Residential Development Opportunity

For Sale by Informal Tender

Land at White Horse Field, High Street, Arlesey, , SG15 6TA

Unconditional offers due by 12 noon Friday 12th May 2017

Land at White Horse Field, High Street, Arlesey 2017

CONTENTS

1.0 INTRODUCTION 2.0 LOCATION 3.0 DESCRIPTION 4.0 ACCESS 5.0 PLANNING 6.0 TECHNICAL 7.0 TRAVEL PLAN 8.0 RIGHTS OF WAY 9.0 TENURE/ VACANT POSSESSION 10.0 OVERAGE 11.0 VIEWINGS / MEETING WITH SAVILLS 12.0 BIDS 13.0 TIMING 14.0 VAT 15.0 IMPORTANT NOTICE 16.0 FURTHER INFORMATION

APPENDIX 1: Data Room Index

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Land at White Horse Field, High Street, Arlesey 2017

1.0 INTRODUCTION

On behalf of the vendor, Savills (UK) Ltd is pleased to offer for sale, by informal tender, the Land at White Horse Field, High Street, Arlesey, hereafter referred to as “the Property”.

The Property extends to approximately 2.3 hectares (5.7 acres) located to the west of the High Street. The Property benefits from a resolution to grant outline planning permission for up to 56 dwellings, including 35% affordable housing, and associated works. All of the documents submitted for the planning application are provided within the Information Pack.

The method of disposal is by informal tender and the deadline for bids to be submitted is 12 noon Friday 12th May 2017. Interviews are to be held shortly after this date.

Savills are inviting offers on a strictly clean and unconditional basis and to parties who can clearly demonstrate they have undertaken full analysis of the site and understood all of the obligations to be placed upon them. Purchasers should note that there is a strict timetable for exchange and completion by the end of June 2017.

The full Information Pack can be found at www.savills.com/arlesey and an index is provided at Appendix 1.

2.0 LOCATION

The Property is situated in the centre of the small town of Arlesey, located approximately 24 km (15 miles) to the south east of and 11.3 km (7 miles) to the south of . The surrounding area is mixed in character with Chase Hill Road to the north consisting of residential dwellings, and the surrounding land comprising mainly open fields and countryside.

Arlesey benefits from excellent communication links via the A507 to Junction 10 of the A1 (M). The railway station is situated approximately 1 km (0.6 miles) from the Property which provides direct links to to the north and to the south. The average journey time to Kings Cross is 40 minutes. There are a number of bus services which run through the town to , , , , Biggleswade, Bedford, Baldock and .

Arlesey town offers a number of facilities including local shops, post office and a number of pubs. Arlesey was identified with the Core Strategy and Development Management Policies (November 2009) north development plan as having potential for

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Land at White Horse Field, High Street, Arlesey 2017

sustainable growth beyond that which would be expected from its position as a minor service centre.

There is also Gothic Mede Academy, a primary school within the Town and Etonbury Academy, a secondary school located between Arlesey and neighbouring Stotfold.

From the 2011 census, Arlesey has an estimated population of 5,690.

3.0 DESCRIPTION

The Property extends to approximately 2.3 hectares (5.7 acres) and comprises an area of open grassland and scrubs. The site is generally flat with further field pockets of larger pasture to the north and south. There are some larger trees at the boundary of the western edge adjoining the railway line. The land is mainly flat and devoid of any important features or constraints to development.

The Property is bound by the High Street to the east, the White Horse Public house to the north east, open grasslands and fields to the north and south, and the East Coast Mainline Railway line to the west.

4.0 ACCESS

The main vehicular access into the development will be provided via a priority junction on the High Street.

The Arlesey Cross Masterplan proposal also provides for a footpath link to be accommodation along and around the application sites western and northern boundaries. Also, part of the relief road, shown in the master plan, is to be constructed.

5.0 PLANNING

Policy

The site comes under the planning jurisdiction of Central Bedfordshire Council (CBC). CBC are just undertook a “Call for Sites”, which ran until April 2016, which was one of the first step towards their Local Plan which is due to be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate in December 2017. The Local Development Plan currently includes the Core Strategy and Development Management Policies Development Plan Document, the Site Allocations Document and the Proposals Maps.

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Land at White Horse Field, High Street, Arlesey 2017

The site forms part of the allocated development site MA8 as set out in the Central Bedfordshire Site Allocations (North) DPD adopted in April 2011.

Development Control

An application for outline planning permission for the development of up to 56 dwellings and associated works was submitted to CBC in April 2016.

The following planning history is relevant to this sale:

Ref. Application Description Decision Received CB/16/0108/OUT Outline Outline Application: residential development of up Resolution Application – to 56 new homes including play and open space to grant April 2016 and provision of section of Arlesey Relief road (all matters reserved except access).

It is proposed that the developed site is to provide up to 56 new residential properties, a section of the western relief road, an area of formal play space and also a green corridor to the western side of the site incorporating a footway/cycleway, SUD’s and informal recreation space.

A copy of the planning application documents can be found in the Information Pack or can be directly sourced from CBC’s website under the above planning reference.

Section 106 agreement

The Section 106 Agreement has been agreed with the Council and is outlined within the Officer’s Report to the CBC Planning Committee. We understand that the maximum Section 106 contribution will be £693,868. We therefore ask that purchasers assume the total Section 106 amount within their offer. Should the finalised contribution be less than this figure, the difference is to be added onto the land value.

We ask that potential purchasers make it clear what assumptions have been made in relation to the Section 106 financial obligations within their offer submission.

Affordable Housing

Policy CS7 of CBC’s Core Strategy requires the provision for affordable housing at a rate of 35% of the total number of units to be delivered. The tenure split is to be agreed and not yet defined 35% of 56 units. As it is the requirement to round up as opposed to down this would mean the provision of 20 units (36%).

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Land at White Horse Field, High Street, Arlesey 2017

Indicative Scheme

An indicative scheme provides for the following mix:

 1 bed – 6 units (11%)  2 bed – 20 units (36%)  3 bed – 22 units (39%)  4 bed – 7 units (13%)  5 bed – 1 unit (1%)

6.0 TECHNICAL

Environmental Statement

Phillips Planning Services Ltd produced an Environmental Statement for the Land at White Horse Field (April 2016), and was prepared in accordance with the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations (2011). The report was submitted alongside the outline planning application and considers the effects of the proposed development, including reference to the wider site allocation and effects of the wider development. Potentially significant effects were considered such as noise, vibration, air pollution, dust and dirt, visual effects, ecological effects and heritage and conservation, The statement concluded as follows:

“...identified impacts are assessed as negligible to moderate following mitigation. When considered together as part of the overall cumulative benefits which result from the development of the wider MA8 allocation it is assessed that the overall impacts of the proposals must be considered to be positive”.

Noise Assessment

Phillips Planning Services Ltd conducted a Noise Assessment in April 2016. The report identifies that current noise sources come from the railway to the west and the High Street and public house to the east and north. It is concluded that noise levels can be simply mitigated through the use of standard forms of glazing and acoustic ventilation. The opening of the Relief Road will reduce noise levels significantly in the High Street; there would be 35% reduction in traffic volume and an 11% reduction in heavy goods vehicles.

Drainage Impact Assessment

Scott White and Hookins undertook a Drainage Impact Assessment in March 2016.

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Land at White Horse Field, High Street, Arlesey 2017

“The proposed development is located within Flood Zone 1 and is in an area of sands and gravels over chalk. However Scott White and Hookins identified that the proposal would result in an increase in the level of impermeable surfaces at the site. As a result, infiltration drainage techniques should be considered with the intention of mimicking existing Greenfield run-off rates. This is subject to testing and would require finalised design and layout.

Flood Risk Assessment

Scott White and Hookins produced a Flood Risk Assessment for the Property in March 2016.The proposed development is located within Flood Zone 1 as indicated by the Environment Ageny flood map and the Strategic Flood Risk Assessment. . The site is therefore considered to be neutral and at a low risk of flooding.

It is recommended that flood mitigation measures will need to be incorporated to reduce flood risks downstream of the site to an acceptable level. A full copy of this report can be found within the information pack.

Heritage Statement

Heritage Network undertook an Archaeological Evaluation Report for the Property in December 2015. It states that the Ceramic Building Material from the present site demonstrates post-medieval activity within the local vicinity. However due to the small scale of this, its late date and its largely abraded condition, no further work is proposed and it is to be discarded.

Geophysical Survey Report

Stratascan produced a Geophysical survey report in November 2015. This assessment of the site did not detect any anomalies that might be considered to be of archaeological origin. This was largely confirmed by trial trenching with the only archaeological elements noted being two post-medieval linear features towards the street frontage. These have now been assessed as being of low archaeological significance.

Ground Conditions Assessment

Peter Brett undertook a Ground Conditions Assessment in March 2016, which assessed geodiversity, land instability and ground contamination. The report concludes that estimated risks for the identified pollutant linkages that exist locally on site are considered to be at worst

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Land at White Horse Field, High Street, Arlesey 2017

Low for construction workers and future residents. The vendor has commission a Phase 2 intrusive ground investigation report which will be provided during the marketing period.

Trees and Hedges

There are no trees within the main body of the site which comprises well managed grassland. Boundary hedges would be maintained unaltered other than to enable the passage of the western relief road to the north and south.

Contamination

As part of the Environmental Statement preparation, a potential source of contamination of ground gas has been identified which is associated with the natural geology (Alluvium) across the western part of the land. A local off-site potential source of contamination has been identified associated with a railway line running along the western boundary, although the risk of contaminants migrating away from the railway is considered to be very low.

Subject to further investigation and mitigation in the form of a standard planning condition the risk from contamination are assessed as minor/ negligible.

Boundary Treatment

Aspect ecology undertook a Ecological Mitigation and Enhancement assessment. This proposes and recommends a number of features that are to be used at the boundary of the proposed development. These include; installation of Hedgehog domes, provision of bat roosting and bird nesting features on trees, establishment of protective buffer planting to provide protection for the offsite County Wildlife Site and new native hedgerow planting along with reinforcement of existing hedgerows.

7.0 TRAVEL PLAN

Phil Jones Associates (PJA) were instructed to prepare a Travel Plan Framework to accompany a planning application for development of the land at White Horse Field, Arlesey.

A Travel Plan is a long term management strategy for a development site which aims to minimise travel to and from the site by single-occupancy car trips. Principally, this Travel Plan aims to increase modal choice through the implementation of a package of measures and initiatives. These include potential measures for residents such as a Welcome Travel Pack, Promotion of National Travel Awareness Days, walking, cycling and car sharing, in order to promote more sustainable means of transport.

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Land at White Horse Field, High Street, Arlesey 2017

The full travel plan can be found within the Information Pack.

9.0 TENURE/VACANT POSSESSION

The land will be sold freehold with vacant possession. The land is contained under title number BD117025. The title register and title plan documents are provided within the Information Pack.

10.0 RANSOM STRIP

Interested parties should note that the vendor will be retaining a 0.5m ransom strip around the perimeter of the sale area.

11.0 OVERAGE

The vendor requires an overage provision to be included as part of all offers.

This is to be submitted on the following basis:-  A share of the increase in the net sales revenue over and above a deemed trigger level on a pound per square foot basis.

The vendor will seek to place a restriction on the sale of the last few private units to be built (exact number to be agreed with the preferred purchaser). This will act as security for payment of any overage due. However, other forms of security, acceptable to the vendor, may also be considered.

Should any savings be made to the Section 106 obligations, the vendor requires a 50% clawback share to be payable.

12.0 VIEWINGS/ MEETING WITH SAVILLS

Unaccompanied viewings are to be from the public highway unless prior arrangements have been made with Savills Cambridge.

We stress that care should be taken whilst viewing the site and that Savills (UK) Ltd / the landowner accept no responsibility for injury or accident at the Property.

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Land at White Horse Field, High Street, Arlesey 2017

13.0 BIDS

Savills are instructed to place the Property on the market with a view to selling the entire site at the best consideration on a strictly unconditional basis. Any offers subject to deferred payments will not be considered.

Offers are to be received by 12 noon Friday 12th May 2017 and sent in a sealed envelope to Savills, Unex House, 132-134 Hills Road, Cambridge, CB2 8PA. The envelope should be marked ‘‘Land at White Horse Field, Arlesey”.

E-mail offers will be acceptable, addressed to [email protected].

The vendor will not be bound to accept the highest or indeed any offer and may withdraw the property from the market at any time.

Bid Submission(s)

The following is to be submitted as part of any bid:

 Confirmation that the contract will be unconditional;  Confirmation that exchange and completion will take place by the end of June 2017;  Confirmation that all relevant planning, section 106 agreement, infrastructure and servicing obligations have been taken into account;  Confirmation of the sales overage proposed;  Confirmation that the 0.5m ransom strip will be provided;  Proof of funding;  Outline of board approval process, i.e. regional & national (and timescales for achieving such approvals);  Details of solicitors to be instructed;  Confirmation that a 10% non-refundable deposit will be paid on exchange of contracts.

14.0 TIMING

The method of disposal is by informal tender and the deadline for bids is 12 noon Friday 12th May 2017.

Interviews will be held shortly thereafter. As part of the Heads of Terms process, we will set out a detailed timescale for exchange and completion by the end of June 2017. This will include a series of legal meetings to ensure the timetable is achieved.

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Land at White Horse Field, High Street, Arlesey 2017

15.0 VAT

Please note that VAT will be charged on the sale of the site.

16.0 IMPORTANT NOTICE

Savills and the vendors give notice that (i) these particulars are produced in good faith and are set out as a general guide only and do not constitute any part of an offer or contract. They are believed to be correct but any intended purchaser should not rely on them as statements or representations of fact but must satisfy themselves as to the correctness of each of them; and (ii) no person in the employment of the agents, or the vendors has authority to make or give any representation or warranty whatever in relation to this property, (iii) intending purchaser seeking to rely on any survey, report assessment or statement produced for the vendors by any third party must make their own arrangements with the relevant third party.

Please be aware that all plans are subject to the purchaser’s surveys and due diligence.

17.0 FURTHER INFORMATION

The full Information Pack can be found at www.savills.com/arlesey and an index is provided at Appendix 1.

Please ensure that in the first instance all enquiries are made to one of the individuals dealing with the sale:

Abigail Jones Savills (UK) Ltd 01223 347094 Unex House [email protected] 132 - 134 Hills Road Cambridge CB2 8PA

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Land at White Horse Field, High Street, Arlesey 2017

Appendix 1 – Data Room Index

Planning

 Affordable Housing Statement  Application for Outline Planning Permission – August 2015  Design and Access Statement – April 2016  Figure 10.2 – Landscape Character Areas – March 2016  Figure 10.3 – Location Setting and Viewpoints – March 2016  Figures 10.5 – Views A-H  Planning Statement – April 2016  Site Layout Plan – 16-02 – February 2016  Site Location Plan – March 2016  Site Parameter Plan – 16-03 – March 2016  Officer’s Report to Committee – March 2017

Technical

 List of Standalone Figures  Mitigation Planting – Figure 10.04 – 16017-TLP-001 – March 2016  Proposed Access – 1559-01 – March 2016  Soil Profiles and Available Water (AP) on White Horse Field  Travel Plan Framework – April 2016  Environmental Statement – April 2016  Topographical Survey – October 2016  List of Appendices  Environmental Statement non-technical summary – April 2016  Baseline Ecological Appraisal – April 2016  Drainage Impact Assessment – March 2016  Eco Mitigation (656740)  Ecological Enhancement Specifications  EIA Scoping Opionon

Appendices

 Appendix 1.1 – Scoping Option  Appendix 5.1 – Transport Assessment – April 2016  Appendix 5.2 – Transport Assessment – October 2016  Appendix 6.1 – Calculation Standards  Appendix 7.1 – Baseline Ecological Appraisal – April 2016  Appendix 7.2 – Ecology Consultation responses

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Land at White Horse Field, High Street, Arlesey 2017

 Appendix 7.3 – Example Bat Roost Features  Appendix 8.1 – Flood Risk Assessment – March 2016  Appendix 9.1 – Heritage Statement  Appendix 9.2 – Geophysical – November 2015  Appendix 9.3 – Archaeological Evaluation Report  Appendix 10.1 – Landscape and Visual Impact Methodology  Appendix 12.1 – Ground Conditions Assessment (Part 1 of 3) – March 2016  Appendix 12.1 – Ground Conditions Assessment (Part 2 of 3) – March 2016  Appendix 12.1 – Ground Conditions Assessment ( Part 3 of 3) – March 2016  Appendix 13.1 – Framework Construction Environmental Management Plan – March 2016  Appendix 14.1 – Auger Boring Sites  Appendix 14.2 – Agricultural Land Classifications and Soil Series – March 2016

Spectrum Acoustic Figures

 Figure 6.3 – Noise Monitoring Results at Location LT1 – 14 3 16 – 21 3 16  Figure 6.4 – Noise Monitoring Results at Location LT2 14 3 16 – 21 3 16  Figure 6.5 – Current (2016) site noise exposure  Figure 6.6 – Current (2016) site noise exposure  Figure 6.7 – Current (2016) site noise exposure  Figure 6.8 – Cumulative impact (2033) site noise exposure  Figure 6.9 – Cumulative impact (2033) site noise exposure  Figure 6.10 – At opening (2018) development noise exposure  Figure 6.11 – At opening (2018) development noise exposure  Figure 6.12 – At opening (2018) development  Figure 6.13 – At opening (2018) development  Figure 6.15 – Cumulative development Noise Exposure  Figure 6.16 – Cumulative Development  Figure 6.17 – Cumulative Development  Figure 6.18 – The White Horse ph beer garden – Peak activity daytime LAeq  Figure 6.19 – Noise Position ST2  Figure 6.20 – Estimated Indoor Ambient Noise Levels – 12428-April 2016  Figure 6.21 – Estimated Indoor Ambient Noise Level – 1328 – April 2016

Legal

 Section 106 – Heads of Terms

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