1 Overview
The Billingshurst project was included to identify the quality of life changes resulting from a package of predominantly road-based measures, which have significantly reduced traffic in the centre of this large village. A bypass was opened in September 1999 and a programme of traffic calming measures and village centre streetscape enhancements is being implemented between April and September 2002. Under the research, a retrospective quality of life evaluation of the bypass is being conducted and a ‘before and after’ study is being carried out around the introduction of the traffic calming proposals. (It was not possible to select an example of a bypass construction around which a standard ‘before’ and ‘after’ study could be conducted, because there were no appropriate schemes due for completion within the timeframe of the Civilising Cities research.)

The transport changes are linked to a significant house-building programme, in which 550 new houses are being built in the west of the Village. Through selling land to property developers for these new houses, the local District Council of Horsham was able to fund the entire transport package along with a range of community facility improvements to, in part, meet the needs of the increased population.

After the opening of the bypass, traffic travelling North/South through the village (in the same direction as the bypass) reduced by approximately 40% to around 10,000 vehicles per 24-hour period. However, traffic travelling along the A272 East/West route increased by just over 10% to 6200 vehicles per day, although has since started to decline. The traffic calming measures should address some of the persistent problems of through traffic that the bypass did not completely solve and they should help to control the growing internal traffic from residential households. They should also helping to maintain the attractiveness of the High Street area to residents and visitors.

Long-term residents in the village are worried about the adverse affects of the increased number of households, which they see as changing the nature of the village. It has been recognised that transport measures are one of the key sets of interventions to help it maintain its character.

2 Description of local study areas
Figure 1 shows the route of the 2.46km single carriageway bypass and the position of the village within Horsham District. As can be seen, the village has also been divided into local study areas, based on proximity to the traffic changes. They are called: Near bypass, Near High Street, Peripheral roads, New housing and Elsewhere (which is not expected to experience significant changes during the course of the research).

The Village has a residential population of approximately 5000 people (estimated for the year 2000) compared to a Billingshurst Ward population estimate of 6600 people. There were approximately 2200 households in Billingshust Village in 2002. The ward itself is in the top 15% of least deprived wards in England, based in the Index of Deprivation. This is reflected in below average unemployment, and high house and car ownership — 84% of households in Billingshurst Ward own a car compared to the national average of 68% (1991 Census).

Figure 1: Billingshurst

3 Programme of improvements
Under the traffic calming project, five traffic calming gateways were constructed at the main entrances to the village under Phase 1 of the project in Autumn 2000. The most significant traffic calming measures, though, will be implemented in Phase 2, which commenced in Spring 2002 and will take 6 months to complete. Phase 2 involves making the High Street more pedestrian friendly and changing the priority of traffic using the A272. At present, traffic using the A272 gives way to traffic using the High Street. This will be changed so that traffic on the A272 will have priority and High Street traffic will give way. This will add an extra delay to traffic travelling through the village North to South. In addition, crossing facilities will be improved to develop a village walkway.

Amongst community facilities, new playing fields are to be built on the Western (non-village) side of the bypass (in 2002). A swimming pool is to be built (likely to be 2003). A £100,000 extension to the Village Hall is to be built by Spring 2002. A village bus service is planned for 2003, which will travel around Billingshurst in a circular route.

4 Data collection and analytical approach
In addition to using existing data sources, an extensive household survey has been conducted in Billingshurst Village, which achieved a sample of over 50% of households. In order to obtain more information on impacts on local economic conditions and the quality of the High Street, from the perspective of both businesses and visitors, supplementary business and on-street surveys have also been conducted.

The sample sizes for all surveys are shown in Table 1, alongside the number of respondents that were able to comment on conditions before and after the construction of the bypass. Table 2 provides a geographical breakdown of the household sample by study areas (which are described in Chapter 2). Survey work was carried out in March 2002, prior to the implementation of the main traffic calming and High Street enhancement measures. The surveys will be repeated in 2003, after the traffic calming and village centre enhancements have been implemented. Meanwhile, extra traffic and environmental monitoring is being undertaken for the Civilising Cities initiative by West Sussex County Council.

Table 1: Billingshurst survey sample sizes

Table 2: Billingshurst household sample by local study areas

In order to demonstrate the possible contribution of transport measures to quality of life in Billingshurst, a series of illustrations have been used, which compare indicators by geographical area. Some of these illustrations are simple charts that show a net percentage value (e.g. % percent satisfied minus % dissatisfied) by geographical area; others are simple graphs which show a how a single value changes over time (e.g. traffic flows) by area.

However, it has often been necessary to use a more complex type of chart, when interpreting findings from the retrospective bypass survey. By geographical area, this chart type compares:

1. the percentage of respondents noticing changes after the bypass opened (whether or not the change was an improvement or a worsening) — in order to gauge the extent of awareness of an impact that is associated with the bypass;

2. the net percentage of respondents noticing improvements after the bypass opened (% noticing improvements minus percent noticing worsening conditions) — in order to assess the direction and degree of perceived changes;

3. the net percentage of respondents satisfied with current conditions — in order to measure the absolute level of satisfaction currently.

5 Traffic-related changes
Figure 2 shows traffic and air pollution levels recorded before and after the opening of the bypass, and it shows perceptions of changes in noise levels from the household survey. As can be seen, traffic was reduced by approximately 40% on the High Street after the opening, and this reduction has been maintained against a background of increasing traffic approaching the village on the A29. Although traffic travelling along the A272 East/West route was shown to increase by approximately 10% after the bypass opened, it has since reduced to levels prior to opening.

Carbon monoxide monitoring has recorded an increase after the opening, which is indicated by a ‘warning’ symbol in the Figure. However, the amount of this pollutant is well within the nationally recommended maximum. This increase could be due to the measurement site being close to the A272 East/West route on which traffic increased slightly. Also this air pollution count should be treated with caution because only one counter was used.

Noise levels, have been reported as reducing significantly by household survey respondents living close to the High Street and its peripheral roads. Small improvements have also been noted around the rail station, elsewhere in the village. As would be expected, respondents living close to the bypass have reported worsening traffic noise, as have the small number of households in the new housing study area with experience of conditions prior to the bypass.

Figure 2: Traffic and air pollution changes and perceived noise reduction

Chart 1 shows household survey perceptions of noise changes, alongside those for changes in traffic and air pollution. Perceptions of traffic changes match the count information; meanwhile, perceptions of air quality show a marked improvement along the High Street, in contrast to the carbon monoxide counts (which only represent one aspect of air pollution).

Chart 1: Net satisfaction that traffic, nosie and air pollution improved after the bypass opened

(N.B. *New housing area responses less than 20)

6 Impact on local economy and accessibility
Preliminary analyses indicate a mixed picture regarding the impact of the bypass on a range of factors affecting the attractiveness of the village centre, as shown in Chart 2. Most respondents from the on-street survey did not notice any significant changes after the bypass opened in the appearance of the High Street, the attractiveness of shops to customers, access by foot and access by car. It is only with respect to road safety that the majority perceived an impact. Of the people noticing change, there was a net satisfaction that all the former aspects had improved apart from the ability of shops to attract customers. The largest improvement was for road safety (+51%). Although, the indicator for change in the attractiveness of shops shows a small negative change, it should be noted that current net satisfaction levels are also relatively low (at +37%). Similar perceptions were also recorded in the household survey.

Chart 2: On-street survey results for the impact of the bypass on the centre of Billingshurst

Evidence from local economic counts of businesses and employment in the village is shown in Chart 3 and Chart 4, respectively. The number of businesses in Billingshurst Ward has continued to rise faster than numbers in Horsham District and in the South East Region. However, this growth is not reflected in the retail and hotel/restaurant sectors. Despite the rise in the number of businesses, the amount of employment in the ward has dipped due, to the growth in small businesses at the expense of larger employers.

Chart 3: Ward-level business counts in Billingshurst

Chart 4: Ward-level employment counts in Billingshurst

A summary of some the results from the business survey is shown in Chart 5 and confirm this mixed picture, in which the bypass has contributed to small changes. The business survey sample comprised, in the main, businesses from the retail and hotel/restaurant sectors. Of those that perceived change, more reported that customer numbers decreased than increased, while conversely more reported that turnover increased than decreased. This might reflect a drop in passing trade, where people stop for small items such as newspapers, but indicate that businesses have maintained trade for larger items, for which people are prepared to make a special trip to the village centre.

Chart 5: Impacts of the Billingshurst bypass on business

So far, the analysis has not taken take into account the size of changes in customer numbers and turnover, which will be studied in subsequent stages. However, in agreement with the on-street survey, the majority of respondents did not notice any change after the bypass opened.

7 Wider quality of life impacts
Chart 6 shows evidence from the household survey for the wider quality of life impacts in the local study areas, except the new housing area where the sample is small. In the area close to the High Street, net percentages of respondents reported noticing improvements in the ‘neighbourhood as a place to live’ and in road safety; but they noticed worsening street cleanliness and antisocial behaviour. Although many respondents did not notice changes at all, the proportions noticing change are considerably greater than for changes in the aspects of local economy in Chart 2, except for street cleanliness. Therefore, there is evidence, in the short term at least, that the bypass has contributed more significantly to changing wider quality of life issues than to the local economy and accessibility.

Chart 6: Impacts of the bypass on wider quality of life issues by study area

Near to the bypass, more people perceived that quality of life aspects had deteriorated, except for road safety. There is also evidence that the bypass has made a significant contribution to worsening overall neighbourhood conditions and anti-social behaviour problems, based on the numbers noticing change. On the peripheral roads and around the rail station, as could be expected, changes are not as pronounced. In subsequent analyses, some of information from the Billingshurst surveys should be able to be compared against findings from other surveys conducted in the District and in West Sussex County. This will show how changes in quality of life being perceived in Billingshurst compare with those elsewhere in the region.

Comments to open questions in the household survey have also been analysed to further explore the importance of these quality of life issues and to identify other issues. In the analysis, comments were weighted so only one comment has been recorded for each of the respondents in each of the categories. Thus, a respondent that writes many separate comments on crime problems, for example, is only recorded once.

A summary of comments is shown in Chart 7. In agreement with other evidence, crime and fear of crime represent the most significant set of concerns, but respondents are also worried by lack of local facilities and recent housing growth. There were less comments on transport problems, though, still a significant number.

Chart 7: Summary of comments

This evidence shows that the contribution of the package of transport measures to improving quality of life in Billingshurst needs to be set against other issues; in particular, housing growth, which is known to be increasing at a faster rate in Billingshurst than elsewhere. It is hoped that these issues can be more thoroughly explored, following the successful implementation of the remaining parts of the transport package and after another round of the Civilising Cities surveys.

Acknowledgement
The household, on-street and business surveys were part-funded by a grant from the Rees Jeffreys Road Fund, which we gratefully acknowledge.