Flint
Designing places that deliver on their vision
Flint is SLR’s industry‑leading Vision-led Planning Tool, created to help local authorities, developers and masterplanners shape developments that deliver healthy, low‑carbon, liveable communities.
Speak to our teamWe use our research to understand the social aspects of mobility and transport.
Flint assesses how combinations of placemaking and mobility interventions influence the way people move - enabling strategic sites to be designed in line with climate, health, accessibility and inclusivity goals.
By grounding vision-led planning in robust evidence and national datasets, Flint empowers decision-makers to understand the real-world outcomes of their design choices.
See our Flint team discuss the tool in more detailWhat Flint does
Flint measures the likely impacts of placemaking and mobility strategies across a range of outcomes critical to modern masterplanning:
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Travel demand & mode share
Flint assesses how proposed interventions influence travel behaviour - allowing project teams to understand the extent of trip internalisation, mode shift potential, and the balance of active, shared and private vehicle travel.
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Carbon emissions & air quality
Using disaggregated National Travel Survey data and the latest evidence on hybrid working and online shopping, Flint models future carbon emissions and air quality implications of a development. This supports Climate Emergency objectives and policy alignment.
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Amenity viability & trip internalisation
Flint identifies which types of amenities are likely to be viable based on dwelling numbers and site characteristics, offering clarity on local living opportunities and reduced need to travel.
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Health impact assessment
By quantifying increases in active travel associated with different design scenarios, Flint helps planners understand the resulting physical and mental health benefits for future residents.
Case Study: Pickerings Farm, Preston
Flint principles played a pivotal role in shaping a vision-led alternative for a major 1,100‑home development originally constrained by a predict‑and‑provide approach. A previous application had required extensive highway mitigation, including a new bridge and large-scale road upgrades - increasing car mileage and undermining climate and health objectives. The scheme had been deemed unviable.
SLR’s Vision-led Solution
Appointed by Homes England and Taylor Wimpey, and in partnership with Avison Young, SLR developed a new approach centred on:
- Strong local amenities and community infrastructure
- Mobility hubs and shared mobility services
- Active travel corridors
SLR established the trip internalisation and mode shift potential of these placemaking and mobility measures. Traffic impact was assessed, and the likely effects were estimated and compared with positive health, environmental and affordable housing outcomes
The Impact
The Planning Inspectorate approved the scheme in 2023, recognising the weight of community, health and carbon outcomes and affirming that congestion alone is not a sufficient reason to refuse sustainable development. This has become a landmark precedent for vision-led planning nationally.
How Flint works
See how Flint can bring your development vision to life
Meet our vision‑led planning experts
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Paul Curtis
Director - Transport and Mobility Planning | Research and Development
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Steve Wright
Principal Researcher - Transport and Mobility Planning | Research and Development
FAQs
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What is Flint and how does it support vision-led planning?
Flint is SLR’s Vision-led Planning Tool, designed to assess how placemaking and mobility interventions influence travel demand, mode share, carbon emissions, health outcomes and air quality. It uses disaggregated National Travel Survey data to model realistic behaviour and future scenarios for residential and mixed‑use developments.
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At what stage of the planning process can Flint be used?
Flint is effective at both early concept stage and detailed design stage. It allows stakeholders to test different combinations of placemaking and mobility measures, compare scenarios, and evaluate how well a masterplan aligns with the desired outcomes of a development vision.
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What types of outputs does Flint generate?
Flint provides a wide range of outputs, including:
- Residential trip generation forecasts
- Mode share and trip internalisation insights
- Carbon emissions and air quality assessments
- Health impact modelling
- Amenity viability assessments
- Scenario comparisons to guide decision-making
These outputs equip planners and developers with robust evidence to support sustainable design choices.
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How does Flint help reduce carbon emissions and improve public health?
By modelling the effect of active travel corridors, shared mobility, local amenities and hybrid working trends, Flint quantifies the resulting reductions in car dependency and associated emissions. It also evaluates the expected increase in active travel, helping teams understand the positive health impacts of different design scenarios.
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Has Flint been successfully used on real development projects?
Yes, most notably at Pickerings Farm, where the Flint methodology helped redefine a previously rejected scheme by demonstrating how a vision-led approach could deliver strong local living, sustainable mobility, and health‑focused design. The Planning Inspectorate ultimately approved the scheme, marking it as a national precedent for vision-led, low‑carbon community planning. Flint has been used to assist Local Plan promotion, pre-application engagement and masterplan scenario testing. Flint-led Transport Assessments have been submitted as part of numerous outline planning submissions.
Get in touch
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