Sanderson Associates was appointed to provide Traffic & Transportation advice to Willmott Dixon Construction in support of the Darlington Railway Heritage Quarter project to develop a world-class visitor attraction as part of the bi-centenary celebrations of the Stockton and Darlington Railway.
Sanderson Associates provided a detailed Transport Assessment and Framework Travel Plan following a positive Transport Scoping exercise with Darlington Borough Council during the planning stage.
The attraction, which is expected to welcome more than 300,000 visitors a year, included a new ‘Live Engineering’ building and refurbishment of Grade II listed buildings to provide a visitor hub all supported by off-site car and coach parking facilities and pedestrian/cycle links.
A key aspect of the project in Transport Planning terms was the prediction of visitor numbers and the profile of these over a typical year. By assessing the peaks and troughs of anticipated visitors we were able to advise on the impact on the surrounding highway network and requirements for car and coach parking.
Utilising information provided by Darlington Borough Council as part of the Heritage Quarter Business Case, a visitor distribution pattern of the traffic accessing the car park was determined. The resultant traffic flows were applied to the surrounding highway network and our assessment confirmed that the would be no material impact in the typical AM and PM peak hours and accordingly no formal junction capacity assessments were required.
Consideration of the needs of pedestrians, including visitors with mobility issues, and cyclists were paramount in the project which resulted in the creation of an accessible main entrance pedestrian/cycle links between key buildings and car/coach parking areas.
Opportunities to encourage sustainable travel to the attraction by employees and visitors, such as active EV parking spaces and cycle parking, were incorporated into the Framework Travel Plan which was further supported by a “Visitor Action Plan”.
AWARDS
Heritage Railway Association Awards – Best Museum Interpretation Award, 2025
Heritage Railway Association Awards – Railway 200 Special Award, 2025
