Getting transport infrastructure right is critical to unlocking housing targets

To deliver the new generation of sustainable communities, transport must be planned early and aligned with local plans. This is why our team start by looking at strategic fit, the whole transport network, planning environment, land, property and other high-risk areas such as utilities to ensure there is a robust and co-ordinated development plan.

Not all housing developments need a new station, as robust initial feasibility studies will confirm whether they are deliverable. New stations create fundamental change, of course, but reshaping or enhancing existing stations into gateways to development can also be transformational, as can jointly sponsoring better train services. And if necessary, relocating existing stations can create the catalyst for change.

“If you consider the right connections, then investment and development will follow”

Worcestershire Parkway, shortlisted as one of the 12 potential new town locations, is a station we supported. Worcestershire County Council is set to plan, develop, design, build, finance and open a town provisionally called Wychavon. Six years of development could lead to 10,000 new homes, as well as other planned infrastructure such as schools, doctor’s surgeries and a healthcare centre, with a proposal already submitted for 5,500 new homes only last month.

Parkway now presents an opportunity for the government to capitalise both on existing transport infrastructure and on a strategic location. It unlocks access to the rail network connecting the Midlands with the South West, North West and North East of England, and provides direct rail connectivity to Oxford, London and Bristol, as well as being right next to the M5 motorway.

Despite the Covid pandemic, the station has already been an overwhelming success. In the five years since its 2020 opening, Parkway has reached passenger volumes not expected until more than 10 years later. Last year it became carbon neutral, and the flood alleviation measures we designed-in to improve flood resilience continue to provide wider benefits.

Its connectivity obviously means it is a desirable hub for housing growth; the proposed new town is thus well placed to unlock and exceed expectations for the station’s contribution to the region’s economic growth.

That transformation in opportunity for Worcestershire did not happen by chance. It was the result of forward-thinking local leadership, strategic alignment between transport and planning authorities and a recognition that meaningful future growth requires credible sustainable infrastructure first. It shows that if you consider the right connections, then investment and development will follow.

“The government’s evolving approach in the National Planning Policy Framework consultation acknowledges that transport-led development is fundamental to housing delivery and starts to create the enablers for progress”

Such transformational change takes root fast; it’s precisely what we are also seeing on the Northumberland Line, another infrastructure project developed by a local authority, Northumberland County Council, which we have supported.

The new line has recently seen its one millionth passenger only 13 months after services commenced. In time, the landowners around the new Northumberland stations will contribute to the infrastructure delivered as new housing schemes are approved, sharing the benefits of the increase in wealth created – a key financial input that helped the scheme be funded and delivered in full.

The government’s evolving approach in the National Planning Policy Framework consultation acknowledges that transport-led development is fundamental to housing delivery and starts to create the enablers for progress. But policy intent alone won’t deliver results.

Without early strategic infrastructure planning, the pipeline of viable sites will remain constrained – either they won’t start at all or they will reach a roadblock and stall. From our experience across multiple rail and transport projects, we’ve seen how early co-ordinated strategic infrastructure planning de-risks housing delivery, creating a robust platform and governance framework that provides confidence to developers, investors and local authorities, enabling accelerated delivery by understanding constraints and reducing risk.

It’s clear that Worcestershire Parkway has provided the confidence needed to progress significant housing allocations in the surrounding area. What’s needed now is a shift from reactive to proactive planning, where transport is treated as the enabler of growth rather than its by-product or, even worse, its inhibitor.

The emerging new towns framework provides an opportunity to formalise this approach, ensuring infrastructure is embedded in governance and financing structures from day one. That way we can meet housing targets and create thriving communities.

Ian Walters, managing director, SLC