Secondary School Site Selection Study 2023

1. Executive summary
2. Introduction
3. Study area context
   • 3.1 Overview
   • 3.2 School site options
   • 3.3 Strategic residential sites
4. Stage 1
   • 4.1 Site assessment
   • Access and commuting
   • Utilities
   • Ecological issues
   • Flood risk
   • Built Historic Environment
   • Other key site constraints
5. Site recommendation
6. Next steps
   • 6.1 Stage 2 - Site costs and acquisition
   • 6.2 Stage 3 - Further detailed site investigation

Glossary of terms

Appendices

• Appendix 1: mapping routes
• Appendix 2: Utilities

List of tables

• Table 1: RAG summary of the site study findings
• Table 2: Barnham/Westergate secondary provision
• Table 3: Net capacities, numbers on roll and occupancy levels at Secondary schools Autumn 2022
• Table 4: Suggested acceptable walking distances
• Table 5: Summary of Local Bus Services (from WSCC Website, November 2022)
• Table 6: Summary of rail services at Barnham railway station
• Table 7: Summary of rail services at Ford railway station
• Table 8:Vehicular Access (Car Travel distance from Strategic Sites to School Sites)
• Table 9: Walking from Strategic Sites to School Sites RAG
• Table 10: Walking from strategic sites to school sites number of proposed strategic development dwellings
• Table 11: Cycling from Strategic Sites to School Sites RAG
• Table 12: Cycling from strategic sites to school sites number of proposed strategic development dwellings
• Table 13: Walking from School Sites to Barnham Railway Station
• Table 14:Cycling from School Sites to Barnham Railway Station
• Table 15: Walking from School Sites to Ford Railway Station
• Table 16: Cycling from School Sites to Ford Railway Station
• Table 17: RAG rating for access and commuting
• Table 18: Utility findings
• Table 19: WSCC owned underground plant
• Table 20: Southern Water response
• Table 21: RAG rating for Flood risk and Ecology
• Table 22: RAG rating for built historic environment
• Table 23: Strategic Residential Sites and Associated Pupil Numbers
• Table 24 SD5 BEW Mode Splits and Resulting Pupil Trips by Mode to School Sites (from Barnham Station)
• Table 25: SD5 BEW Mode Splits and Resulting Pupil Trips by Mode to School Sites (from Ford Station)
• Table 26: SD8 (FORD) Mode Splits and Resulting Trips by Mode to School Sites
• Table 27: SD10 (CLIMPING) Mode Splits and Resulting Pupil Trips by Mode to School Sites
• Table 28: SD7 (YAPTON) Mode Splits and Resulting Pupil Trips by Mode to School Sites

List of graphs

• Graph 1: Car Travel distance from Strategic Sites to School Sites
• Graph 2: Walking from Strategic Sites to School Sites RAG
• Graph 3: Cycling from Strat sites to school sites RAG rating
• Graph 4: Walking from School Sites to Barnham Railway Station
• Graph 5: Cycling from school sites to Barnham Railway Station (km)
• Graph 6: Walking from School Sites to Ford Railway Station
• Graph 7: Cycling from School Sites to Ford Railway Station

List of maps

• Map 1: Potential secondary school sites
• Map 2: Map showing potential secondary school sites – Study area context
• Map 3: Arun District Council Strategic Sites
• Map 4: 3 mile travel area
• Map 5: WSCC 2022 Bus Map Routing
• Map 6: Railway buffers

1.1 The requirement for a new secondary school in Arun District was identified to meet the need for secondary school and sixth form places generated from the Strategic Housing Allocations and other cumulative new development, including windfalls, in the Arun Local Plan 2011-2031 which was adopted on 18th July 2018.

1.2 A Secondary School Site Selection Study was undertaken in 2018 which identified a shortlist of suitable sites for a new 10 form entry secondary school. The preferred site (site F) was reported to Planning Policy Sub-Committee (PPSC) on 27th February 2019 and Full Council in March 2019.

1.3 However, site negotiations are currently stalled which means it is not currently possible to allocate a site. Therefore, this new study, ‘Secondary School Site Selection Study 2023’, was commissioned to identify and assess any other options for an alternative contingency  site for the secondary school site should the council’s preferred site ‘Option F’ not proceed. This work has been prepared as part of Stage 1 of the new Secondary School Site Selection Study 2023 (The Study). The previous 2018 site study is still relevant for any future site negotiations as part of the Stage 2 work.

1.4 The main emphasis of The Study is to identify a Secondary School site which is available, deliverable, viable, accessible, safe and which maximises sustainable transport options in the central area of the district, without having severe impact on the highway network, while also providing a safe journey to and from the school.

1.5 The Study involves a site assessment of eight newly identified sites (not considered previously in the 2018 Study) that could accommodate a secondary school and is prepared by using the 2018 study as a base. The Study therefore uses similar assumptions and criterion as those used in the 2018 study. The aim is to set out the viability, accessibility and constraints assessment for the shortlisted Secondary School sites in relation to their relationship to the Arun Local Plan Strategic Sites (Barnham, Eastergate, Westergate (BEW), Climping and Ford) and the existing main settlements in the central area of the district. The Study will be used as additional evidence to assist Arun District Council (ADC) for the allocation delivery of the new 10 form Secondary School to accord with the Arun Local Plan Policy INF SP2 ‘New Secondary School’.

1.6 The assessment criteria typically used by West Sussex County Council (WSCC) in discussions with developers to help identify sites that will be suitable locations for new schools has also been used to do this desktop study. These criteria which includes access and commuting, utilities, ecological issues, flood risk and built historic environment are not intended to prescribe the characteristics that the new school site must have. They are intended to identify the key issues that could make a site suitable or less suitable and to reduce delivery risks to the education provider. This is also consistent with the 2018 study.

1.7 It is important to note that the four shortlist site recommendations have been identified following a high level, desk-based assessment of the best performing sites. Further assessment is therefore, likely to be required of these sites comparatively, for more detailed scope for opportunities to improve performance and mitigation. ADC officers together with WSCC will use the WSCC Education Site Suitability Checklist and the findings of The Study in discussions with site promoters, to select and agree the most suitable final contingency site as an alternative to the council’s preferred site ‘Option F’ (should this fail to progress) to accommodate the secondary school.

1.8 The brief for this Site Study requires the outcome to identify a shortlist of sites and consider further detail to help inform the selection of a single contingency site to accommodate a secondary school. Based on the evidence in this study, the four preferred sites are Site 14 - Site to the south of Yapton, Site 5 – Land South of Yapton Road, Site 4 - Land north of Yapton Road and east of Blossom Way and Site 3 - Land at Maypole and North End Road (See MAP 1)

Map 1 (click to enlarge)

Map 1: Potential secondary school sites
Note: This map is not to scale so the locations of the sites are accurate but the size of the site is indicative.

Accessible description: The map is titled Potential Secondary School Sites within ADC Local Planning Authority Bounday and includes the following sites which are marked in blue:

• Site 1 Norton Grange Farm
• Site 2 Choller Farm Barnham
• Site 3 HELAA NEWY16 (land at Maypole Lane and North End Road)
• Site 4 HELAA 17BN1 and BN1215PL (land north of Yapton Road and east of Blossom Way)
• Site 5 Land south of Yapton Road
• Site 6 Land to the south part of the canal
• Site 13 HELAA18Y2 Lambs Field Bilsham Road BN18 0JP
• Site 14 Site to the sounth of Yapton

1.2 Site recommendation summary

1.2.1 It is important to note that this study shows that in the event that any of the preferred shortlisted sites prove to be undeliverable, nearly all of the other sites perform reasonably well against the criteria. They all have potential scope for further mitigation and mostly do not demonstrate insurmountable issues that preclude them from further consideration to accommodate the secondary school.

1.2.2 Table 1 provides a red, amber, green rating (RAG) summary of the site study findings for each site assessed against criteria such as access and commuting, utilities, ecological issues, flood risk and built historic environment.  As a broad guide, each site has been coloured green for the most suitable, amber for the second most suitable and red for the less suitable because there may be more issues to resolve. As a result, based on the evidence in this study, the four preferred sites are:-

• Site 14 - Site to the south of Yapton;
• Site 5 – Land South of Yapton Road;
• Site 4 - Land North of Yapton Road and East of Blossom Way; and
• Site 3 - Land at Maypole and North End Road.

1.2.3 Potentially all sites could be more suitable than suggested but demonstrating this would require more detailed assessment and design of mitigation measures. The analysis highlights those sites which are likely to face more significant constraints or issues that would need to be overcome or require further consideration or mitigation.

RAG RATING NOTE:
This Study is a high-level desk top analysis and would require more detailed assessment looking at the specific issues identified which could allow the RAG rating to be modified.

Accessible description: The table below is shown using red, amber and green shading in the original PDF. In this table the colours are instead written as words.

Key

Rating	Description
Red	This site is less favourable for the respective criteria (it could potentially be more suitable but there are more significant constraints or issues that would need to be overcome or require further consideration or mitigation)
Amber	This site is considered to be the second most suitable for the respective criteria (there are some constraints or issues that would need to be overcome or require further consideration or mitigation)
Green	This site is considered to be the most suitable for the respective criteria

Table 1: RAG summary of the site study findings

Site ref and name	1. Norton Grange Farm	2. Choller Farm, Barnham Lane	3. Land at Maypole and North End Road	4. Land north of Yapton Rd and east of Blossom Way	5. Land South of Yapton Road	6. Land to south of part of the Canal	13. Lambs Field	14. Site to the South of Yapton
Walking from strategic sites	Red	Red	Amber	Amber	Amber	Red	Red	Green
Cycling from strategic sites	Red	Amber	Amber	Amber	Green	Green	Green	Green
Walking/cycling to Barnham Railway Station	Amber	Green	Amber	Green	Green	Amber	Amber	Amber
Walking/cycling to Ford Railway Station	Red	Amber	Green	Amber	Green	Green	Amber	Green
Flood Risk	Green	Green	Amber	Amber	Amber	Red	Amber	Green
Ecology	Amber	Red	Amber	Amber	Amber	Red	Amber	Green
Built Historic Environment	Red	Amber	Green	Green	Amber	Amber	Amber	Green

Table 1: RAG summary of the site study findings

2.1 The requirement for a new secondary school in Arun District has been identified to meet the need for secondary school and sixth form places generated from the Strategic Housing Allocations and other new development in the Arun Local Plan including windfalls. It is worth noting that the amount of development assumed in this study is above what is identified in the Local Plan and therefore, the current Housing Land Supply should be considered including the masterplan for BEW Strategic site, which anticipates the delivery of 4,300 homes in total instead of 3,000. Policy INF SP2 of the Arun Local Plan sets out the requirement for a new 6 form secondary school with expansion land for a 4-form entry expansion adjacent, on a site of at least 10 hectares to serve the new growth in Arun District.

2.2 In 2018, A Secondary School Site Study was prepared on behalf of Arun District Council to inform the selection of a site for a new 10 form entry secondary school (1500 places). 

2.3 This document concluded that the site assessment by WSCC and ADC officers has identified two sites (options C and F) that are potentially suitable and could be available for use as a secondary school during the plan period, subject to all necessary feasibility, design, consultation and statutory processes. Other sites could also potentially be suitable but are likely to require more detailed assessment and design of mitigation measures.

2.4 As such, one other site was identified by ADC officers and a desk top site assessment using the same criteria was done (June 2018). The location of this site, in regard to the strategic allocations, has meant that it is also potentially suitable along with options C and F.

2.5 ADC officers concluded at this point that the shortlist of sites which would need to undergo further detail site assessment were option C, option F and the option L site located south of Yapton.

2.6 These three shortlisted sites were further assessed through a commissioned study and the Site Selection Study 2018 concluded that option L was the preferred site chosen as it provided greatest certainty by not being reliant on nearby schemes and having the fewest risks.

2.7 However, officers at Arun and WSCC agreed that Site F would be more favourable, due to its location abutting the Ford strategic allocation. The preferred site (Site F) was reported to Planning Policy Sub-Committee (PPSC) on 27th February 2019 and Full Council in March 2019. Site negotiations are still ongoing, and no allocation has been made.

2.8 However, this new study, Secondary School Site Study 2023 (The Study), is being commissioned to identify any options that might provide an alternative contingency site should the council’s preferred ‘Option F’ be found to be undeliverable, to accommodate the secondary school.

2.9 West Sussex County Council (WSCC) have recently reported that the existing capacity, at secondary schools in the district, is no longer available and a review of secondary education needs to support development has been carried out.

2.10 In particular, the existing 4FE of capacity previously identified is no longer available, due to the number of windfall sites that have been occupied, in addition to births and inward migration since the publication of the Infrastructure Development Plan 2017.

2.11 The latest data collected from the annual school census returns from all Primary establishments within West Sussex demonstrates that the capacity of all secondary schools within the Arun District will reach 95% in 2023/24 generated from existing pupils currently attending primary schools within the district.

2.12 This is demonstrated by the total Numbers on Roll (NOR) figures produced by the annual school census returns for the current Reception Year (YR) which is 8,111 pupils. These pupils will reach Secondary education (Y7) in 2023/24 when their accommodation into the existing secondary schools will then produce capacity levels of 95%.

2.13 West Sussex County Council considers maximum capacity levels to have been reached when schools are operating at 95% capacity across the District. This approach is supported by the Department for Education who have recognised schools can be considered at capacity when the total number on roll is as low as 90%. It has also been identified within ‘Capital funding for new school places’ that; "…on average 5 per cent was the bare minimum needed by authorities to meet their statutory duty with operational flexibility, whilst enabling parents to have some choice of schools." It is therefore, imperative that a site is identified, and the suitable site acquired.

3.1 Overview

3.1.1 To carry out effective pupil place planning in West Sussex, in line with the Department for Education’s (DfE’s) requirements for pupil forecasting, capital spend and school capacity is split into school planning areas. These are sometimes referred to as locality groups of schools and are based on the geographical areas defined by the secondary schools’ catchment area and the feeder schools aligned to them.

3.1.2 There are currently six secondary schools in the District that broadly serve the immediate area where they are located (although it is recognised that pupils at secondary school age are prepared to travel a greater distance for education). The schools currently offer a cumulative total of 51FE. The proposed housing allocations across the District will, by the end of the plan period, create a requirement for a further 14FE, however if the increase in BEW of a further 1300 dwellings is approved this will increase the requirement by a further 1.5 - 2FE depending on the tenure of the housing.

3.1.3 The district is broken down into four school planning areas, Angmering, Barnham/Westergate, Bognor/Felpham and Littlehampton and the schools are divided into these areas in line with their geographical location.

3.1.4 West Sussex County Council considers that schools should be provided close to where the need arises, as this will encourage sustainable travel behaviour. The largest development-related increase in the pupil population in Arun District is expected to arise in the Barnham/Westergate school planning area, as this includes the proposed strategic site allocations at BEW, Ford, Fontwell and Yapton.

3.1.5 The 'Planning school places 2023' document sets out the policies and principles applied by the  County Council. It provides information on the current provision and future forecasts of pupil numbers and provisional plans for where additional school places which will be made available. Table 2 below shows the Barnham/Westergate secondary provision extract from the ‘The Planning school places 2023’ document. It provides historic information on the total number of available secondary places in Year 7 (PAN) compared with the actual number of pupils starting school that year. A negative figure shows a shortage of places compared to the Published Admission Number (PAN). A school planning area is deemed full when capacity in use exceeds 95%.

Table 2: Barnham/Westergate secondary provision

Year	PAN	Pupils in Year 7	Surplus places	% of capacity in use
2016	300	243	57	81%
2017	330	253	77	77%
2018	330	301	29	91%
2019	330	331	-1	100%
2020	330	332	-2	100%
2021	330	330	0	100%
2022	330	326	4	99%

Table 2: Barnham/Westergate secondary provision

Table 3: Net capacities, numbers on roll and occupancy levels at Secondary schools Autumn 2022

Secondary Planning Area	Total capacity	Total number on roll (NOR)	Planning area deemed full at 95%
Angmering planning area total	1782	1354	76%
Barnham/Westergate planning area total	1887	1840	98%
Bognor Regis/Felpham planning area total	3644	3142	85%
Littlehampton planning area total	1900	1398	74%

Table 3: Net capacities, numbers on roll and occupancy levels at Secondary schools Autumn 2022

3.2 School site options

3.2.1 The secondary school site assessment 2018 process indicated that site options in the Ford area (outside of the proposed site allocation) should be considered and policies in the Arun Local Plan facilitate a new secondary school in this area.

3.2.2 Arun District Council in discussions with WSCC, agreed to focus on the newly identified potential sites (1,2,3,4,5,6, 13 and 14) and not the 2018 Study sites (sites 7 to 12) hence why the site numbers appear out of numbering sequence further on in this study. 

3.2.3 For completeness, all the potential sites are as follows:

• SITE 1 - HELAA 21AL1 (Norton Grange Farm)
• SITE 2 - HELAA 19WA1 (Choller Farm, Barnham Lane)
• SITE 3 - HELAA NEWY16 (land at Maypole and North End Road)
• SITE 4 - HELAA 17BN1 and BN1215PL (land north of Yapton Road and east of Blossom Way)
• SITE 5 - Land South of Yapton Road
• SITE 6 - Land to the South of part of the Canal
• SITE 7 - Option A (from the 2018 Study)
• SITE 8 - Option B (from the 2018 Study)
• SITE 9 - Option C (from the 2018 Study)
• SITE 10 - Option D (from the 2018 Study)
• SITE 11 - Option E (from the 2018 Study)
• SITE 12 - Option F (from the 2018 Study)
• SITE13 - HELAA 18Y2 Lambs Field Bilsham Road BN18 0JP

Note: Site 13 has a planning permission approval under Y/3/22/OUT for hybrid application for full detailed first phase for 30 dwellings and outline for further phases of 110 dwellings - App Cond with S106 09-01-23 and another application received 24-05-23 under Y/52/23/PL for Full Planning Application for the erection of 170 residential dwellings – undecided as at August 2023. However, the site is included in The Study for now as a potential site because the site has not yet started / implemented.

• SITE14 - Site to the south of Yapton

3.2.4 This Secondary School Site Study 2023 focuses on the 8 newly identified Sites 1 to 6, Site 13 and Site 14 as shown on MAP 2. This desk top site assessment made by ADC, uses the same principles as the previous 2018 study.

Map 2: Map showing potential secondary school sites – Study area context (click to enlarge)

Accessible description: The map is titled Map Showing Potential Secondary School Sites in Arun District Council Local Planning Authority Boundary and includes the following:

• The Local Planning Authority Boundary of Arun District Council
• South Downs National Park (Outside LPA Boundary of ADC)
• Gaps Between Settlements
• Arun Parishes
• Ford Neighbourhood Plan Local Gap
• HELAA Site 17BN1
• HELAA Site 19WA1
• HELAA Site 21AL1
• HELAA Site 146A
• HELAA Site BN1215PL
• HELAA Site NEWY16
• Strategic Housing Allocations
• SD5 BEW
• SD7 Yapton
• SD8 Ford
• SD10 Climping

It also shows the following Potential Secondary School locations marked in blue:

1. 21AL1 (Norton Grange Farm)
2. Choller Farm, Barnham Lane
3. NEWY16 (Land at Maypole and North End Road)
4. 17BN1 and BN1215PL (land north of Yapton Road and east of Blossom Way)
5. Land south of Yapton Road
6. Land to the south part of the canal
7. Option A
8. Option B
9. Option C
10. Option D
11. Option E
12. Option F
13. 18Y2 Lambs Field Bilsham Road BN18 0JP
14. Site to the south of Yapton

3.3 Strategic residential sites

3.3.1 The Arun Local Plan 2011-2031 identifies a number of ‘Strategic Allocations’ which are areas of land (sites of more than 300 dwellings) that have been allocated in the Local Plan to provide residential and commercial development to meet local housing and employment needs throughout the plan period (2011-2031). The strategic housing sites are allocated in Policy H SP1 and shown on the Policies Maps in the Arun Local Plan.

3.3.2 Policy H SP2c allocates a collection of sites referred to as Inland Arun and includes, Barnham/Eastergate/Westergate (SD5 (BEW)), Fontwell (SD6), Yapton (SD7), Ford (SD8), Angmering North (SD9), Climping (SD10) and Angmering South and East (SD11).

3.3.4 The largest development-related increase in the pupil population in Arun District is expected to arise in the Barnham/Westergate school planning area, as this includes the proposed strategic site allocations at BEW, Ford, Fontwell and Yapton.

3.3.5 The housing requirement from this school planning area is as follows:

• Site SD5 (BARNHAM, EASTERGATE AND WESTERGATE - BEW) The BEW sites will collectively provide at least 2,300 dwellings over the Local Plan period and up to 3,000 in total.

• Site SD7 (YAPTON) The land at Yapton is located to the south west of the village and is Strategically Allocated under policy H SP2c (SD7 (YAPTON)) of the Arun Local Plan 2011-2031 for the delivery of at least 500 dwellings over the plan period.

• Site SD8 (FORD) The Arun Local Plan 2011-2031 identifies the Ford strategic allocation, under policy H SP2c (SD8 (FORD)), as providing at least 1,500 dwellings over the plan period.

• Site SD10 (CLIMPING) The Arun Local Plan 2011-2031 identifies the Climping strategic allocation, under policy H SP2c (SD10 (CLIMPING)), as providing at least 300 dwellings over the plan period.

3.3.6 Map 3 shows where these strategic allocations are located.

Map 3: Arun District Council Strategic Sites (click to enlarge)

Accessible description: The map is titled Map Showing ALP 2018 Strategic Housing Allocation Sites in the Local Planning Authority Boundary of Arun District Council and includes the following:

• The Local Planning Authority Boundary of Arun District Council
• South Downs National Park (Outside LPA Boundary of ADC)
• Arun Parishes
• Gaps Between Settlements
• Ford Neighbourhood Plan Local Gap
• River Arun
• Strategic Housing Allocation Sites
• SD5 BEW
• SD7 Yapton
• SD8 Ford
• SD10 Climping

4.1 Site assessment

4.1 The assessment criteria used are not exhaustive and are typically used by West Sussex County Council in discussions with developers to help identify sites that will be suitable locations for new schools. They are not intended to prescribe the characteristics that the new school site must have. They are intended to identify the key issues that could make a site suitable/unsuitable and to reduce delivery risks to the education provider.

Access and Commuting

4.2 This section provides an evaluation of the access opportunities to each potential school site from the four key strategic residential sites by walking, cycling, bus, rail and car modes of transport. It also considers the feasibility of using each mode of transport to travel to the school sites from the SD5 (BARNHAM, EASTERGATE AND WESTERGATE - BEW), SD7 (YAPTON), SD8 (FORD) and SD10 (CLIMPING) strategic residential sites.

4.3 The assessment identifies any shortfalls in transport provision that might limit travel choice. This approach will inform the school site selection process as it is important the chosen site is accessible by a range of modes of transport, and if a shortfall in highways or transport infrastructure is identified, that the issues can be addressed in a cost effect manner. The impact of the new development expected in The Study area during the Local Plan period has already been considered within the ADC Infrastructure Delivery Plan.

Assumptions

4.4 The sites were all measured from the centre of each strategic housing site to the centre of secondary school site for consistency and to improve accuracy for comparisons:

• Walking used Google maps route planner to identify the most appropriate walking route to the school sites from the Strategic Allocation sites. This was checked against the existing West Sussex County Council (WSCC) PROW footpaths and Arun Active Travel Study 2020 (ATS 2020) priority routes (Arun Active Travel Study) in order to calculate and measure the distance of any proposed routes for comparison. The strategic housing sites masterplan documents were used to identify any PROW through the sites that could reduce overall journey time.
• Cycling used WSCC Cycle Journey Planner to map out the most appropriate cycle routes to the school sites from the strategic sites. The existing WSCC PROW were examined to see if any could be used as potential cycle routes and the Arun Active Travel Study 2020 routes were identified if relevant to the sites.
• Car routes were undertaken using Google Maps to identify the most appropriate roads for car travel to the school sites from the strategic sites.
• Bus routes to the school sites from the strategic sites were undertaken using Google Maps to identify the most appropriate bus route and the timetabling using WSCC Bus routes and timetables

Rail routes were measured using Google Maps to identify either the walking or cycling distance to the nearest railway station and the distance measured from the railway station to the school sites either by walking, cycling, or taking an additional bus. The time taken was measured to compare sites.

Walking

The map showing the route calculated for each travel mode can be found in Appendix 1.

4.5 To enable an assessment of the feasibility of walking between the school and the residential sites, it is necessary to establish the maximum walking distance that people are generally prepared to walk and the destinations that exist between these distances.

4.6 National Travel Survey 2014: Travel to School Factsheet states that ‘The mode used to travel to school varies according to the length of the trip to school. For both age groups, walking is the dominant mode for short distances (80% and 90% of trips under one mile for primary schoolchildren and secondary schoolchildren respectively) ’. Clearly walking is an important mode of transport for school children and provides the potential for most trips to be undertaken on foot, providing the walking distance is less than one mile.

4.7 The Institution of Highways and Transportation (IHT) guidance, Guidelines for Providing for Journeys on Foot (2000) states that in paragraph 3.32 and Table 2 that preferred maximum walking distances to facilities and local services is circa two kilometres. The distances for various land uses, are summarised in Table 4.

Table 4: Suggested acceptable walking distances

Destination	Town Centres	Commuting / schools	Elsewhere
Desirable	200m	500m	400m
Acceptable	400m	1,000m	800m
Preferred	800m	2,000m	1,200m

Source: Providing for Journeys on Foot (IHT, 2000)

Table 4: Suggested acceptable walking distances

Cycling

4.8 Cycling is an important mode of sustainable travel and is generally considered suitable for distances of up to 3 miles (4.8km) for regular journeys in urban areas, and 5 miles (8.0km) for commuting journeys (source: LTN 2/08, Cycle Infrastructure Design). The map showing the route calculated for each travel mode can be found in Appendix 1.

Free School Transport

4.9 WSCC provides free school transport for pupils if they are of statutory school age, attend the catchment of the nearest suitable school and live more than three miles away (if secondary school age). If they qualify the following assistance may be provided:

• ‘free place on a contractor school bus.
• A rail or bus season ticket.
• A fuel allowance where travel by car is agreed.
• A taxi or minibus, in exceptional circumstances only, usually for children with severe disabilities.
• A contribution towards the cost of travel

4.10 Distance is measured by the shortest available walking route. The County Council is promoting several initiatives, including the use of public transport rather than private vehicles through School Travel Plans led by the Safer Routes to School Team. (Source: Planning School Places 2023 to 2024 (westsussex.gov.uk)

4.11 To highlight the area which would typically be excluded by the three-mile travel distance, Map 4 has been prepared (distance measured from the centre of the school study area). The relevance of this is that pupils within this boundary might be more inclined to walk or cycle and/or less inclined to use public transport if cost is an issue. This demonstrates that all the strategic sites are inside the three-mile distance thus preventing them from using free school transport.

Map 4: 3-mile travel area (click to enlarge)

Accessible description: The map is titled Map Showing Potential Secondary School Sites in the Local Planning Authority Boundary of Arun District Council and includes the following:

• The Local Planning Authority Boundary of Arun District Council
• South Downs National Park (Outside LPA Boundary of ADC)
• Strategic Housing Allocation sites
• Policy T SP3: Safeguarding The Main Road Network - New Roads
• River Arun
• Arun Parishes
• Railway Stations
• Railway Stations Buffer: 1.357 miles
• 3 mile free school travel boundary
• HELAA_146A
• HELAA_19WA1
• HELAA_BN1215PL
• HELAA17BN1
• HELAA_21AL1
• NEWY16

It also shows the following Potential Secondary School locations marked in blue:

• 1- HELAA Site 21AL1 (Norton Grange Farm)
• 2 - Choller Farm, Barnham Lane
• 3 - HELAA Site NEWY16 (land at Maypole and North End Road)
• 4 - HELAA Site 17BN1 and BN1215PL (land north of Yapton Road / east of Blossom Way)
• 5 - Land South of Yapton Road
• 6 - Land to the South of part of the Canal
• 13 - HELAA Site 18Y2 Lambs Field Bilsham Road BN18 0JP
• 14 - Site to the south of Yapton

Local Bus Services

The map showing the route calculated for each travel mode can be found in Appendix 1.

4.12 The Summary of the local bus services (including map of route/service) are shown below and shows that there are existing bus services to serve all the potential sites in this study.

Table 5: Summary of Local Bus Services (from WSCC Website, November 2022)

Service number	School sites served	Route	Frequency Monday - Friday	Weekend frequency
66A	2, 13,	Bognor Regis – Bognor Regis	Monday – Friday 10:15 – 17:40 3 per hour	Saturdays 10:15 – 17:40  3 per hour
66C	1, 4, 5, 6, 14	Bognor Regis – Bognor Regis	Monday – Friday 08:15 – 16:35 3 per hour	Saturdays 08:15 – 16:35 3 per hour
85A	1, 2	Chichester - Arundel	Chichester – Arundel two a day at 12:45, 16:34 Arundel – Chichester two a day at 09:55, 13:55	No Service
700	2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 13, 14	Chichester - Littlehampton	Monday – Friday 05:20 – 23:23 2 per hour	Saturdays 06:02 – 23:23 2 per hour Sundays 06:40 – 19:47 2 per hour
665	14	Westergate – Ormiston Six Villages Academy – Barnham – Yapton – Ford – Arundel – Fontwell – Tangmere	One a day from Littlehampton to Westergate at 07:50 One a day from Westergate to Littlehampton at 14:50	No Service

Table 5: Summary of Local Bus Services (from WSCC Website, November 2022)

PLEASE NOTE: The new bus route 500 from Chichester to Littlehampton via Eastergate, Barnham and Yapton is not included in the analysis because it was not adopted at the time of the assessments being done. It is worth noting that route 500 serves sites 4, 5 and 14. This 500 service provides a twice hourly frequency and runs from early morning late into the evening and on weekends. Bus routes 66A and 66C are recorded with frequency 3 per hour but the new frequency is 3 per day for each.

Map 5: WSCC 2022 Bus Map Routing (click to view enlarged version on WSCC website)

Rail Services to Barnham Railway Station

4.13 The map showing the route calculated for each travel mode can be found in Appendix 1.          

Table 6: Summary of rail services at Barnham railway station

Key destinations	Approx journey times	Approx frequency: morning peak departures	Approx frequency: evening peak arrivals
Littlehampton	9 mins	3 between 08.00 and 09:00	2 between 15:00 and 16:00
Bognor Regis	7 mins	4 between 08.00 and 09:00	4 between 15:00 and 16:00
Ford	4 mins	7 between 08:00 and 09:00	6 between 15:00 and 16:00
Brighton	50 minutes	2 per hour	2 per hour
Portsmouth & Southsea	37 minutes	3 per hour	3 per hour
London Victoria	1 hour 30 minutes	3 per hour	2 per hour
Gatwick Airport	1 hour	4 per hour	2 per hour
Southampton	1 hour 2 minutes	3 per hour	2 per hour

Table 6: Summary of rail services at Barnham railway station

Rail Services to Ford Railway Station

4.14 The map showing the route calculated for each travel mode can be found in  Appendix 1.

Table 7: Summary of rail services at Ford railway station

Key destinations	Approx journey times	Approx frequency: morning peak departures	Approx frequency: evening peak arrivals
Littlehampton	6 minutes	3 between 08.00 and 09:00	2 between 15:00 and 16:00
Barnham	4 minutes	7 between 08:00 and 09:00	6 between 15:00 and 16:00
Brighton	45 minutes	2 per hour	2 per hour
Bognor Regis	12 minutes	3 per hour	3 per hour
Portsmouth & Southsea	50 minutes	2-3 per hour	3 per hour
London Victoria	1 hour 30 minutes	2-3 per hour	3 per hour
Gatwick Airport	1 hour	2-3 per hour	3 per hour
Southampton	1 hour 6 minutes	2-3 per hour	Hourly

Table 7: Summary of rail services at Ford railway station

Map 6: Railway buffers (click to enlarge)

Accessible description: The map is titled Map showing potential secondary school sites in the local planning authority boundary of Arun District Council and includes the following:

• The Local Planning Authority Boundary of Arun District Council
• South Downs National Park (Outside LPA Boundary of ADC)
• Strategic Housing Allocation sites
• Policy T SP3: Safeguarding The Main Road Network - New Roads
• River Arun
• Arun Parishes
• Railway Stations
• Railway Stations Buffer: 1.357 miles
• HELAA_146A
• HELAA_19WA1
• HELAA_BN1215PL
• HELAA17BN1
• HELAA_21AL1
• NEWY16

It also shows the following Potential Secondary School Sites marked in blue:

• 1- HELAA Site 21AL1 (Norton Grange Farm)
• 2 - Choller Farm, Barnham Lane
• 3 - HELAA Site NEWY16 (land at Maypole and North End Road)
• 4 - HELAA Site 17BN1 and BN1215PL (land north of Yapton Road / east of Blossom Way)
• 5 - Land South of Yapton Road
• 6 - Land to the South of part of the Canal
• 13 - HELAA Site 18Y2 Lambs Field Bilsham Road BN18 0JP
• 14 - Site to the south of Yapton

Car travel

4.15 The map showing the route calculated for each travel mode can be found in Appendix 1.

Table 8: Vehicular Access (Car Travel distance from Strategic Sites to School Sites)

	Car travel (km)
Site	SD5 (BEW)	SD7 (Yapton)	SD8 (Ford)	SD10 (Climping)
1	4.2	5.7	7.7	8.9
2	2.3	3.7	5.7	6.8
3	5.3	1.9	3.5	4.6
4	1.7	1.8	3.9	5.0
5	2.4	0.9	3.0	4.1
6	3.5	1.0	3.1	4.3
13	5.4	2.1	2.7	4.1
14	5.4	2.4	1.2	1.7

Graph 1: Car Travel distance from Strategic Sites to School Sites

Graph 1 above shows the car travel distance travelled from the strategic sites to the school sites. As a result, each site has varying vehicular access distance however in general the sites which are the shortest distance from the strategic sites are favoured. However due to their locations, each site is closer to one or more of the strategic sites so the site favourability was based on the active travel routes findings instead.

Access and Commuting Conclusion

4.16 This section has considered the access potential associated with each secondary school site location, making trips by walking, cycling, bus, rail and car. It is evident that all the school sites can (in principle) be accessed by the various modes of transport and that no transport constraints prohibit any of the sites from further consideration. All the sites do however require various transport / highways infrastructure enhancements to make them suitable for the proposed secondary school use. The sites have been ranked from most favourable being Site 14 and least favourable being Site 1. This ranking has been done using various access and commuting criteria including IHT walking commuting distances, various cycling times and distances, rail, bus and car commuting times. Out of all the sites, the site with the most ‘green’ ratings (as per the RAG matrix) is site 14. However, some sites are closer to either Barnham Railway Station or Ford Railway Station. Additionally, the location of the nearest bus stops and vehicular access routes was harder to rate as each site had a number of bus stops in close vicinity and highways access was measured depending on existing car routes and the distance travelled to the sites from the strategic sites. The conclusions leading to site rankings have been largely based on active travel opportunities such as walking or cycling from Strategic Sites to the school sites. Additionally, the distances were measured using a RAG rating for walking or cycling distance to the stations. Red is less favourable; Amber could be favourable (depending on site access or travel routes used) and Green is most favourable. Final detailed site conclusions are shown in the conclusion summary below.

4.17 Walking

Table 9: Walking from Strategic Sites to School Sites RAG

Site	Red	Amber	Green
1	4	0	0
2	3	1	0
3	3	0	1
4	2	1	1
5	3	0	1
6	3	1	0
13	3	1	0
14	1	1	2

 Graph 2: Walking from Strategic Sites to School Sites RAG

Table 9 and Graph 2, shows the number of strategic sites (4 in total) (y-axis) versus the secondary school sites locations (x-axis). Therefore, each site uses the RAG checklist from the above table to show which sites are most favourable.

• As a result, from the bar chart above, the site most favourable for walking commuting distance access using the existing Google maps routes is site 14 as it is within walking distance of two of the strategic sites, potentially within one and outside of one.
• The next favourable for walking is site 4 as it is within preferred walking distance of one and potential walking distance of one. However it is outside preferred walking distance for two of the sites.
• Sites 3 and 5 are next favourable as they are within preferred walking distance of one of the sites. Sites 2, 6 and 13 are next favourable being within potential walking distance of one of the sites.
• Site 1 is the least favourable as it is not within preferred walking distance of any of the strategic sites.

Walking from Strategic sites to School Sites

Table 10: Walking from Strategic sites to School Sites by Proposed dwellings within suitable RAG catchment.

School sites	SD5	SD7	SD8	SD10	Total
Site 1	4300 (R)	550 (R)	1500 (R)	300 (R)	0
Site 2	4300 (A)	550 (R)	800 (R)	800 (R)	4300
Site 3	4300 (R)	550 (G)	1500 (R)	300 (R)	550
Site 4	4300 (A)	550 (G)	1500 (R)	300 (R)	4850
Site 5	4300 (R)	550 (G)	1500 (R)	300 (R)	550
Site 6	4300 (R)	550 (A)	1500 (R)	300 (R)	550
Site 13	4300 (R)	550 (A)	1500 (R)	300 (R)	550
Site 14	4300 (R)	550 (A)	1500 (G)	330 (G)	2350

Red cells are marked (R), amber are marked (A) and green are marked (G).

Table 10 shows walking from strategic sites to school sites in relation to the number of dwellings within the suitable catchment. The totalling of ‘Green’ and ‘Amber’ Cell dwelling numbers suggest Site 4 has highest number, followed by Site 2 and Site 14.

Site 2 is not within walking distance of site SD5 using the existing Google Maps walking route measured from the centroid (walking north along the eastern side of SD5 using the existing PROW footpath to the north to Church Lane then across east to Barnham Road to the site). However, the agreed BEW SD5 Proposed Masterplan route is included as a potential route within the site summary and RAG table. This route is within the IHT preferred walking commuting distance to the site and so has been used (this allows the eastern exit of SD5 access onto Elm Grove South Road and using the ADC ATS 2020 route 3 partway along Elm Grove, Spinney Walk and Wentworth Close into the southern exit / access of the site). This route reduces the distance to 1.2 miles (2.0km) which is within the IHT preferred walking commuting distance to the site.

4.18 Cycling