Pulsar provided transport advice to Rokeby Educational Trust in relation to a planning application at their prep school in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames. The proposals involved an increase in the pupil number cap and redevelopment of the existing multi-purpose hall to provide three additional classrooms and the extension of the Design and Technology classroom. The site has a number of existing challenges including its location within a private residential estate and between two other independent schools, creating short-term localised traffic issues on the adjacent road network.

Pulsar supported the school by preparing a robust Travel Plan, including measures for implementation such as designing a new bus route and suggesting car sharing mechanisms. A Transport Statement and an Outline Construction Logistics Plan were also prepared to support the application, including design advice throughout construction and beyond. Following discussions, the RBKT Highways Officer confirmed that the Travel Plan would sufficiently mitigate the potential impacts associated with the suggested increase in pupil numbers.

Despite the initial officer recommendation, the Council refused the application. Pulsar subsequently prepared a Transport Report for the Planning Appeal and represented the client at the Hearing. The Appeal was allowed.

Our client noted:

“We were very pleased with the robust travel plan that Pulsar helped us to create. They guided us through the process and made sure that we took ownership of it, whilst providing critical and analytic assessment of it as we went along. This ensured that we had a travel plan that we felt that was challenging whilst also being realistic and deliverable. We will continue to engage with Pulsar as we roll it out over the next 5 years.” - M. Leeson (Bursar at Rokeby School)