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Outline Application Submission – Land adjacent to Forge House, Egerton Road, Heath. Design and Access Statement

Introduction This document forms part of the outline application submission for the development of the land adjacent to Forge House to provide five new dwellings consisting of 1x semi-detached four-bedroom dwelling over two stories, 2x semi-detached three-bedroom dwellings over two stories, 1x single storey detached three-bedroom dwelling and 1x semi-detached two-bedroom dwelling over one storey with accommodation in the roof space. The existing Grade II dwelling and outbuildings sit outside the application site and separated from the proposed development by a mature hedge which is to be retained, the proposals have been carefully designed to ensure that the impact on the retained dwelling and its setting are minimal.

Existing Site The application site is located on Egerton road in the hamlet of Charing Heath which is approx. 1.5 miles from the nearest village of Charing. The site is defined by the existing curtilage of the paddock to the west of Forge House and measures approx. 2500sqm in area. Forge House is a Grade II Listed building with several outbuildings including a recently constructed oak-framed carport that abuts the eastern boundary of the application site, the listed house itself is set further away from the site beyond the drive. The application site has its own clearly defined boundary with only a timber pedestrian gated access to the paddock which will be stopped up. The site is located on the southern side of Egerton Road at the junction with Church Hill and forms part of a small cluster of dwellings located south-west of the Red Lion Public House at the centre of the hamlet. Egerton road is a quiet country road that runs along the southern edge of the settlement of Charing Heath, which includes a local public house, church, village hall and Heath Farm School. Other services such as a primary school, shops, butchers, coffee shop and post office and station can be found in the nearby village of Charing (1.5miles) with similar services found in Lenham (2.6miles) and Egerton (1.7miles). The application site, which has previously been used as a paddock is surrounded on all sides by developed land and as such can reasonably be defined as an infill site. The site is bounded by walls and fencing to all sides with mature tree and hedge planting to the south, east and west boundaries, which will be retained for the proposed development. The application site is broadly triangular in form with dwellings on the opposite side of Egerton Road to the north and west, Forge House to the east and Heath Farm School to the south, existing mature hedging and trees ensure a dense and obscured view of the school from the application site. The main school buildings are primarily positioned to the centre of the school site, several additional buildings have been recently added to the north east of the main school however these buildings have no windows on the northern elevations meaning that there will be no loss of privacy to these buildings from the application site. The North boundary of the site adjacent to Egerton Road is defined by a combination of a stone wall, timber fencing and hedging, there is an existing metal five bar gate that provides access to the paddock.

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Planning Policies The planning policies that are relevant to the proposals, include: - Core Strategy 2008 and Rural Sites DPD 2012 National Planning Policy Framework 2012 (NPPF) There is also an emerging planning policy document that could be considered to carry some weight in considering the proposals: Ashford Borough Council Local Plan to 2030 (under review)

Tenterden and Rural sites DPD includes policy TRS 1 which addresses minor residential development or in filling and states the following: Policy TRS1 - Minor residential development or infilling Minor development or infilling will be acceptable within the built-up confines of Tenterden and the following villages: Aldington, Appledore, , , , Lees, , Charing, , Egerton, , , , , , , , , , , , Woodchurch and Wye; providing that the following requirements are met: a) the development can easily be integrated into the existing settlement without the need to substantially improve the infrastructure or other facilities; b) the proposal is of a layout, scale, design and appearance that is appropriate to the character and density of its surrounding area; c) it does not result in the displacement of other active uses such as employment, leisure or community uses in the area; and, d) the proposal would not result in the loss of public or private open spaces or gaps that are important characteristics of the settlement. Whilst Charing Heath is not referenced in the list of villages in this policy it should be noted that the proposal would meet the criteria of this policy. A new Local Plan is currently being prepared by Ashford Borough Council to address the accommodation of new homes and jobs within the borough up to 2030. A Regulation 19 version of the emerging Local Plan was published in June 2016 and was then the subject of consultation until August 2016. At present the council are considering the representations made on the Regulation 19 version of the plan with Spring 2017 reserved for any further consultations. Whilst it is to be acknowledged that these policies are still in draft stage and yet to be adopted, some limited weight can be afforded as a material consideration, as it indicates the councils anticipated direction of travel in the period leading towards 2030. The two relevant polices in the document are provided below and as can be seen, the list of settlements in Policy HOU 4 has been expanded to include Charing Heath. Policy HOU3 - Residential development in Ashford urban area Windfall residential development is acceptable within the built-up confines of Ashford providing that it can be easily integrated into the existing urban area and the development: Is of a scale, layout, design and appearance that is appropriate to and is compatible with the character and density of the surrounding area;

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Does not create an adverse significant impact on the amenity of residents; Would not result in harm to or the loss of public or private open spaces that contribute positively to the local character of the area (including residential gardens); Would not result in significant harm to the surrounding landscape; nearby heritage assets or important biodiversity networks.; Is capable of having safe lighting and pedestrian access provided without significant impact on neighbours or on the integrity of the street-scene.

Policy HOU4 - Residential Development in the rural settlements Minor residential development and infilling of a scale that can be easily integrated into the existing settlement will be acceptable within the confines of the following settlements, Aldington, Appledore, Appledore Heath, Bethersden, Biddenden, , Boughton Lees/Eastwell, /, Brook, Challock, Charing, Charing Heath , Chilham, Crundale, Egerton, Egerton Forstal, , Great Chart, Hamstreet, , High Halden, Hothfield, , , Mersham, , , Old Wives Lees, Pluckley, Pluckley Thorne, Pluckley Station, Rolvenden, , , Shadoxhurst, Shottenden, Smarden, , Tenterden (including St Michaels) , Westwell, Wittersham, Woodchurch and Wye. providing that the following requirements are met: The proposal adheres to the requirements (a) – (e) of policy HOU3 above; The proposal is able to be safely accessible from the local road network and the traffic generated can be accommodated on the wider road network, The proposal does not need substantial infrastructure or other facilities to support it; The proposal would not displace an active use such as employment, leisure or community facility.

The NPPF and Five Year Housing Land Supply Paragraph 49 of the NPPF states: “Housing applications should be considered in the context of the presumption in favour of sustainable development. Relevant policies for the supply of housing should not be considered up-to-date if the local planning authority cannot demonstrate a five-year supply of deliverable housing sites.”

Therefore, where a local planning authority cannot demonstrate a five-year land supply, as has been accepted by Ashford as being the present case, Policy TRS1, in so far as it relates to housing, can be considered to be out of date. In accordance with paragraph 14 of the NPPF the presumption in favour of sustainable development makes clear that where relevant policies in the development plan are out of date, planning permission should be granted unless any adverse impacts of doing so would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits, when assessed against the policies in this Framework as a whole and unless specific policies in the Framework indicate development should be restricted. The emphasis of that statement is clear, and where a plan is out of date means that instead of assessing the simple balance between positive and negative factors, it is only proposals that have adverse effects which significantly outweigh the benefits overall, and which would constitute development that is unsustainable, which should not be granted. The proposal site does not lie within a designated planning area such as an AONB or Green Belt where development is restricted. It is not subject to any nature designations, such as being within an SSSI, and does not contain, and is not in proximity to, any physical constraint such as areas at risk of

P131-April 2017 flooding. As such there are no specific policies within the NPPF which indicate that the development of the site should be restricted. Ashford Borough Council also has an urgent need for housing as demonstrated by the authority’s lack of a demonstrable five-year housing land supply. The proposed development will make a small proportional addition to the housing supply in Charing Heath and the borough. As mentioned above, the proposal for the development site, although not listed, would meet all the criteria set out by Policy TRS1 and would be subject to the requirements requested by policies HOU3 and HOU4 (which now includes Charing Heath) in the upcoming Ashford Borough Council Local Plan to 2030. With these policies, currently being considered and Policy TRS1 being out of date is not unreasonable that policies HOU3 and HOU4 carry some limited weight when determining the outcome of this application.

Proposals This submission proposes five new dwellings on land adjacent to Forge House. The proposed dwellings range from a 2-bed dwelling to a four-bed dwelling, and include a combination of detached and semi-detached homes, arranged in a courtyard formation around the perimeter of the site. The proposed layout, form and scale of the dwellings will reflect that of a rural farmstead courtyard with homes designed to reflect in their appearance a combination of barn outbuildings and a main farm house. The houses will be finished with a complementary combination of local traditional materials to ensure that they are sympathetic to their context. The layout with a central shared surface drive and turning area and with all main entrances facing onto the courtyard will create a courtyard in which residents come together, forming a small community. Acknowledging and respecting the height and privacy of the existing house, the proposed dwelling to the eastern boundary is to be a single storey, three-bedroom house with a singular covered garage space with extra space behind. Opposite are a mirrored pair of semi-detached three bedroom dwellings, in a building that will have the form of a traditional barn. These properties have their parking provided in a detached timber framed double garage with a fully hipped roof and cat slide to the rear ensuring that the rear elevation facing Egerton Road will not be obtrusive. To the southern side of the courtyard is a four-bedroom semi-detached dwelling that occupies an internal corner plot and as such has a substantial area dedicated to garden space that will benefit from sunlight throughout the day. This property has a single garage located in the southern end of the single storey dwelling to the north east. This is the most substantial dwelling on site and aims to take the form and appearance of the farmhouse. Attached to this via a single storey utility room is a small two-bedroom property with an integral garage, the upper storey of accommodation is to be set partially within the roof space to ensure that this property is subservient to the adjacent dwelling. To aid integration into the natural setting and to blend with the architectural style of the surrounding buildings, the proposed dwellings have been designed to echo that of a farmyard barn complex around a central shared courtyard. The architectural accents of these new dwellings will incorporate hipped roofs, low eaves, and traditional building materials such as brick and clay tile hanging, weather boarding and plain clay tile roofs. The site is to be accessed via a new crossover and shared drive leading into a central courtyard that will consist of front lawned areas, vehicular parking (2 per dwelling) and sufficient space to allow manoeuvring and safe exit in a forward driving gear. Each dwelling will have additional access to the rear gardens via a private side gate which will form part of the new boundaries. Boundaries are to be defined by post and rail fencing between plots. The rear boundaries to each new dwelling will utilise the existing post and rail boundary treatments. From the new crossover, the visibility splays will be 2.4m x 70m east and west, due to this the boundary wall is to be partially removed and replaced with a post and rail fence in line with the visibility splay creating an un-obstructed sight line in both directions.

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As part of the proposals it is intended to remove five silver birch trees to provide better quality of private amenity space to the dwellings, to offset this loss of trees it is proposed to plant at least six new native species trees with the proposed to aid with privacy and integration into the local street scene. With Forge House being a Grade II Listed Building the existing mature hedging and trees between the two sites are to be retained to ensure minimal impact on the setting of the listed building. The existing opening in the boundary fence is to be stopped up and planted with native hedging to ensure no loss of private amenity. Summary This proposal provides for the ‘infill’ development of the land adjacent to Forge House to form a small cluster of residential dwellings orientated around a shared communal courtyard. The new dwellings will range from a 2 bed, detached property, to a four bed, semi-detached property, each with two available parking spaces arranged in a barn style layout with traditional hipped roofs to complement the surrounding architectural language and grain. The scale and mass of this development is respectful to neighbouring properties and will provide a much needed, well balanced mix of new homes within Charing Heath.

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