ADC have helped secure a variation of planning conditions for a Free School in Northampton. The local highway authority conditioned the parking proposals because of concerns about queuing traffic – many of the pupils will arrive by taxi, and all pupils must be accompanied in and out of the building. The situation was complicated by a number of design and operational constraints as the school will occupy an existing building. Those constraints included an undercroft ramp that had to be kept clear, a confined parking area with supporting columns, as well as the variability in the time taken to board and alight the vehicles. Our innovative and unique approach was to use a mathematical assessment, built from first principles, simulating random vehicle arrivals and departures, coupled with random delays in boarding and alighting. The approach was successful, and the variation was approved. That enables the project to move forward and we look forward to the opening of the new school in due course.
