CABINET

18 June 2009

CONSULTATION BY CITY COUNCIL –

CORE STRATEGY PREFERRED OPTION MAY 2009

Report of the Head of Regeneration and Planning Policy

RECOMMENDATION

It is recommended that Winchester City Council be advised that the Borough Council: i Would wish to see reference within policy SH3 of the Core Strategy Preferred Option which concerns development at to the need for studies of the impact on the wider road network of the completion of Whiteley Way as a through road link and of the need for the completion of a Botley bypass as a pre-requisite to the completion of Whiteley Way.

ii Supports policy SH4 of the Core Strategy Preferred Option relating to the proposed strategic development area to the north/north east of Hedge End.

iii Objects to the wording in paragraphs 6.24 and 6.25 of the Core Strategy Preferred Option which set out proposals for aspects of the proposed strategic development area to the north/north east of Hedge End that are premature in advance of the necessary feasibility studies and which refer to aspects of the development situated in Eastleigh Borough.

Summary

Winchester City Council has recently published the preferred option draft of its core strategy for consultation. The proposals have some implications for the borough in relation to the proposed strategic development area to the north/north east of Hedge End and to the proposal for additional development at Whiteley. This report considers these implications and makes recommendations on the representations that should be made to the City Council.

Statutory Powers

Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004

Eastleigh Borough Council

Introduction

1. On 14 May 2009 Winchester City Council published for consultation the preferred option draft of the Council’s Core Strategy. The document provides the long-term (to 2026) planning strategy for the district and the basis for more detailed policies and proposals to be set out in subsequent documents.

2. The consultation period ends on Friday 3 July 2009. The City Council has arranged a number of public consultation exhibitions across the district during June. The Core Strategy consultation document can be viewed on the City Council’s website at www.winchester.gov.uk/planning and at public libraries.

The Strategy

3. The core strategy divides the district into three areas for spatial planning purposes: Winchester town; south urban areas; and market towns and rural areas. The main focus for new development in the district will be Winchester and the south Hampshire urban areas.

4. The latter area is proposed to accommodate a total of 6,740 new dwellings over the plan period, most of which will be in two new communities, of 3,000 dwellings each, to the west of Waterlooville (2,000 dwellings already committed) and north of Whiteley.

5. In addition, two of the strategic development areas (SDAs) proposed in the South East Plan (see separate report to this meeting of Cabinet), to the north of Fareham and north/north east of Hedge End, adjoin or are partly within the City Council’s boundary.

6. The other major development proposals contained in the core strategy are for housing development on greenfield land at Barton Farm on the northern side of Winchester and for a ‘business/knowledge park’ at Bushfield Camp on the southern side of the city.

Impact on the Borough of Eastleigh

7. It is considered that the following aspects of the City Council’s Core Strategy will have an impact on the borough:

i The proposed development at Whiteley and the intention to complete the Whiteley Way link road as a through route from M27J9 to the A3051 north of .

ii The proposals for that part of the north/north east Hedge End SDA within Winchester district.

iii The proposals for the identification of settlement gaps in the City Council’s area.

Eastleigh Borough Council

Whiteley and Whiteley Way

8. Development at Whiteley undertaken over the last 20 years or so is primarily accessed off junction 9 of the M27 by means of the new road known as Whiteley Way. It has always been intended that what is at present essentially a cul-de-sac should be a through road from the M27 motorway northwards to the A3051 north of Curdridge. This link would provide a connection to the wider highway network, joining the A334 to the east of Botley village.

9. Further development at Whiteley, now proposed to accommodate a further 3,000 dwellings with supporting uses, would provide an opportunity to complete Whiteley Way. Policy SH3 of the core strategy proposing this development requires the completion of Whiteley Way at an early stage in this development in a sensitive manner which does not cause “traffic from adjoining areas to use the new route to gain access to the strategic road network”.

10. It would appear likely that whatever design features are incorporated in such a link it would prove to be an attractive alternative in both directions to using the congested M27 and its junctions. As such it would also be likely to lead to increased traffic flows on the A334 through Botley village. The environment and residential amenity of this attractive and historic village already suffer because of the almost continuous flow of traffic through the High Street. In these circumstances it seems to be desirable that representations are made by the Borough Council requiring assessments of the impact of the completion of Whiteley Way on the wider road network and of the provision of a Botley bypass as a pre-requisite to the completion of Whiteley Way as a through road link.

The North/North East Hedge End SDA

11. The City Council’s treatment of the proposed SDA north/north east of Hedge End, which, if it is to go ahead, is likely to straddle the boundary between Eastleigh and Winchester, accords closely with the Borough Council’s formal position on this proposal. An extract from the City Council’s core strategy preferred option draft referring to the proposed strategic development area is attached to this report.

12. Acknowledging that the development is a proposal in the South East Plan, policy SH4 of the Core Strategy notes the ‘critical success factors’ for the development set out in the South East Plan and the need to work with the Borough Council “in undertaking studies into the feasibility of (the development)”. These studies, it states, should take full account of the significant constraints on development in the City Council’s area and the importance of long-term open gaps to protect the separate identity of the existing settlements of and Curdridge. It would be appropriate for the Borough Council to lend explicit support to the City Council in respect of this policy.

13. Some aspects of the supporting text of the City Council’s core strategy in its discussion of the SDA proposal do, however, give rise to concern. Having

Eastleigh Borough Council

noted the critical success factors referred to above and the need for a range of further studies associated with the proposal, the strategy goes on to say (at paragraph 6.24) that “This suggests that the SDA should be developed around Hedge End Station, to the north of Hedge End, and that it should only extend into Winchester District if this is necessary to meet the required number of dwellings”.

14. Similarly, paragraph 6.25 states that “Land within Winchester District is sensitive in landscape and biodiversity, while land within Eastleigh Borough appears more suitable for development and less sensitive”. It goes on to suggest that land in Winchester should be used for green infrastructure and gaps.

15. It is inappropriate for the City Council to appear to have planned the location and extent of the SDA development in this level of detail and premature in advance of the studies it agrees are necessary to examine the feasibility of the development. It is also of concern that the City Council’s Core Strategy should be making such specific statements about the location of development outside its boundaries and in the absence of the necessary joint work on the issues that it raises. Accordingly, it is suggested that the Borough Council raises objections to these paragraphs of the City Council’s Core Strategy.

Settlement Gaps

16. At policy CP10 of the Core Strategy, the City Council has taken the opportunity to identify a number of ‘settlement gaps’ to maintain the separate identity of settlements in the district. The policy includes a requirement to maintain areas of open land, in accordance with policy SH2 of the South East Plan, between the proposed SDA and the existing settlements at Durley/Durley Street and Curdridge.

17. The identification of these gaps (in principle, but with no defined boundaries at this stage) will inevitably constrain the location and extent of the SDA within Winchester district, which may have an adverse impact within Eastleigh Borough. It is considered, however, that Cabinet will understand and support the City Council’s wish to maintain the separate identity of existing settlements and to maintain open gaps between the new development and these existing communities as this Council will no doubt wish to adopt a similar approach in areas around the SDA within the borough.

Financial Implications

18. Neither the City Council’s Core Strategy nor the representations recommended in this report have any financial implications for the Borough Council.

Risk Assessment

19. Neither the City Council’s Core Strategy nor the recommendations made in this report contain any risks for the Borough Council itself.

Eastleigh Borough Council

20. There is a risk to the borough and its residents that if the opportunity to make representations on the City Council’s Core Strategy on the lines suggested in this report is not taken, the proposals could have an adverse impact on the quality of life in the Borough.

Equality and Diversity Implications

21. There are no equality or diversity implications in the City Council’s Core Strategy or in the recommendations contained in this report which affect the borough.

Conclusion

22. Winchester City Council’s Core Strategy seeks to address the requirements of the South East Plan for the period to 2026 and identifies significant development proposals in south Hampshire. Further development at Whiteley, with the associated completion of the Whiteley Way link road, has implications for Botley and gives rise to the need for the completion of the Botley bypass. The proposals for the proposed strategic development area to the north/north east of Hedge End will have an impact on the borough of Eastleigh. Whilst the proposed policy concerning the SDA accords with the Borough Council’s position on the matter, aspects of the supporting text give rise to concern and warrant representations to the City Council and it is recommended accordingly.

PAUL RAMSHAW Head of Regeneration and Planning Policy

Contact Officer: Tony Wright Date: 8 June 2009 Tel No: 023 8068 8245 e-mail: [email protected] Appendices Attached: One Report No: PP00085

LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1972 - SECTION 100D

The following documents disclose facts or matters on which this report or an important part of it is based and have been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report:

None

Eastleigh Borough Council