Planning Head of Service: Adrian Duffield

Joanne Myers CONTACT OFFICER: Sally Appleyard Milton Parish Council [email protected] 20 Stonebridge Road Tel : 01235 422600 Steventon Textphone: 18001 01235 422600 Abingdon OX13 6AS 135 Eastern Avenue, Milton Park ABINGDON OX14 4SB

17 December 2019 Ref: P19/V3010/PEM

Dear Joanne,

Location: Allotments off High Street, Milton, OX14 4ET Proposal: Extending the burial ground.

Thank you for your pre-application enquiry and the plans provided which were received and validated on 20 November 2019. Further to our meeting on 16 December 2019, I have now had the opportunity to consider all the relevant information and discuss the proposal with the applications team leader. I hope the following comments are of assistance.

As you may be aware, when assessing such proposals, the local planning authority needs to be satisfied that various criteria are acceptable. The Local Plan 2031 Part 1 was adopted in 2016, with all policies carrying full weight. The Local Plan 2031 part 2 was recently adopted in October 2019, with policies replacing the Local Plan 2011 saved policies. The policies most relevant to your proposal would be:

Local Plan 2031 part 1 CP01 – Presumption in favour of sustainable development CP08 – Spatial Strategy for Abingdon-on-Thames and Fringe CP33 – Promoting Sustainable Transport and Accessibility CP35 – Promoting Public Transport, Cycling and Walking CP37 – Design and Local Distinctiveness CP44 – Landscape

Local Plan 2031 Part 2 DP16 – Access DP23 – Impact of development on Amenity DP24 - Effect of Neighbouring or Previous Uses on New Developments DP27 – Land Affected by Contamination DP33 – Open Space

www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk

The above proposal should also be assessed with respect to the National Planning Policy Framework and the councils Design Guide SPD. The Design Guide is available to view on the council’s website.

The proposal As discussed during our site meeting, I understand that the parish council are seeking advice regarding the expansion of the burial ground within Milton village. This includes expanding into space where the allotments are located, adjacent to the burial ground.

Principle of development Open space can include, but is not limited to: areas of public open space that have a recreational function (e.g. parks, gardens and amenity green space); children’s play and youth provision (e.g. designated equipped playing space); and allotments. In accordance with Policy DP33, development of open space will only be permitted provided that:

i. when assessed against the Open Spaces Report, it is clearly shown that the open space is surplus to requirements; or ii. the loss resulting from the proposed development would be replaced by equivalent or better provision in terms of scale, quantity and quality in a suitable and accessible location; or iii. the development is for alternative sports and recreational provision, the needs for which clearly outweigh the loss; or iv. the proposed development is ancillary to the main use of the site and strengthens its public open space function.

In order to expand the burial ground into the allotment area, it will need to be demonstrated that the current allotments are surplus to requirements. In accordance with the Open Spaces Report (2016), of the 55 allotment sites across the district, 46 are fully used, or have less than 10% spare plot space. The only sites with 20% spare capacity or more are at: Buckland, , , Hinton Waldrist, Lockinge, and . Further to our site meeting, I also understand that the allotments at Milton are at full capacity and fully used.

Alternatively, it will need to be demonstrated that the allotments would be replaced elsewhere in the village. I understand that this has not been looked at in great deal at this stage, however could be something to look at moving forward.

At this stage, it has not been demonstrated at this stage that the proposal would comply with any of the above criteria. It is therefore unlikely that the LPA could support the expansion of the burial ground into the allotment gardens at this stage.

However, there is an area of land to the south of the burial ground, and to the east of the allotment gardens which I understand is used for hearses. As discussed on site, it may be possible to reduce the size of this turning area to enable a small expansion of the burial ground southwards, whilst still retaining the allotment gardens as is. It

would need to be demonstrated that this would not have detrimental impact on the car parking area and turning area for hearses, or the remaining church car park. The parish council may wish to explore this further, and I would be happy to provide further advice if needed.

Contamination This site has been identified as an area where the previous land use has the potential to give rise to contaminants. As such, I recommend that a Contaminated Land Questionnaire is completed and submitted with any formal application. This questionnaire will be used as an initial screening tool to decide if further contaminated land investigations are necessary. The contaminated land statement questionnaire is available to download from the councils website: http://www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/services-and- advice/environment/pollution/contaminated-land/contaminated-land-planning-advice.

Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) The council’s CIL charging schedule was adopted on 1 November 2017. CIL is a planning charge that local authorities can implement to help deliver infrastructure and to support the development of their area and is primarily calculated on the increase in footprint created as a result of the development. The expansion of the burial ground would not include any additional built form, and therefore would not be liable for CIL.

I hope that the above advice is useful to you. Please be aware that comments in this letter are based on the information supplied and are given without prejudice on an informal basis only. Any opinions expressed are those of an officer and are given without prejudice to any future decision made by the Planning committee or under delegated authority on its behalf. The comments are also made in the absence of all consultation responses in respect of a formal application. Please note that requests for pre-application advice and the council’s response will be made public if a subsequent planning application is made. We will be making the submitted documents, our response and any interim correspondence public. We will endeavour to ensure that all personal information such as a telephone numbers and email addresses are removed from documentation.

Yours sincerely,

Sally Appleyard Planning & Development Officer