Decision details

Purpose of Significant Decision:

To seek permission to introduce the Poyle Road Experimental Bus gate and width restriction scheme.

Background:

For several years, Colnbrook with Poyle Parish Council have brought to the attention of Slough Borough Council (SBC) concerns regarding Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) movements on Poyle Road and Bath Road in Colnbrook. The primary traffic-related concerns revolve around the perceived speed and volume of HGVs passing through the residential area along Bath Road (approximately between Poyle Road and Bath Road (Elbow Meadow) to the east).

In terms of the wider context, in recent years due to a shift in the type of businesses located in the area, from pre-dominantly office-based to largely warehousing / freight-based businesses there has been increased vehicle movement and volume in the area. The area’s proximity to Heathrow Airport has made the area attractive to these sectors of the economy. Furthermore, with Terminal 5 being only a mile away from the Poyle Industrial Estate, it is an attractive area for businesses. The adopted Local Development Framework (LDF) for Slough (2006 - 2026) identified that despite congestion and pollution, the Poyle Industrial Estate provides vital services for Heathrow Terminal 5. With continued investment in Heathrow including potential for a third runway, Poyle is likely to experience greater links with Heathrow, which will likely result in increased vehicle movements between the Industrial Estate and Heathrow.

As part of continued growth as well as change of uses associated with the Industrial Estate, in May 2015 the DHL site on Horton Road received planning permission. A planning obligation for this site was for HGVs associated with the site to be subject to a routing plan (meaning they can only turn left out of the site towards M25 Junction 14 and cannot use Poyle Road / Bath Road as a route), and a £75,000 contribution towards the narrowing of Poyle Road. The contribution for the Poyle Road narrowing was to ensure that the issues associated with HGVs on the Poyle Road / Bath Road route (due to the intensification of the industrial estates in the area) were not exacerbated further following the DHL site completion.

A consultation exercise was undertaken Autumn 2016 and the scheme was not well-received by the majority of respondents, (mainly businesses but also some residents) due to a number of issues including the view that the scheme would result in increased traffic in the area (in particular at M25 Junction 14), and longer journeys for key business freight routes to Heathrow Airport. During the consultation process, a planning application for the quarry site was approved and this enabled the bus gate scheme to be relocated further south and redesigned.

A further consultation with additional options to be delivered under an experimental traffic regulation order was undertaken in 2017. The implementation of the scheme was delayed due to delays with the S278 works which was then further impacted by Covid- 19.

• Following completion of the S278 works, the Experimental Traffic Regulation order for the bus gate and width restriction is advertised and applied in order to introduce the bus gate and width restriction.

• To ensure compliance of the bus gate, an enforcement camera is introduced and that the enforcement is undertaken by the Parking Team.

• Monitor and evaluate the effect of the experimental bus gate.

• Inform the stakeholders and assess the impact of the bus gate on the road network for a period of not more than 18 months.

• Subject to there being no objections, the bus gate is made permanent following the consultation.

See full Significant Decision Report