Commercial Development Projects Ltd. (CDP) controls land to the south-west of M62 Junction 30 in Wakefield, promoted as a major employment-led opportunity with immediate access to the strategic road network.
iTransport first supported the site in 2019, providing strategic transport planning advice and helping develop a transport vision to support its promotion through the Wakefield Local Plan. That work contributed to the site securing a major employment allocation, which was ultimately adopted in 2024. With the benefit of that allocation, the focus shifted to refining the transport strategy for a severable, phased hybrid planning application capable of delivering around 1 million sq ft of employment space and up to 1,300 new full-time equivalent jobs.
The transport challenge was central to unlocking the site. Its location next to the M62 offered strong strategic access for employment use, but also created sensitivity around access design, HGV movement, road safety, active travel provision and the site’s relationship with the wider allocation area. The client needed a strategy that supported immediate deliverability while also protecting the longer-term potential of adjoining land.
iTransport supported the project from strategic promotion through to detailed planning, helping shape a transport strategy that could respond to both local and strategic issues.
A key strand of the work was detailed optioneering to identify the right access solution for the site. This needed to do several things at once: address an existing road safety issue in the area, provide suitable access for HGVs travelling to and from the M62, create significantly better active travel connections, and avoid prejudicing the future development of the remaining part of the wider allocation site controlled by another party. Arriving at a solution that balanced all of those objectives required careful technical testing, collaboration and judgement.
Alongside the access work, iTransport led the broader transport and highways input to the planning strategy. This included Environmental Impact Assessment, detailed traffic analysis under a range of cumulative scenarios, and consideration of cross-boundary traffic impacts. We also addressed issues raised by Active Travel England and worked closely with National Highways on the implications for the Strategic Road Network.
This wider package of work helped provide a robust basis for planning, while also ensuring the scheme could be framed as both commercially viable and aligned with wider transport and movement objectives.
The transport strategy helped move Castle Gate from allocation through to a deliverable planning proposition for a major employment site at a strategically important location.
Our work supported agreement with National Highways that no physical mitigation would be required on the Strategic Road Network, which was a significant outcome for a site of this scale and location. We also helped negotiate appropriate planning conditions and a proportionate developer contribution to support enhanced public transport services in the area.
By resolving the access strategy and addressing road safety, HGV movement and active travel together, iTransport helped reduce planning risk and strengthen the case for a phased hybrid application. The result is a clearer, more deliverable route towards bringing forward a major employment scheme with the potential to deliver substantial jobs and investment in Wakefield.
We provide the full range of specialist transport planning services needed to take schemes from early concept through to consent and delivery
Talk to us about your project
