West Suffolk Council · District council
Transport Statements and Assessments in West Suffolk
What transport evidence a West Suffolk planning application needs, the parking standards that apply, and the policies an assessment should address.
Which document do you need?
National policy asks for a Transport Statement or a Transport Assessment wherever a development will generate significant amounts of movement.
Transport Statement
A shorter document for smaller schemes where transport issues are limited: access, parking, trips and sustainable travel.
Transport Assessment
A full assessment for larger schemes: trip generation, network impact, junction capacity and mitigation.
Parking standards
Suffolk County Council's parking standards apply in West Suffolk. These are county standards, taken from the county's document below and checked against it row by row.
County standards
| Use | Car parking |
|---|---|
| C2 Residential Care Home | 1 space per full time equivalent staff + 1 visitor space per 3 beds |
| E(g) Business – offices, R&D, light industrial (formerly B1) | 1 space per 30 m² |
| B8 with retail element | 1 space per 150 m² + 1 space per 20 m² retail area for customer parking |
| E(a) retail – excluding food stores (formerly A1) | 1 space per 20 m² |
| E(b) retail – Food stores over 1000m² gfa (formerly A1) | 1 space per 14 m² |
| E(b) retail – Food stores under 1000m² gfa (formerly A1) | 1 space per 16 m² |
| B2 General Industrial | 1 space per 30 m² |
| B2 Tyre and Exhaust drive-in Service and Motor Vehicle Repair | 3 spaces per service bay excluding the bay plus staff parking |
| B8 Storage and Distribution | 1 space per 150 m² |
| Use | Cycle parking |
|---|---|
| C2 Residential Care Home | 2 spaces per 5 staff |
| E(g) Business – offices, R&D, light industrial (formerly B1) | 2 spaces per 200 m² |
| B8 with retail element | 2 spaces per 400 m² |
| E(a) retail – excluding food stores (formerly A1) | 2 spaces per 200 m² |
| E(b) retail – Food stores over 1000m² gfa (formerly A1) | 2 spaces per 200 m² |
| E(b) retail – Food stores under 1000m² gfa (formerly A1) | 2 spaces per 200 m² |
| B2 General Industrial | 2 spaces per 300 m² |
| B2 Tyre and Exhaust drive-in Service and Motor Vehicle Repair | 2 spaces per 300 m² |
| B8 Storage and Distribution | 2 spaces per 400 m² |
Source: Suffolk Guidance for Parking (Fourth Edition, October 2023)County standards: Suffolk County CouncilAdopted October 2023Figures checked against the published document on 10 November 2026Selected tables: the source document has the full standards
Policies your assessment should address
The transport policies of the development plan documents in the summary panel. A neighbourhood plan, or a plan for one part of West Suffolk, may also apply to your site.
West Suffolk Local Plan 2024-2041
- LP3Electric vehicle charging points in new developments
- SP31Infrastructure
- LP41Active and sustainable travel
- LP43Transport assessments, transport statements and travel plans
- LP44Parking standards
This page summarises adopted policy and links to the source documents. It is not legal advice: always confirm a figure against the adopted document before relying on it.