ADL/CC/ls/3685/19 19 January 2021 Ben Fox Planware Ltd The Granary Walnut Tree Lane Sudbury Suffolk CO10 1BD Dear Ben Re: McDONALD’S RESTAURANTS, LAND TO THE SOUTH OF SWINESHEAD ROAD AND

EAST OF WORTLEYS LANE, WYBERTON, BOSTON (APPLICATION REF B/20/0432) Thank you for sending us Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) Highway Authority’s consultation response dated 13th January 2021. This states that; “This proposal falls within the safeguarding corridor of the Boston Distributor Road which is included in the Local Plan. As such, it is likely to have a detrimental effect on the potential of delivery of the Boston Distributor Road. The Planning Authority should satisfy themselves that Planning Policy is not compromised by this Application.” ADL have subsequently reviewed the local planning policy guidance and documentation relating to the Distributor Road. ADL have also provided a summary of the pre application discussions which were undertaken by the Developer of the wider site and the proposed traffic impact of the McDonald’s. A review is also provided on the approach LCC Highway Authority have taken to other recent development on the A52. Documents Relating to Boston Distributor Road The proposed route alignment shown in Appendix 10 (Figure 19.3) of the South East Lincolnshire Plan 2011-2036 (March 2019). An extract is included as Plan A below. This clearly shows that the proposed route would avoid the proposed McDonald’s site. There are two potential routes shown to connect Phase 3 to the A52. The eastern link would connect to West End Road and the western link would connect to the A52 further west from the Tesco Roundabout Plan B shows an extract from the Boston Distributor Strategic Case Summary (2018) which shows the indicative Phase 3 route as following the western alignment described above. The potential for connecting the Boston Distributor Road to the Tesco Roundabout was considered within the Boston Distributor Constraints Study Stage 1 Review (2008). Concerns were identified with the high-pressure gas main (as shown on Plan C) which is located close to the Tesco Roundabout. The scope to take the Distributor Road through the Tesco site was also dismissed due to significant engineering risks associated with crossing the drain and railway at this point and

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potential compensation liabilities. The report stated that the preferred route would take the Distributor Road to the west of the retail area to connect via a new roundabout with the A52. The potential for the site to form part of the Boston Distributor Road has therefore already been considered and rejected due to engineering constraints. It would also be logical that a proposed Distributor Road which seeks to provide an alternative route to direct traffic around Boston should be designed to avoid the existing major retail development on the A52. The Highway Authority have seemingly also come to this conclusion which is why the western alignment has been carried forward onto the latest plans. In policy terms there is no reason why the proposal would prejudice the design of the Boston Distributor Road infrastructure. Plan A Extract from Figure 19.3 (Appendix 10) Local Plan

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Plan B Extract from Strategic Case Summary 2018

Plan C Gas Mains Location Plan

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Pre application Discussions for a Wider Development

As stated above, the application is part of a wider development being considered by the joint applicant and developer Carta Real Estate, the aspirational masterplan of which is shown at as Plan D below. Plan D Conceptual Masterplan for Comprehensive Redevelopment

Pre application discussions were undertaken by the Developer of the wider site and their transport consultants Exigo with LCC Highway Authority. It was agreed that the Estate Road would be designed and constructed to adoptable standards and would be capable of incorporation into the Boston Distributor Road should the Highway Authority deem this necessary. For the reasons discussed above, this is unlikely, however the Masterplan scheme has been carefully designed to not prejudice the safeguarded corridor identified in the Local Plan. It can be noted from Plan D that the proposed alignment of the Estate Road was chosen to offer the optimal solution for any future bridging of Old Hammond Beck to the south of the site. The Estate Road would be 10m wide and 3.0m wide right turn lane facilities are proposed for the McDonald’s site, the access to the Eastern Plot and the Southern Plot so that they do not block any through traffic. The proposed drive thru units have been set back from the access road and the A52 which could allow for future widening if required. The wider development will of course be subject to the planning process and all the relevant assessments, but the point of its inclusion here is to demonstrate that even if the Boston Distributor

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Road were to come through the site, it can be accommodated and the proposals will therefore not prejudice the safeguarded corridor. McDonald’s Traffic Impact ADL’s Transport Assessment (November 2020) has assessed the proposed impact of the McDonald’s restaurant. This has demonstrated that the majority of McDonald’s trips (57% on a Friday and 64% on a Saturday would be existing on the road network in any event (either passing by on the A52 or shared trips with the Retail Park). The modelling of the proposed A52/Tesco Roundabout has demonstrated that there would be more than sufficient capacity to accommodate the proposed traffic with minimal queueing. The proposal would have no material impact on the operation of the road network. In terms of the McDonald’s traffic generation and impact associated with the application under consideration there is no reason why the proposal would prejudice the design or operation of the Boston Distributor Road infrastructure. The Estate Road alignment for the access to the proposed restaurant accords with that shown on the wider Masterplan as shown in Plan E below. Plan E McDonald’s Layout and Estate Road

Other Recent Planning Applications Planning permission was granted on 8th June 2020 for the Starbucks Coffee shop with drive thru facility on Swineshead Road (application reference B19/0519) as shown in Plan F. This site is also located within the Safe Guarding Corridor for the Boston Distributor Road according to the Local Plan.

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The Planning Officers report includes the following statement from the Highway Authority; “Although the application site is within the safeguarding corridor for the Boston Distributor Road, the reality is that the Boston Distributor Road and its connection to the A52 could not be accommodated within the confines of the site and the proposed development would not therefore compromise the delivery of the Boston Distributor Road”. The Planning Authority have therefore not precluded new development from being permitted within the Safe Guarding corridor. The Highway Authority position has been established that the provision of access and generation of additional traffic onto the A52 are also not prejudicial to the delivery of the Boston Distributor Road where the impact is not deemed to be severe (according to the NPPF test para 109). It was acknowledged that where there are reasonable site constraints a connection to the A52 as part of the Distributor Road may not be accommodated. In the case of the proposed development, it has been demonstrated that the proposed traffic impact and access arrangements would have no material impact. It is unlikely that the site would form a suitable point of connection to the A52 to the distributor road due to the external engineering constraints with the existing highway but even if it did then the internal layout design does not prejudice this. Plan F Permitted Starbucks Swineshead Road

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Summary and Conclusion

The planning policy review has demonstrated that the alignment of the proposed Boston Distributor Road would not utilise the proposed development site. The Highway Authority have previously reviewed and rejected the possibility of creating a link road with the existing Tesco Access based on external engineering constraints and a preference to avoid the existing major retail development. Notwithstanding the above, the internal design of the layout and access road have been carefully designed and would be constructed to an adoptable standard so that in the unlikely event that the Highway Authority did chose to route the Boston Distributor Road through the site it could be accommodated. The proposed restaurant would have no material traffic impact on the A52 and the proposed modifications to the A52/Tesco Roundabout would have more than sufficient capacity. These factors were deemed to be reasonable in the assessment of the acceptability of the Starbucks application and the approach of the Planning and Highway Authority should be consistent. It is concluded that we have demonstrated that the proposal would not prejudice the design or implementation of the Boston Distributor Road and therefore accords with Policy 33 (Delivering a More Sustainable Transport Network) of the South East Lincolnshire Local Plan 2011-2036 (March 2019). Yours sincerely for ADL TRAFFIC AND HIGHWAYS ENGINEERING LIMITED

CATHERINE CHAPMAN DIRECTOR Cc: Mr P Thomas McDonald’s Restaurants Ltd Mr P Valentine McDonald’s Restaurants Ltd

Mr J Ridings Cartare Mr J Hoare Cartare