Why The Sudden Interest In Cycling ?

We’ve followed the latest “community events” at Hamptons closely. The sudden interest in cycling is of course sparked by an ulterior motive for the Chelmsford Muslim Society.

Doing the groundwork

So convincing the council that a huge number of worshippers will cycle or walk to the mosque solves two problems:

  1. It reduces the requirement for onsite vehicle parking in the event of CMS submitting a planning application.

  2. It reduces the issue of noise and disturbance created by motor vehicles entering and leaving the mosque at all hours of the day and night.

And if you were looking to gather evidence of such a commitment to sustainable bike travel, what better way than to organise some bike-related community events at the Hamptons Mosque, and make sure it was attended exclusively by the Muslim community.

And the key document is the Essex Design Guide 2020, which says:

Providing the appropriate levels of infrastructure for parking relies upon robust and thoughtful design. The aim should be to:

  • prioritise and promote cycling and walking for all ages and a range of physical and mental abilities;

  • achieve a safe and attractive environment which encourages activity; and effectively future-proof current provision in preparation for future changes in technology, car ownership, driving behaviour and so on.

This second event was fully booked before it was posted up on the Hamptons Sports and Leisure FB page. All communities welcome, we think not.


CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS

So currently the parking requirement for F1f use (religious worship and religious education) is 1 space per 20m2 of floorspace, for Hamptons that’s 240 spaces.

We know that CMS can only squeeze in 145 cars onsite at the moment, so the need to convince the council of the switch to cycling and walking is important.

Currently the planning requirement of 240 parking spaces onsite, would almost certainly guarantee that any planning application for a change of use, would fail.

The next obvious step would be to do a travel survey of worshippers, which will show something like a 70% sustainable/30% motor vehicle modal share, using the community bike events as supporting evidence.

Convincing the council of a 30% reduction in worshippers arriving by motor vehicle, would mean that the council could potentially pass a planning application that doesn’t meet Essex Parking Standards for a Place of Worship.

Safety First

We’d also suggest that it’s unlikely that worshippers in thobes or kameez shalwar would be able to cycle safely.

BUT Surely the traffic management plan is enough ?

The keys issues with the TMP are:

  • It doesn’t create any enforceable conditions

  • It can be reviewed and monitored till the cows come home, it’s still unenforceable.

The TMP offers no real long term help to CMS, who admit they can’t and won’t attempt to control the worshippers behaviour relating to travel and parking. But it did help them swat away complaints from angry residents.

The only way forward for CMS to get full planning permission for a Place Of Worship, is by submitting a change of use planning application, including a proper travel plan/travel survey. And they must convince the council they need less parking for motor vehicles. Ultimately that is their goal for the Hamptons Mosque.


CMS didn’t spend £2.35 million to run a sports & leisure centre !

KBO

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