Sustainable mobility for Braintree Brook Green

Challenge

We are helping Acorn Braintree to prepare a sustainable masterplan for a proposed new settlement in an existing urban area of Braintree. The scheme includes up to 1,500 homes, a primary school, a local centre, employment opportunities and state-of-the-art mobility and local living initiatives.

Solution

Internalisation of trips within the site is key to our mobility strategy, with day-to-day facilities included in the new development. This not only reduces pressure on the highway network, but also provides for economic and social growth within the local area.

We are adopting a sustainable mobility approach that will deliver health and social inclusion benefits. It is based on a general hierarchy for travel choice, from local living, virtual mobility, active travel and shared travel to single occupancy vehicles.

Impact

A number of initiatives will promote the hierarchy, including direct and attractive connections to the traffic-free active travel corridor, which will be upgraded and connect the local community with other communities, Braintree town centre and Braintree railway station. A Community Concierge will provide personal mobility services to residents, businesses and schools within the local area, and there will be access to shared travel facilities. High-speed broadband at home and in communal hubs will encourage more community-based working.