Cheshunt Secondary School Development Brief
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CHESHUNT SECONDARY SCHOOL DEVELOPMENT BRIEF Planning and Development Service October 2014 Contents Purpose pg 3 Ambitions for Cheshunt Secondary School pg 3 Site assessment: pg 4 Location Site size Topography Landownership Surrounding area Existing uses/buildings Site constraints Utility provision Vision for Cheshunt Secondary School pg 8 Development potential: pg 8 Acceptable development uses Development layout including conceptual layout Housing mix Space standards Design Access Parking requirements Flooding and drainage Landscaping, open space and boundary finishes Sustainability Waste Designing out crime principles Planning application requirements pg 14 Management/adoption pg 15 Planning contributions pg 15 Relevant contact details pg 15 Supporting documentation pg 16 2 PURPOSE The purpose of this development brief is to establish a set of development and design principles to help guide the development of land at Cheshunt Secondary School. It will be a material consideration in the determination of any planning application for the site. AMBITIONS FOR CHESHUNT SECONDARY SCHOOL Cheshunt Secondary School is a Foundation School. As such it is maintained by the local education authority (Hertfordshire County Council) but it owns its own land and employs its own staff. In January 2014 Cheshunt School consulted upon a proposal to dispose of surplus land in order to help fund the upgrade and refurbishment of some of its facilities. As some of this land is classified as “playing fields” the school is still required to seek consent from the Secretary of State for Education, who is yet to provide comment. The consultation ended on 21 February 2014 and responses were mostly supportive. The school is therefore supportive of developing the land proposed in this brief. Over the last few years the school has invested in refurbishing its Learning Support Centre, Sixth Form Centre and has introduced a Media Suite and Reading Room. To further improve its facilities the school is proposing to demolish buildings to the east and reconfigure them within the site, most likely in the tennis court area with the courts relocated to the south of the school. These new buildings will be state-of-the-art learning facilities for Science, Technology, Art and Sport. The school would also look to build a new sports hall and improve its existing swimming pool facilities, making them available for shared use with the community as well as students. Options to improve and make safe, access for pupils and parents will also form part of the school’s improvements. The school regeneration will ultimately benefit the students, parents and the local community and will also bring forward homes for future residents. 3 SITE ASSESSMENT Location The site is located to the south of the borough approximately 200 metres from the College Road junction of the A10 and 180 metres from the Council offices in Cheshunt. The identified development site lies directly to the east of the principal school buildings and adjoins two commercial units on the corner of College Road. It is located in the Rosedale and Bury Green Ward. Map 1 shows the extent of the development site, outlined in red, and its location in relation to the rest of the borough. The remainder of Cheshunt Secondary School is outlined in blue on the plan. The Borough of Broxbourne is located in south-east Hertfordshire The development brief site is located to the south of the borough in Cheshunt. Grid reference: X: 535,223 Y:202,172 Map 1 – The site is located to the south of the borough and adjoins Cheshunt Secondary School (outlined in blue) Site size The site proposed for development measures approximately 2.8 hectares or 6.9 acres in size. Topography The site is situated 30 metres above sea level and is flat. Landownership The land, identified for development purposes in this development brief, is owned entirely by the Governing Body of Cheshunt Secondary School, as is other school land to the south and west. 4 There are areas of adopted verge and footpath at College Road to the north of the site which are maintained by Broxbourne Borough Council. Surrounding area The site lies on the periphery of the Great Cambridge Road (or A10) and is within walking distance of the Council offices (180 metres north) and Cheshunt Old Pond district centre (650 metres east). The vast majority of the school’s playing fields, which are not the subject of this brief, are located directly south of the site. Unlike the development site, and school buildings to the west, these remaining playing fields are within the Metropolitan Green Belt, as shown in green on map 1 and as such will be protected from development. The site is within close proximity to many major services and facilities including healthcare, open spaces, local shops and a bus stop. Existing uses/buildings The site is both brownfield and greenfield and contains the following buildings/uses: ♦ 11,413 sqm of surplus playing field land. ♦ Approximately 2,500 sqm of school buildings which will be replaced. This also includes a caretaker bungalow which is currently vacant and included within the development site. ♦ A horsa hut, (a hut built for the urgent needs of schools when the school leaving age was raised). It is currently being used as storage for the school. ♦ Car parking area. ♦ A grassed area. ♦ A tree belt which includes a manmade pond. Map 2 shows the location of these uses/buildings. Horsa Hut/ Storage Building Unoccupied Caretaker Bungalow Playing Fields Car Parking Tree Belt CHESHUNT SECONDARY School SCHOOL Buildings Pond Grassed areas Map 2 – The site contains a number of uses including several school buildings 5 Site constraints The Agricultural Land Classification categorised this land as being Urban i.e. it is the built up area which has little potential for returning to agricultural use. There are a handful of category B trees but these are not protected by a tree preservation order. There are no wildlife designations on the site. The site is not within a conservation area or an area of archaeological interest. College Brook, which is a tributary of the River Lee, is located to the north of the site. As a result, approximately one third of the site is within flood zone 2 (0.1% to 1% annual probability of river flooding) and flood zone 3a (1% or greater annual probability of river flooding). Appropriate attenuation and mitigation measures will be needed in this respect. Map 3 shows the extent of flood zone 2 and 3a on the development site. Flood Zone 3a This northern part of the site may Flood Zone 2 also be susceptible to surface water flooding. Map 3 – The sites proximity to College Brook means that it is partly within active floodplain. The site does not contain any known historic landfill. Because of the site’s close proximity to the A10 which is a dual carriageway, the site will suffer from noise and air quality issues and as a result a noise assessment and air quality assessment will need to be undertaken (see page 15). 6 Utility provision The school is already well connected to utilities in the local area which can be extended into the site. A low pressure gas main is connected to the horsa hut and the car wash building to the east. Gas mains are also available along College Road itself. A water main runs through the middle of the site from north to south and a main is also available along College Road. A foul sewer is located in the middle part of the site. Surface water should be managed by a sustainable urban drainage system or drained directly into the brook. Map 4 shows the location of these utilities. Foul sewer Water main Low pressure gas main Electricity point Site boundary Map 4 – The site already benefits from utility connections. 7 VISION FOR CHESHUNT SECONDARY SCHOOL Land at Cheshunt Secondary School will be developed for high quality and well designed homes. The site will provide a mix of 2, 3 and 4 bed houses with a mix of terraced, semi-detached and detached family homes. A small proportion of apartments is considered acceptable on the site but must be well integrated. The properties will be set in a highly landscaped environment with good access to the services and facilities that are already available in the local area. There must be no adverse impact upon flooding. The development will provide much needed housing for the borough and help facilitate the redevelopment and improvement of Cheshunt Secondary School. DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL Acceptable development uses Based on the vision above, it is considered that the only acceptable development use is residential. Commercial uses, including industrial, storage or offices and retail are not considered appropriate and would not support the vision for the site. Development layout The conceptual layout on page 9 takes into consideration the site’s existing key features, key vistas into the site and amenities in the surrounding area as well as the need to maximise the use of the land to help facilitate improvements to Cheshunt Secondary School. The layout shows the retention of as many trees around the periphery of the site as possible and new tree belt buffers along the southern boundary. The trees in the central area have limited value and can be removed to enable development. The layout proposes to locate most of the built development within the central part of the site to avoid overlooking onto school buildings and school playing areas. The play area has been located to the north, within the flood zone, as the more water-compatible use. The Council is currently undertaking a transport study to inform the Local Plan process.