1980, and light van traffic, which has more than doubled since 1980 (DfT, Transport Trends, 2005).

2.12 The rise in car use, and the shift from public transport to the private car, can be explained, in part, by Figure 1 below. It shows that, as disposable income has increased, motoring costs have remained stable while public transport fares (rail & bus) have risen. In essence, as society has become wealthier, private vehicle ownership has increased - so much so that the proportion of households with more than one vehicle is now higher than the proportion of households without access to a car.

Figure 1: Changes in real cost of transport and income: 1980 to 2004

Source: Office of National Statistics

2.13 Changes in demography have also impacted upon levels of traffic. For example, the number of households with more than one car has increased while the average household size is becoming smaller - resulting in a fall in car occupancy rates.

2.14 Between 1989 and 2004 the number of trips made by car for shopping journeys rose by 13% while those by bus fell by 2% and for walking trips, by 11%. The average distance of shopping journeys almost doubled between 1976 to 2004 (DfT Transport Trends 2001 and 2005).

2.15 Over 60% of shopping trips are now made by car, with 20% made on foot and 16% by public transport. These figures become even more marked when it comes to out-of-town retail parks where almost 90% of people use their car to get there, with just 4.8% going by bus and 4.1% on foot.

2.16 Household expenditure on transport has gradually increased - this is a reflection of the increase in the numbers of cars owned per household, as opposed to expenditure per car, which has actually changed little. In the 20 years from 1980 to 2000, the average weekly household expenditure rose from £278 to £386 and expenditure on transport specifically, rose from £40 to £65 (ONS Expenditure and Food Survey).

Retail trends

Key themes: Growth of edge-of-town and out-of-town retailing (Increased choice of retail and leisure destinations). High responsiveness of the retail sector to customer demands and needs (e.g. increased integration of retail and leisure facilities). Reduction in the number of individual retailers (i.e. an amalgamation process).

2.17 Retailing in the UK covers a wide range of businesses, from the large multiples and department stores through to independents, selling a wide selection of products. It is a significant driver in the national economy, a major employer, and impacts on many social, community, transport, investment and development issues. In the context of this study, this activity has a major effect on travel patterns, and with the current dominance of the private car as the default choice of personal transport, there are implications to travel patterns and parking provision.

2.18 Retail has changed significantly over the last twenty years. As levels of affluence have risen so, logically, has the amount spent on retail. In the period from 1980 to 2000, the average weekly household expenditure on retail (food, non-alohol and alcoholic drinks, tobacco, clothing & footwear, household goods, personal goods and services and leisure goods) rose from £151 to £172 (ONS Expenditure and Food Survey).

2.19 It is not just the level of spend that has altered, but the nature of our spending. Internet retail sales are rapidly growing, having risen by 356% in the five years to 2005 (ONS Blue Book 2005) and is now estimated to be worth £8.2bn (Verdict e-Retail 2006). This increase in e-retail sales compares with an increase in total UK retail sales of just over 20% in the same period and online retail sales are forecast to grow by 163% by 2010 (ONS Retail Sales Index).

2.20 In the 1980s and early 1990s the location of retailing activities shifted from city centres to out-of-town complexes. This was possible due to a planning regulatory system which allowed decentralised activity, coupled with the availability of large areas of unused land which was cheap in comparison to land within the town or city centre.

2.21 The growth and success of out-of-town sites is also possible because of the increase in car ownership (i.e. increased ability and willingness to travel) and the customer desire for a wide range of shops, holding a larger selection of goods. To benefit the retail experience, these complexes tend to be pedestrian-friendly and under cover, provide free parking, and have brached out into other associated services, such as leisure facilities and restaurants.

Previous studies undertaken on transport & retail

2.22 Previous research examining the impact of sustainable transport policies has considered their impact on retail spend by mode and found contrary evidence. For example, research undertaken by TTR (Feb, 2002) found that "the perceived detrimental impacts of sustainable transport policies on the retail sector are not evident".

2.23 One of the most interesting areas of evidential research relates to how people arrive at residential centres and their spending patterns. The University of Stirling has carried out travel diary research related to shoppers and DfT has published a Personal Travel Fact sheet - Travel to Shops in GB in January 2003. The evidence seems to indicate that a high proportion of shoppers arrive in town / city centres by public transport, walking and cycling. This was not the perception amongst many retailers.

2.24 In addition, research by the Confederation of Passenger Transport and Transport for London (TfL) has shown not only that the majority of customers arrive by public transport, walking or cycling but they spend as much as those who arrive by car. Indeed, TfL found that customers who walked spend the greatest amount^[1].

2.25 Research by Accent (July 2004) for Transport for London found very little difference between bus customer and car driver spend on average per week (£63 compared to £64), while those who walked on average spent considerably more (£91).

2.26 CfIT acknowledges each city investigated will have unique landscape and population characteristics. Equally, comparisons with London need to be considered cautiously. London has a population density unlike other areas. It has also invested heavily in its transport infrastructure, which is the envy of many cities outside London. Even before the introduction of the congestion charge, highway access in London was restricted through congestion and a lack of parking. The profile of the public transport user is also very different within London than outside. However, London does provide a useful illustration of what can be achieved with the right mix of demand restraint and investment.

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1: Accent (July 2004) for Transport for London found very little difference between bus customer and car driver spend on average per week (£63 compared to £64), while those who walked on average spent considerably more (£91).

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