Wednesday 2 December 2026
The Marble Arch Hotel, Marylebone, London W1H
Event Partner:
Supported by:
Gold Sponsor:
Silver Sponsor:
Organised by:
Transport Development Planning 2026 provides an important opportunity to move beyond high-level policy discussion and focus on how transport development planning should respond in practice to the shift towards vision-led planning. This shift – if embedded in practice – will lead to improved sustainable transport outcomes, inclusive accessibility and better integration between transport and land use. New expectations emerging through the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and Planning Practice Guidance (PPG) also offer opportunities for locking in an improved approach to transport development planning.
Vision-led transport planning is now firmly on the agenda. The challenge is no longer simply to acknowledge that change is needed, but to deliver it. Transport planners have a crucial role to play in shaping better places, widening real travel choices, supporting healthier communities and giving local authorities, developers and highway authorities the confidence to make good decisions.
The Transport Development Planning Conference matters because it brings together the people who need to make that shift happen. If vision-led planning is to mean more than new language wrapped around old methods, we need to ask better questions from the outset: what kind of place are we creating, who will be able to access it, and how do we expect people to move through it?
Colin Black, Director, Mayer Brown
What to expect
This event will provide practical responses and solutions to this key question –
how can transport development planning move from policy ambition to practical delivery, using vision-led approaches, better evidence, stronger modelling, inclusive design, officer capability and measurable outcomes to create healthier, fairer, safer and more sustainable places?
I want people's needs to be at the heart of how we plan, build and operate transport. That must begin with the outcomes we want: People living and working where they want, travelling in the way they want.
So, by 2035, I want public transport to play a greater role in national life, becoming the easiest, most attractive choice… brilliantly and boringly reliable… your hometown, no matter how big or how small, should provide the transport options to meet your aspirations…
Heidi Alexander
Secretary of State for Transport
About the event
Sessions will include:
1.
Vision-led planning, modelling and scenario testing
Is our modelling toolkit fit for a vision-led future?
As transport and land use planning shifts towards healthier places, decarbonisation, accessibility and inclusive growth, what role should modelling now play? Is current practice helping to deliver these ambitions, or constraining them?
2.
From trip rates to future travel behaviour
How do we move beyond historic trip rate assessment?
The industry remains heavily reliant on historic trip rate databases and conventional trip generation methods. These have value, but they can risk embedding past behaviours into future places, particularly where policy is seeking different outcomes.
3.
Sustainable transport, paragraph 116 and the meaning of "severe"
Is the severe impact test being treated as the whole transport test?
Recent appeal decisions highlight an important debate. A scheme may avoid refusal under the paragraph 116 highway safety or severe residual cumulative impact test, but still perform poorly against wider sustainable transport expectations.
4.
Local plans, site allocation and
the limits of application-stage mitigation
Can vision-led planning succeed if unsustainable sites are allocated?
Vision-led transport planning cannot be left entirely to the planning application stage. If local plans allocate sites that are fundamentally difficult to serve by walking, cycling or public transport, there may be limited scope for later Transport Assessments to produce genuinely sustainable outcomes.
5.
Local authority capability and officer training
What training do local authority officers need on the new PPG, NPPF and vision-led planning?
Policy change will only affect outcomes if officers, consulates, inspectors, members and applicants have the confidence and capability to apply it. Training should not simply explain the wording of the NPPF or PPG. It needs to help officers make better decisions on real sites, with imperfect evidence, limited resources and competing planning measures.
6.
Accessibility, inclusion and equitable access
How can transport planning help create places that work for everyone?
Transport planning has a central role in shaping access to housing, jobs, education, healthcare, leisure and community life. Accessibility and inclusion need to be embedded into planning, design, appraisal and decision-making.
For example, are the principles of Transport Assessments fit for a vision-led future?
The basis of most Transport Assessments has changed little since they were first conceived in the 1980s – a fixed baseline to which we add site-generated traffic and assess its impact. But does this simple paradigm sufficiently reflect a complex reality? And are the metrics it yields sufficient to judge compliance with current policies?
7.
Safety of women and girls
From evidence to action: how do we turn understanding into lasting change?
There is now much greater awareness of the safety concerns experienced by women and girls when travelling and using public spaces. However, translating evidence into action remains inconsistent.
8.
Measuring whether the NPPF and PPG are working
How should government track success in sustainable transport terms?
A crucial question is how government, local authorities and the profession will know whether the NPPF, PPG and vision-led approach are actually changing outcomes. If success is measured only by housing numbers, planning speed or highway capacity, the sustainable transport objectives may be lost. Which potential indicators should be used?
What will be discussed
-
Vision-led planning, modelling and scenario testing – Is our modelling toolkit for for a vision-led future?
-
From trip rates to future travel behaviour – how do we move beyond historic trip rate assessment?
-
Sustainable transport, paragraph 116 and the meaning of "severe" – is the severe impact test being treated as the whole transport test?
-
Local plans, site allocation and the limits of application-stage mitigation – can vision-led planning succeed if unsustainable sites are allocated?
-
Local authority capability and officer training – what training do local authority officers need on the new PPG, NPPF and vision-led planning?
-
Accessibility, inclusion and equitable access – how can transport planning help create places that work for everyone?
-
Safety of women and girls – from evidence to action: how do we turn understanding into lasting change?
-
Measuring whether the NPPF and PPG are working – how should government track success in sustainable transport terms?
-
How would visions apply differently to small scale, medium and large developments?
-
What is a sustainable location – and how to find one?
-
How to build and evidence confidence in the Vision – making the best use of quality data, analysis and modelling
-
Consider how transport and technology advances (AVs, sharing) are going to be picked up in transport hierarchies
-
How to manage traffic growth forecasts – will these continue to be determining factors?
-
Rethinking Travel Plans, Transport Assessments and Transport Statements
PLUS a showcase of new tools, services and products to support sustainable location-finding
Who should attend
Transportation Planners
Policy makers
Local council members
Developers
Architects
Government Agencies
Academic and Research Institutions
Professors and students from planning, architecture, and environmental studies
Representatives from local transport authorities
Private developers looking to align with
new guidelines
Local advocacy groups concerned with housing and transport issues
Economic consultants focusing on housing and transport development
Land use consultants
Transport consultants
Civil engineers
Traffic analysts
Sustainability consultants
Environmental Agencies
Researchers specialising in transport and urban planning
Members of the Transport Planning Society
Advocacy groups focused on sustainable development
Representatives from non-profits focused on public health, environmental sustainability, or community engagement
Legal advisors in planning law
Journalists covering urban development, transport policy, and housing issues
Call for Papers
Landor LINKS is now accepting suggestions for presentations, workshops and case studies across the themes listed below. We are particularly interested in papers that move beyond theory and show how transport development planning is changing in practice.
Contributions may include case studies, research, appeal analysis, policy interpretation, modelling approaches, new data sources, digital tools, local authority practice, post-occupation monitoring, lessons from planning applications, examples of successful delivery, or honest reflections on barriers that still need to be addressed.
Submissions are encouraged from consultants, local authorities, developers, academics, transport operators, public health specialists, urban designers, community organisations, data providers, government bodies and others working at the interface between transport, planning and place-making.
Themes for Transport Development Planning 2026 include:
-
Vision-led planning, modelling and scenario testing - Is our modelling toolkit fit for a vision-led future?
-
From trip rates to future travel behaviour - how do we move beyond historic trip rate assessment?
-
Sustainable transport, paragraph 116 and the meaning of “severe” - is the severe impact test being treated as the whole transport test?
-
Local plans, site allocation and the limits of application-stage mitigation - can vision-led planning succeed if unsustainable sites are allocated?
-
Local authority capability and officer training - what training do local authority officers need on the new PPG, NPPF and vision-led planning?
-
Accessibility, inclusion and equitable access - how can transport planning help create places that work for everyone?
-
Safety of women and girls - from evidence to action: how do we turn understanding into lasting change?
-
Measuring whether the NPPF and PPG are working - how should government track success in sustainable transport terms?
-
How would visions apply differently to small scale, medium and large developments?
-
What is a sustainable location – and how to find one?
-
How to build and evidence confidence in the Vision – making the best use of quality data, analysis and modelling
-
Consider how transport and technology advances (AVs, sharing) are going to be picked up in transport hierarchies
-
How to manage traffic growth forecasts – will these continue to be determining factors?
-
Rethinking Travel Plans, Transport Assessments and Transport Statements
Transport Development Planning 2026
Paper submission form
Please use this form to submit your suggestion.
Closing date for submissions:
Wednesday 26 August 2026
Closing date for submissions:
Wednesday 26 August 2026
Programme
Please note: programme is currently under development
09.00
Registration
Tea & coffee served
09.30
Session 1:
Further details to follow…
10.30
Session 2:
Further details to follow…
11.45
Morning break
Tea & coffee served
12.15
Session 3:
Further details to follow…
13.30
Lunch break
Refreshments served
14.30
Session 4:
Further details to follow…
16.00
Afternoon break
Tea & coffee served
16.30
Session 5:
Further details to follow…
17.30
Closing remarks
17.45
Networking drinks
Speakers
Speakers will appear here once confirmed
COLIN BLACK
Director
Mayer Brown
Delegate rates
Booking enquiries
Contact the Landor LINKS conference team on: 020 7091 7865 or email: conferences@landor.co.uk
Please note that all passes are non transferable. To change the name of the delegate attending please contact the Landor LINKS conference team.
All bookings are subject to payment terms.
Sponsorship & Exhibition opportunities
Gold Sponsor
-
Brand Dominance:
Largest logo at the top of all event materials (website, invitations, e-shots, LTT / TAPAS coverage, social media, on-site signage, holding slides, cardboard towers) -
Speaking:
One keynote or high profile panel slot in main programme -
Editorial:
Pre or post event article or interview in Local Transport Today & TAPAS, with PDF for your own use -
Social Media Spotlight:
A dedicated LinkedIn post highlighting your organisation, the services you offer, and your role in supporting the event -
On-site Branding:
2 banners in prime positions (stage-side & registration area) + inclusion in all event-day visuals -
Guest places:
10 delegate passes
£4,500* + VAT
* + £1,000 + VAT
includes a 3m x 2m exhibition space with power, furniture and Wi-fi
Silver Sponsor
-
Brand Visibility:
Prominent logo placement on all promotional materials (website, email, social, signage, holding slides) -
Speaking:
One speaking or panel slot (to be agreed with organisers) -
Editorial:
Pre-event contribution in LTT or TAPAS -
On-site Branding:
1 banner in main conference room or networking area -
Guest places:
5 delegate passes
£3,500* + VAT
* + £1,000 + VAT
includes a 3m x 2m exhibition space with power, furniture and Wi-fi
Bronze Sponsor
-
Brand Visibility:
Logo on all promotional materials (digital & print) -
Panel inclusion:
Opportunity to join one panel -
Editorial:
Inclusion in a "Meet our Sponsors" feature in LTT or TAPAS and our e-shot promotion -
On-site Branding:
1 banner in networking area + sponsor logo on table centrepieces -
Guest places:
3 delegate passes
£2,250 + VAT
Other opportunities & add-ons
Lanyard Sponsor
Your logo printed on every delegate lanyard worn throughout the day
£1,500 + VAT (Exclusive and includes price of printing the lanyards)
Badge Sponsor
Your logo printed on every attendee badge
£1,000 + VAT (Exclusive)
Branded Seat Drop
Each seat gets a branded flyer / giveaway
£750 + VAT
Digital Screen Ad Loop
30-second ad during breaks on the big screen in the networking area
£500 + VAT
To enquire about any of the above opportunities please contact Jason Conboy on: 020 7091 7895
or email: jason@landor.co.uk
