I am requesting information regarding the transport modelling and assessment undertaken by Wokingham Borough Council in relation to its Local Plan, specifically concerning potential traffic impacts on the southern part of Wokingham Borough and cross-boundary impacts into Hart District, including the areas of Yateley and Eversley.

I refer to the Statement of Common Ground (SoCG) between Wokingham Borough Council and Hart District Council, dated February 2025, , particularly Paragraph 4.25, which states:
"Transport modelling and assessment has been undertaken throughout the plan-making process to identify and address issues on the local and strategic highway network. Modelling outputs have been shared and discussed with HDC and Hampshire County Council. The strategy set out in the Proposed Submission Plan has been informed by the Transport Assessment Report (2024). Based on the analysis of Hampshire County Council, HDC accepts that the growth identified in the Proposed Submission Plan is will not generate significant additional traffic within Hart District which requires mitigation, although headroom is limited. HDC supports the approach which focuses on internalisation of trips and high-quality local links to facilities nearby, to minimise increases in traffic overall, including longer journeys into Hampshire."

In light of this statement and public information, please provide the following details and documentation:

1. Pre-Transport Assessment Report (2024) Modelling: Please provide full details of all traffic modelling and assessment undertaken prior to the preparation of the "Transport Assessment Report (2024)". This should specifically detail the scope of this modelling in the southern part of Wokingham Borough and its consideration of cross-boundary traffic impacts into Hart District, including those arising from proposed developments at Blagrove Lane, Barkham (350 homes and a 68-bed care home), Longwater Lane, Finchampstead (38 homes), Church Lane, Finchampstead, and any other significant developments known to the Council within the southern part of the Borough. Please provide copies of any reports, data, or technical notes associated with this preliminary modelling.
The Council has produced a traffic assessment of the borough and surrounding areas, published as part of the supporting evidence base to the Local Plan Update. The assessment is available on the Council’s website. Please see the ‘Transport’ section within the ‘Submission documents list’ (available here: https://www.wokingham.gov.uk/sites/wokingham/files/2025-04/Submission%20Documents.pdf).

Published evidence includes assessments prior to and including the 2024 Transport Assessment Report. Please refer to the published documentation for detail of the scope of modelling.

Large Committed Sites with Planning Permission are included within transport modelling across the whole borough and surrounding authority areas (see Appendix A and B of the 2024 Transport Assessment Report 2024).

From the published evidence, you will see (Table 11, in document TR1a) that Blagrove Lane site is already considered in the forecast Local Plan scenario. This reflects the site having been considered potentially suitable for development in the Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment.

From the published evidence you will see that some of the developments in the Finchampstead area were not included in the Local Plan evidence, as this evidence predates the determined applications you identify. This is not unusual, reflects the evolving planning position of all authorities.

2. Specific Modelling for Southern Junctions/Roads (Yateley/Eversley Impact): Please clarify why the "Transport Assessment Report (2024)" (or any preceding modelling you refer to in response to Point 1) does not appear to include specific traffic modelling or impact assessments for road junctions within the southern part of Wokingham Borough that directly lead into and affect roads in Yateley and Eversley (e.g., approaches via A327, B3016, B3018, and relevant minor roads). This includes impacts from specific developments such as those at Blagrove Lane, Barkham; Longwater Lane, Finchampstead; Church Lane, Finchampstead and other relevant sites. If such specific modelling for these cross-boundary junctions and associated roads does exist, please provide:
o Specific details of the junctions/road sections modelled.
o The parameters and scenarios used in this modelling.
o The specific findings and conclusions regarding traffic impacts on roads within Yateley and Eversley.
o Copies of all relevant modelling outputs, reports, or summaries related to these specific junctions/roads.
Please refer to the response provided in relation to question 1 above regarding the availability of transport evidence.

WBC does hold some information which directly responds to your request. WBC considers that the time required to produce the remainder would exceed the time limit permitted under the act (S12) to respond to this request. However, under S16 of the Act, WBC is obliged to provide some help to respond to the salient points so you can investigate these issues further and trust the following assists you exploring those already available.

The Council has developed, validated and calibrated a transport model in accordance with WebTAG appropriate to the stage in planning. Transport assessments have been published utilising this model and published as part of the Council’s evidence base (link provided in response 1 above).

The Council consider this information meets its statutory obligations under S13 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchas Act 2004. The 2024 Transport Assessment Report is accompanied by multiple technical notes (also published on the Council website at the link above) which explain the assumptions and methodologies used.

As outlined in response 1 above, land at Blagrove Lane has been included within the transport modelling evidence while other development has not for the reason outlined.

Whilst the information provided may not meet all of your requests, we trust this information assists with your question.

3. Assumptions on Traffic Flows and Mitigation Conclusions: Please provide detailed documentation regarding the methodologies, baseline data, growth assumptions (including trip generation and distribution models), and assignment models used to derive the assumptions on traffic flows for the Local Plan, particularly those underpinning the conclusion in the Statement of Common Ground that "the growth identified in the Proposed Submission Plan is will not generate significant additional traffic within Hart District which requires mitigation." This should specifically explain how the "internalisation of trips and high quality local links" (as mentioned in the SoCG) was modelled and quantified to demonstrate minimal increases in longer journeys into Hampshire, taking into account the cumulative impact of developments such as those at Blagrove Lane, Barkham; Longwater Lane, Finchampstead; Church Lane, Finchampstead; and any other significant proposed developments.
Please see Enclosure 1 which contains data shared with Hampshire County Council. This reports traffic flows at the borough boundary, comparing a no development scenario (reference case) with Local Plan development (Scenario 1B).

As set out in response 2, the Council has developed, validated and calibrated a transport model in accordance with WebTAG appropriate to the stage in planning. Transport assessments have been published utilising this model and published as part of the Council’s evidence base.

The 2024 Transport Assessment Report is accompanied by multiple technical notes which explain the assumptions and methodologies used in the evidence base, for example Attachment 3 to that report: ‘Car trip reduction due to Site-Specific Sustainability Measures at Hall Farm SDL’ technical note, May 2022’.

4. Shared Modelling Outputs with Hart District Council (HDC) and Hampshire County Council (HCC): Please provide copies of all "modelling outputs... shared and discussed with HDC and Hampshire County Council," as referred to in Paragraph 4.25 of the Statement of Common Ground. Where available, please also provide dates of such sharing and any formal minutes or records of the discussions held with HDC and HCC regarding these modelling outputs and their conclusions on cross-boundary traffic impacts, specifically mentioning considerations for the aforementioned developments and their cumulative effects.
In addition to Enclosure 1 referred to in the response above, please see Enclosure 2 relating to the sharing of emerging transport assessment data with Hart District and Hampshire County Council (as well as other Hampshire authorities). The link provided in the email can only be accessed by the recipients of the email, but contained the documents attached to this response. Please note that these documents were shared in draft form. In a number of cases they were subsequently evolved into final published versions (available at the link in response 1).

Enclosures 3 – 7 comprise additional engagement with Hart District Council and/or Hampshire County Council.

Due to the size of the files we have been unable to include them on our Freedom of Information system. They will be obtainable upon request for at least 12 month period from time of response.