Development Bid Supporting Statement
Former Station Siding & Sawmill, Monymusk Station Aberdeenshire
On behalf of Mrs S Ironside & Mr C Laurie
April 2013
Halliday Fraser Munro Chartered Architects & Planning Consultants
Carden Church 6 Carden Place Aberdeen AB10 1UR Tel: 01224 388700 Fax: 01224 388777
Aberdeen - Belfast - Dundee - Edinburgh - Glasgow
e-mail: [email protected]
H a l l i d a y F r a s e r M u n r o Planning
1.0 INTRODUCTION
This supporting statement is to be read in The site includes the remains of the railway siding, conjunction with a development bid submitted to goods yard and sawmill. It is bordered to the north Aberdeenshire Council proposing the allocation of by the existing access track and to the south by the 1.8 hectares of land for residential use on land at old railway line. Old Station Cottage is located Monymusk Station. The bid is submitted on behalf of adjacent to the west boundary and the east is Mrs S Ironside and Mr C Laurie, the owners of the boudned by Station House and associated garden land. The site is believed to be suitable for the ground. development of up to 8 houses as an allocation in the Aberdeenshire Local Development Plan 2016. The majority of the site consists of self-seeded trees, The following statement is structured around the vegetation and the remnants of the railway yards and Council’s bid pro-forma. sawmill. The former trackbed of the Alford Valley Railway and a belt of well established tall trees are 2.0 SITE DESCRIPTION present along the southern boundary of the site. At the west of the site lies an intact railway platform. Monymusk Station is a previously developed site to There is a level difference between the land around the south of Monymusk and the B993 access road the platform and the lower level where the railway serving the settlement. Monymusk is located within tracks would have lain. In the eastern area of the site the Aberdeen Housing Market Area in the Marr Area area various platform foundation where timber from of Aberdeenshire. It is our view that this site the sawmill would have been loaded onto freight provides a suitable opportunity for small-scale trains. Also in this area are the substantial remains of residential development. a chimney associated with the sawmill.
The entire site is a broadly rectangular area of land St Fergus Cottage to the north of the site was lying approximately 1km south of the village of originally a workers cottage associated with the Monymusk. sawmill, and historical records indicate that other cottages existed around this. Monymusk Station was
Figure 1: Location Plan showing former Monymusk Station, Figure 2: Aerial photograph showing site yard and Sawmill area. Development Bid Supporting Statement — Monymusk Station (April 2013) 1
H a l l i d a y F r a s e r M u n r o Planning
situated on the Kintore—Alford branch line and opened in 1859. The site of the station was influenced by the presence of an earlier existing sawmill. The main station platform lay on the north side of the track, beyond the south west corner of the site, while a goods platform and sidings lay further west, within the site. It is the goods platform that remains intact today. The station closed in 1966. The latter sawmill operated from 1872 to the 1980s. The sawmill chimney and foundations associated with the sawmill loadings bays are to be found on the application site today.
The immediate area includes four existing dwellinghouses: the aforementioned Station House, Old Station Cottage, St Fergus Cottage and Woodburn. These properties are all accessed by a single track from the Sauchen road which runs along the northern boundary of the site then turns northwards to the B993 and Monymusk. The wider landscape is characterised by dense mature woodland to the north (Kirkton Wood—part of a Designed Landscape) and south, and undulating, open agricultural land to the east and west.
3.0 DELIVERABILITY
The proposed bid site at Monymusk Station is deliverable, with no constraints being identified. A mainstream developer would likely expect to achieve a density of 10 dwellings per hectare. This would result in accommodating around 16 units on the site. It is anticipated that this style of development would be out of context with the site and surrounding environment. An indicative layout plan is shown overleaf for 8 units.
3.1 Constraints The proposed bid site is not subject to any technical, environmental or planning constraints. A Drainage Impact Assessment, Ecology Survey and Contaminated Land Survey have been carried out on the site.
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H a l l i d a y F r a s e r M u n r o Planning
Figure 7: Indicative Layout Plan—note existing surrounding housing
3.2 Access It is proposed that two houses will take access from the existing track from the Sauchen road, which would require upgrading and improvements to junction visibility. The remaining six houses would be accessed from a shared drive. Each house would have its own parking and turning area at the front of the plot.
3.3 Residual Value The site owner / proposer considers that the site is entirely viable, taking into account the development costs and market demand for the proposed housing. The fact that the proposer already owns the site strengthens the anticipated residual value.
3.4 Risks No risks have been identified with the delivery of this proposed development site.
4.0 THE PROPOSAL
The indicative layout plan above has been drawn showing the low density development of eight detached units set in expansive plots, influenced by that of the adjacent residential units.
The site comprises the former Monymusk railway station, goods yard and sawmill. The site is therefore clearly a brownfield site within a rural area, and its allocation and redevelopment for small-scale residential use is supported by national policy. The site has not been redeveloped since these uses ceased in the 1960s and 1980s and clear evidence of the railway and sawmill is present on site.
The development would also make good use of existing mature trees on the site’s southern and northern boundaries and incorporate additional sympathetic boundary planting in each plot, in keeping with the character of the area. The development will not result in the loss of valuable woodland as the application site occupies the vacant area of the station platforms and yard as well as the sawmill area.
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H a l l i d a y F r a s e r M u n r o Planning
5.0 PHASING
This is to be confirmed, however it is a possibility that the site will be sold off on a plot by plot basis.
6.0 MIX OF USES
Housing is proposed on the site, along with appropriate open space and landscape provision.
7.0 CONTEXT—THE WIDER AREA
The following section considers how the proposed development will integrate with the existing settlement.
7.1 Relationship to Existing Settlement Monymusk Station is located south of the existing settlement of Monymusk, adjacent to residential development. The development of this site will represent appropriate sustainable growth, within the defensible boundary of the old railway to the south and Kirkton Wood to the north. The development of this site offers an alternative to the allocation of further greenfield land.
7.2 Connectivity The site has strong connectivity to Monymusk itself, through the track / road through Kirktown Wood and the Sauchen road. These in turn provide good quality transport connections to Kemnay / Inverurie and Westhill / Aberdeen. The B993 is served by the public bus service from Inverurie to Alford. The disused railway line on the southern boundary of the site provides a walking and cycling route through the surrounding countryside. The Monymusk Station site is less than 1km from Monymusk village and the following services: Primary School; Nursery; Newsagents; Hotel / Pub; Village Hall; Garden Centre; Football Pitches.
Further services and facilities are located nearby in Kemnay, 4.8 km away and Inverurie, 9.6 km away. The site therefore presents relatively easy access to walking and cycling routes, public transport and a wide range of services in the area.
7.3 Landscape Fit The development site is well screened surrounded by mature designed landscape planation woodland and linear planting along the old railway line. This assists the capacity of the site in being able to accommodate new development that will not appear prominent in the landscape.
7.4 Character The developments surrounding Monymusk Station are characterised by large detached properties set within large plots. This has been reflected in the indicative layout plan produced.
7.5 Cumulative Impacts No absolute capacity constraints have been identified. Upgrades to infrastructure such as the access road will be progressed as necessary.
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7.6 Setting The proposed houses are shown facing south, taking full advantage of the views and passive solar gain.
8.0 COMMUNITY BENEFITS
A derelict brownfield site such as this, in its current form brings no benefit to the surrounding properties or wider area. The redevelopment of the site for residential use would, however, consolidate the development in a finite way and result in the upgrading of existing infrastructure, improving the area’s residential amenity. As it stands, the site is unused and contains the derelict remains of its previous use.
The proposed development will also result in the decontamination of a potentially contaminated site, something beneficial for the residential amenity of the area.
Furthermore, the landowner is keen for the dwellinghouses to incorporate energy efficiency measures to reduce the development’s carbon footprint. It is also envisaged that the properties would have working facilities such as integrated offices or small workshops along with the requisite broadband connectivity. Such features would increase the potential of the dwellinghouse in attracting families to an area where the population is ageing.
9.0 CONCLUSION
The land at Monymusk Station is deliverable, provides small scale development to help upgrade existing infrastructure, support local services and improve an area’s residential amenity. It is therefore respectfully requested that the site is allocated in the forthcoming Aberdeenshire Local Development Plan for up to 8 houses.
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