People living in new homes planned for a site close to March Estover Road Playing Field are likely to walk or cycle into town and any car journeys will not seriously impact on local roads.

That’s the conclusion of a Transport Statement produced in support of plans to build 30 houses on land off the Berryfield estate submitted to Fenland District Council.

The statement, which is part of the documentation associated with the planning application by 10 members of the Wilkinson family, who own the 1.18 hectares of land, suggests: “It is commonly accepted that trips made on foot can be the most important journeys at the local level and have the greatest potential to substitute for short car trips for distances up to 2km”.

It goes on to say the application site and March in general has a well developed footway network which would allow people to walk to access services such as public transport, employment and schools, which are all within a 2km radius prescribed by the Institute of Highways and Transportation in its document “Providing for Journeys on Foot”.

The statement also points out that cycling can replace car journeys of up to 5km and suggests that residents could access the whole of March and a number of local settlements by cycle - although there is no designated cycle route in the immediate vicinity of the proposed development.

In conclusion it says: “The housing proposals will generate peak hour traffic over the wider highway network which is below the threshold for a traffic assessment recommended by the Department for Transport.

“Consequently, the development will not materially impact on the operation of local highways in capacity or safety terms, including key locations identified within the March Market Town Transport Strategy such as the B1101 Station Road/Elm Road level crossing. Overall the Transport Statement draws the conclusion that the development should be acceptable in transport terms.”