Soil Foundation Structure Interaction Facility (SoFSI)
Project: Soil Foundation Structure Interaction Facility (SoFSI)
Categories: Transport Planning/Highway Access
Client: University of Bristol
Project Date: 2018 to 2019
Contact: Matt Jewell
Location: Langford Campus, Langford, North Somerset, BS40 5EW
KTC were appointed by the University of Bristol in 2018 to provide transport planning and highway engineering advice to support a planning application for a nationally significant facility to test and understand how buildings interact with their foundations and the surrounding soil. SoFSI was designed to fill the gaps in the current understanding the mechanics of these systems which cannot be resolved using conventional, smaller scale test facilities. The SoFSI Facility will deliver a unique, high value, capability for de-risking investments in innovation and development, for example in life-extension techniques for existing infrastructure, or the application of new materials and devices.
KTCs brief was threefold. Initially, KTC undertook an accessibility appraisal for the wider area to help identify any constraints along the main access road passing the site, the B3133 Stock Lane. This included a comparative review of possible access arrangements if the development was sited at Stock Lane Farm located to the north of the existing Langford Campus access junction (shown below right) and a site on the existing Campus (below left). This document included a review of accident records, traffic flowsaand speeds and topographical information.
Subsequently, KTC prepared a more detailed assessment of the access options to the Stock Lane Farm site including a detailed review of likely visibility requirements, how these could be achieved at the farm accesses, and the implications. This noted that third-party land would most-likely be required if the SoFSI development was to be located on the farm site due to insufficient visibility at the existing accesses, which would make them unsuitable for any intensification of use. In view of this, it was determined that the use of the farm site and its accesses would be unlikely to gain highways officer support without significant expenditure and the possible removal of a dwelling.
Noting the types and numbers of vehicle movements expected and the need for the site to be accessible by sustainable modes of travel, it was established that the Langford Campus served by its existing access junction would provide an appropriate site for the type and scale of development. So KTC were commissioned to produce a robust Transport Statement (TS) to support a planning application.
The TS brought together all of the relevant information from the previous studies and combined it with the features of the development proposal. This included ensuring acceptable access and turning arrangement for vehicles, especially for soil deliveries by HGV, which would require direct access to the proposed soil storage areas.
The KTC TS outlined and quantified the expected traffic movements generated by the SoFSI development and ensured that adequate parking was provided to negate any pressure on the existing on-site parking facilities, for both construction and operational traffic movements. It also outlined the method proposed for waste collections, parking for cycles, and access by sustainable travel modes.
The proposed development was granted planning permission in July 2019 with no highways objections or unexpected highways conditions.