Growing Baldock Transport Update

We are pleased to share a further update on the Growing Baldock proposals, in particular in relation to transport.

Since submitting our Outline Planning Application in October 2025, we have continued to work closely with Hertfordshire County Council, National Highways and North Hertfordshire District Council to review and test the transport plans. As part of this process, an additional piece of work, known as a Transport Assessment Addendum (TAA), has now been completed.

This forms part of a wider package of additional information submitted in May 2026 to respond to all remaining matters raised through consultation and ongoing discussions with stakeholders.

What is the Transport Assessment Addendum?

The Addendum builds on the original Transport Assessment and provides an independent validation of the transport modelling using Hertfordshire County Council’s strategic ‘COMET’ model.

This work was agreed with stakeholders to ensure that:

The way traffic has been assessed is reliable
The proposed transport improvements perform as expected
The overall transport strategy supports both the development and the wider area

What was tested?

The independent modelling looked closely at how traffic would move through the local network, including:

How many trips would be generated by the development
Where those trips would travel to and from
How traffic would behave across the wider road network
How the proposed mitigation measures would work in practice
Future scenarios, including a ‘worst-case’ position with all the sites identified for development in the North Herts Council Local Plan delivered

Multiple scenarios were tested, covering both the early phases of development and a full build-out, post 2040.

Key findings

The results show:

The independent modelling closely matches the findings of the original Transport Assessment.
All key junctions continue to operate within capacity once the proposed improvements are in place.
No additional junction improvements are required beyond those already proposed.
Four locations were reviewed in more detail following the modelling (A1(M) Junction 9, A505/London Road, Hitchin Street/Norton Road/Letchworth Road, and A505/B656 Royston Road), and all were confirmed to operate satisfactorily.

Reducing traffic through Baldock

A key priority for the Growing Baldock project is to minimise through traffic in Baldock town centre and surrounding villages. The modelling confirms that the proposed measures will:

Encourage traffic to remain on the Strategic Road Network (including the A1(M))
Reduce the likelihood of ‘rat-running’ through local streets
Support safer, calmer conditions within the town

This is achieved through a combination of:

Targeted highway improvements
A new link between North Road and Royston Road
A one-way shuttle arrangement under the railway bridge
New and improved signalised junctions

Supporting sustainable travel

While the latest work focuses on highways, it sits alongside a wider sustainable transport strategy, including:

New walking and cycling routes
Dedicated bus corridors and improved public transport access
Facilities such as cycle parking, electric vehicle charging and car clubs

These elements will be secured through a Design Code and future planning stages, ensuring they are delivered alongside new homes.

Summary and future monitoring

Overall, the independent modelling provides strong assurance that:

The transport strategy is robust and evidence-based
The proposed mitigation measures are effective
The development can be delivered without unacceptable impacts on the local or strategic road networks

The modelling work, together with the original Transport Assessment, now provides a comprehensive and complete evidence base to support the planning application.

During delivery, a ‘Monitor and Manage’ framework will be used to:

Track traffic levels and travel behaviour over time
Monitor how the network performs as the development progresses
Trigger agreed, additional interventions if required

Wider updates

Alongside the transport work, the May 2026 submission included an Environmental Statement Addendum and updates across a number of technical areas.

These include:

Updated assessments of air quality and noise, confirming previous conclusions remain unchanged
Additional detail on ecology mitigation, including an on-site and off-site strategy for corn bunting
An updated drainage strategy responding to consultee feedback
Updates to the development specification, including minor changes to nursery provision (an increase in floorspace) and a revised approach to SEND education provision, with Hertfordshire County Council confirming onsite SEND provision is no longer required. A significant financial contribution will be provided to support offsite delivery instead.

Overall, the additional environmental assessment confirms that the scheme’s impacts and mitigation approach remain consistent with the original submission, with no change to the predicted range of effects.

You can view all the updates and leave comments on North Herts Council’s website or by entering reference number 25/02571/OP on the council’s planning portal. The consultation will run for 21 days.

Keeping you informed

We will continue to work with stakeholders and keep the community updated as the project progresses. If you have any questions or would like further information, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. We would love to hear from you.