THE CABINET
3 NOVEMBER 2014
Subject:
New Settlement Proposal GLH – Draft SPD
Lead Officer:
Dave Nash
Contact on 01789 260399
Lead Member/
Portfolio Holder:
Councillor C Saint
Summary
This report presents the work done to produce a Draft SPD to guide the
proposed strategic development at Gaydon/Lighthorne Heath, as contained in
Proposal GLH of the Submission Core Strategy. It seeks a resolution from The
Cabinet to proceed to formal public consultation.
Recommendation
That the Draft Supplementary Planning Document be endorsed for the
purposes of public consultation.
1
Background/Information
1.1
The Council’s Submission Core Strategy sets out at Proposal GLH the
policy basis for the development of a new settlement at
Gaydon/Lighthorne Heath that will incorporate up to 3000 new homes
and a substantial expansion of the Jaguar Land Rover site. In line with
the resolution of the Council on 15 September 2014 it establishes that
the policy will be supported by the production of a “Framework
Masterplan Supplementary Planning Document” to guide developers and
the local planning authority in respect of environmental, social, design
and economic objectives as they seek to create a new community at
Gaydon/Lighthorne Heath. The policy confirms that the SPD will set out
broad principles to show how the policy requirements, together with
other policy requirements in the Core Strategy, should be delivered on
the site.
1.2
The Council envisages that the provision of new homes within the District
will be supported by the delivery of housing at the new settlement over a
lengthy period stretching from 2016/17 to beyond the end of the plan
period (2031). Once confirmed as an allocation, via adoption of the Core
Strategy, the site will make a contribution to the Council’s five year
housing land supply to the extent that the early stages of housing
delivery can properly be expected to fall within that five year timeframe.
It is thus important to ensure that the framework needed to inform the
assessment of development proposals is fully established as soon as
possible. The Council’s officers are working with the site promoters to
make this possible. The ambition is that the Council should be in a
position to adopt the Framework Masterplan SPD at the same time as it
adopts the Core Strategy.
1.3
The 2012 Regulations require that before a local planning authority
adopts a supplementary planning document it must prepare a statement
setting out the persons it consulted when preparing the SPD, a summary
of the main issues raised by those persons, and a summary of the way
those issues have been addressed in the SPD. Consultation on the Draft
SPD is thus a legal imperative as well as a necessary way of ensuring
that local perspectives are taken into account. At this stage the proposal
is to move to informal consultation to ensure appropriate engagement of
local communities and stakeholders in the preparation of the SPD, as
required by the Council’s Statement of Community Involvement. A
second more formal period of consultation will take place in due course,
as required by the Development Plan Regulations.
1.4
Arrangements to promote collaborative work on the development of
Proposal GLH have been in place since November 2013. Prior to the
Council’s decision to include Proposal GLH in its Proposed Submission
Core Strategy (May 2014), this collaboration proceeded entirely on a no
commitment basis and with a remit to ensure that, if GLH emerged as
the preferred strategic option, the associated policy would promote the
best possible form of development for the site. Within this context work
relevant to the preparation of the Draft SPD has been ongoing since the
formation of a Steering Group in February 2014 and has now reached the
stage where a draft document considered to form a proper basis for
wider consultation can be presented.
1.5
Members will see that the new settlement has been given the working
title of “Kingston Grange”, reflecting the name of the farmstead located
in the central part of the site. This idea has emerged from the local
engagement process but should not be regarded as pre-determining
consideration of an appropriate name for the new settlement. That is a
matter upon which a Council decision will be required in due course,
informed by a more comprehensive consultation exercise.
2
Overview of the content of the Draft SPD
2.1
Following a brief introductory section, the document presents an analysis
of the site and its context. It describes the general location in which the
site fits, including the availability of local services and facilities. It also
sets out the planning policy context. There is then a detailed analysis of
the site constraints and opportunities that have a bearing on the way in
which development proposals should be formulated.
The analysis
considers topography and views, landscape character, soil and ground
conditions/contamination, access and movement, heritage, ecology, flood
risk and drainage, utilities, noise and air quality.
2.2
The stakeholder and community engagement undertaken to date is then
summarised. This section of the document includes reference to the
Steering Group referred to above, and also to the working groups that
were established to consider in greater detail matters such as the green
infrastructure strategy, transport and community infrastructure. Key
technical partners have been engaged in these working groups. A
workshop session was held in late June to engage with a wide range of
local stakeholders. Following this a community exhibition was held at
Lighthorne Heath School in early July to provide local people with an
opportunity to comment on the emerging proposals.
2.3
The SPD then moves on to translate the information derived from the
process of survey and analysis into a vision and set of principles to
inform the development of the overall site. These include reference to
the nature and location of the new village centre, the mix and design of
homes, connectivity, character/identity and urban form, and sense of
place. The principles include matters such as sustainability, biodiversity,
delivery and long term management, and on-going community
engagement.
2.4
All this information builds into the presentation of a Concept Masterplan
for the new settlement. This is derived from the place-making principles,
which themselves respond to the site’s natural features and the initial
engagement with stakeholders. The key components of the masterplan
are as follows:
The Jaguar Land Rover expansion site is located to the south of
Gaydon Coppice;

Land to the west of Banbury Road (B4100), with the exception of
housing to the immediate north of Lighthorne Heath, remains
open and is devoted to use as a managed nature reserve and
sports pitch provision;

Development is set back from the areas of ancient woodland;

A landscaped bank is established along the boundary with the
M40 to mitigate any noise or air quality impacts on the new
development (and on Lighthorne Heath);

An area of public open space is created between the new dual
carriageway (Junction 12 to JLR site entrance) and the village of
Gaydon;

Existing woodlands, hedges and watercourses are incorporated
into a green infrastructure framework providing a structure for the
new village and the Jaguar Land Rover expansion;

The development uses a sustainable urban drainage system
approach including retention basins with attractive planting to
encourage biodiversity within the green infrastructure;

Kingston Grange Farm is retained and converted to accommodate
new uses;

A new mixed use village centre is provided to serve the existing
and new living and working communities; this will include a
village square, primary school, community hub incorporating
meeting space and health centre, a food store and range of other
shops/restaurants,
offices,
homes
(including
specialised
accommodation for the elderly) and possibly a hotel;

The new village centre is located close to Lighthorne Heath and
the B4100 will be adapted to reduce traffic speeds and promote
integration between existing and new areas of development;

The residential neighbourhoods will be set within the green
infrastructure and will provide a range of different types, sizes
and tenures of housing, including affordable homes.
2.5
The masterplan then considers in more detail the identification of seven
character areas within the new settlement. It proposes a range of
densities, building types, building heights and materials that would make
each character area distinctive. The recommended approach reflects the
desire to create a high quality contemporary settlement rather than a
pastiche Warwickshire village. The suggested use of stone, brick and
render picks up on local built character, but is accompanied by proposals
that encourage more contemporary designs using glass, metal cladding
and green roofs in some parts of the settlement.
The more
contemporary approaches would be employed principally around the
village centre and in the more southerly parts of the settlement having a
visual relationship with the JLR site.
2.6
The SPD will establish a sustainability framework for the new settlement.
It is acknowledged that the development represents a significant
opportunity to design in measures to mitigate and deal with the effects of
climate change and to deliver innovative and integrated sustainable
solutions.
It points to the opportunity to utilise innovative local
approaches to heating and cooling, including decentralised energy
systems, across both the residential and commercial areas of the
settlement.
3
Options available to The Cabinet
3.1
The following options are available:
To accept the draft document as representing a suitable basis for
consultation;

To agree amendments to the draft document that would make it
acceptable for the purposes of consultation; or

To defer moving to consultation pending the introduction of more
substantive changes to the draft document.
4
Implications of the Proposal
4.1
Legal/Human Rights Implications
4.1.1 Once adopted the document will provide guidance to applicants seeking
permission to implement different aspects of the overall development.
The document has to be prepared in accordance with the requirements of
the Town and Country Planning (Local Development) (England)
Regulations 2012 and of the Council’s Statement of Community
Involvement (updated February 2014).
4.2
Financial
4.2.1 The direct financial implications are restricted to costs associated with
the publication of the draft SPD and the holding of any consultative
events. These costs will be met from existing budgets.
4.3
Environmental
4.3.1 The SPD is important in establishing a framework to deliver an
environmentally sustainable form of development.
4.4
Corporate Strategy
4.4.1 The production of the SPD supports the four aims of the Corporate
Strategy, to address local housing need, to help business and enterprise
flourish in the district, to improve access to services and to minimise the
impacts of climate change.
4.5
Analysis of the Effects on Equality
4.5.1 None identified.
5
Risk Assessment
5.1
On the assumption that Proposal GLH is retained in its adopted Core
Strategy, the Council should ensure that the development can commence
in a timely fashion. This is especially relevant to the residential aspects
of the development, as the housing trajectory in the Core Strategy
envisages that new homes on the site will start to become available in
2016/17, contributing to the Council’s five year supply of housing land.
Given that its purpose is to provide guidance to prospective applicants, a
failure to progress the SPD could risk the timely delivery of development
and create pressures to release alternative sites to ensure that a
sufficient supply of housing land is maintained.
6
Conclusion
6.1
Work on the preparation of the draft SPD has now progressed to the
point where the document is considered suitable for consultation. The
Council is committed via its Statement of Community Involvement to
ensuring that local communities can make a contribution to the
preparation of an SPD at an appropriately early stage. The Cabinet is
thus requested to endorse the draft document for the purpose of public
consultation.
Paul Lankester
CHIEF EXECUTIVE
Background papers:
Stratford-on-Avon District Core Strategy Proposed Submission Version (July 2014)
Schedule of Proposed Minor Modifications to the Core Strategy (September 2014)