Welcome to Our Exhibition
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Welcome to our exhibition The Homes & Communities Agency (HCA) welcomes you to this public exhibition explaining our proposals for the redevelopment of the former Lea Castle Hospital site. About the Homes & Communities Agency The Homes & Communities Agency (HCA) is a government body that is tasked with the delivery of, and investment in, new homes. This includes developing public sector land primarily for housing, as well as for a range of other uses including employment floorspace. The HCA seeks to work locally to meet local priorities. In 2014/15 the HCA helped to build more than 50,000 new homes through investment in land, and released enough public sector land to the market to create 23,000 new homes. For more information please visit the HCA’s website: www.gov.uk/hca Aerial of site The former Lea Castle Hospital site is a brownfield site to the north of Kidderminster. The site is identified by the Council in its adopted plan for new housing, business uses and sports facilities. As a responsible landowner, the HCA has a positive role to play in bringing this previously developed site back into use and assisting the Council in meeting its needs for new housing and for employment land. HCA is preparing an outline planning application for the site to include up to 600 new homes and up to 3,500 square metres of employment floorspace. This exhibition shows how HCA land at the former Lea Castle Hospital site could be developed, whilst Site location retaining the existing wooded setting and tree cover in the site. Please take this opportunity to ask any questions you might have and let us know your thoughts on our proposals to redevelop the site. Your feedback will be used to inform a future outline planning application for the site which we hope to submit in early 2017. Key site facts • Total site area of around 48 hectares. • Around 330,000 sq ft of existing floorspace. Around 19 hectares of existing woodland. Derelict hospital buildings • Context and the site The need for new homesmes Access into the site is currently via Lea Castle The Lea Castle site is identifiedfied Drive to the north-west, for development in the Wyree accessed from the A449 Forest Site Allocations and and from Park Gate Road Policies Local Plan (adoptedd to the south. July 2013). Main site access from Park Gate Road The site area, including The Council is currently 19 hectares of woodland preparing a new Local is around 48 hectares. Plan for the District to coverr ththee The boundaries of the period up to 2032. It has identifiedentified thethe need need for for site are covered by dense significantly more new homes to be provided in this woodland and vegetation period. It is, therefore, important that ‘brownfield’ that screen the site well View of site and mature woodland screening sites such as the Lea Castle site are developed in from the surrounding areas. order to help the Council provide for local housing To the north-west, there are existing houses along and employment land needs. This may also assist The Crescent that adjoin the site. To the east and in reducing the number of more sensitive greenfield west of the site is agricultural land owned by the Green Belt sites that need to be developed for HCA. housing. There are a number of local facilities in Cookley There are a number of areas in Wyre Forest and North Kidderminster / Broadwaters including District where it is difficult for residents to afford schools, shops and other services. There is a pub open market housing. Redevelopment of the Lea / restaurant almost adjoining the site to the south- Castle site will assist in providing a mix of housing, east. Bus services 9 and 125 run close to the site including housing that local people can afford. along Wolverhampton Road and Stourbridge Road. History • Majority of site acquired by HCA in 2005. • Hospital closed in 2008. • Remainder of site acquired by HCA in 2013. The site and surrounding area The site is a brownfield site within the Green Belt, located to the north-east of Kidderminster, around 1.5km to the south-east of Cookley. The site was formerly occupied by Lea Castle Hospital. The hospital closed in 2008 and the site was fully transferred to HCA ownership in 2013. The majority of the derelict buildings and associated access roads are still present on site with around 330,000 sqare feet of floorspace. The Derelict hospital buildings on site buildings range from small Local facilities and services bungalows to larger three storey buildings. A number of buildings on site are unsafe. The site also includes playing pitches and Derelict bungalows an associated small clubhouse that are used by Mostyn Rangers Football Club. Sports pitches and clubhouse Understanding the area: Supporting technical work 1 To help understand the implications of development a wide range of technical work is being undertaken. This information is being used to help design the scheme, make sure that impacts are properly considered, and produce a high quality masterplan with wider community benefits. Landscape and trees Utilities / services The landscape is a key feature Discussions are taking place with utility providers to of the site. Our approach aims ensure that there is sufficient capacity in the existing to retain and enhance existing networks to serve the needs of the site. Where woodland and vegetation necessary, upgrades will be made to the surrounding on site whilst providing network. The initial indication from Western Power appropriate public access to the woodland. is that an upgrade is required to the existing high The masterplan will work with the existing green voltage cables. infrastructure to create a pleasant, green setting to development with links to the wider countryside. There are a number of existing services on the site associated with its former use as a hospital. The landscape and visual Where possible these will be utilised as part of the assessment of the proposed redevelopment. Where it is not possible to re-use development shows that the services, these will need to be removed. impact of the scheme on the surrounding area would be Land quality minimal, due to the presence of existing dense woodland Some site investigations have been undertaken. that filters and screens views. From this work we are These have identified some pockets of potential identifying which parts of the site may benefit from contamination around some of the buildings which enhancement planting to improve screening further. will need to be cleaned up as part of development. There are also some areas of made ground where A tree survey of the site has been undertaken to further investigation is required. ensure that the most important trees are identified, and to ensure that the root protection areas of trees can be protected from development. Heritage There are no designated Ecology heritage assets within the site, and the redevelopment An ecological survey of the of the site would not impact site has been undertaken on the nearby Grade II Listed along with specific species Building, North Lodge and surveys relating to bats, Gateway. There are some surviving WWII structures badgers, dormice, reptiles, on-site, the details of which will be recorded prior to great crested newts and redevelopment. breeding birds. Much of the existing habitat on site will be retained and new habitat will also be Archaeological evaluation has been undertaken provided. on the site. There were no finds of significant archaeological interest on the site. The bat surveys found a number of bat roosts in the derelict buildings on site. Therefore, a protected species licence will be submitted to Natural England Local facilities and so that replacement roosts (bat houses and bat sports pitches boxes) can be provided on-site. This well be well in advance of development so that bats can move to The emerging plans seek to new roosts before demolition of buildings. Habitat for retain the existing playing other species such as badgers and dormice is being pitches on the site. retained on-site. As well as proposing new homes and employment on the site, it is important Flood risk and drainage that local facilities can cope. Where funding is required for extra capacity this will be funded by The site is not in an area at the development through a legal agreement. We are risk of flooding. The drainage having discussions with the Education Authority and strategy will manage water Worcestershire NHS Primary Care Team. It is likely on-site so that runoff does that a financial contribution will be made towards not affect surrounding land creating new primary school places. The Education or make flooding worse elsewhere. Sustainable Authority in consultation with local schools will drainage systems or dry ponds will be an integral decide how best to spend this financial contribution. part of an attractive infrastructure network creating A contribution may also be made towards new opportunities for new wildlife habitats as well as secondary school places. managing surface water on site. Discussions are taking place with Severn Trent to identify suitable connection points for surface and foul water. Understanding the area: Supporting technical work 2 Traffic and transport The highway network A transport assessment (including traffic modelling) Public transport is being prepared for the site to ensure that new There are good public transport links in the area, traffic is minimised, and that local roads are able to and discussions are taking place about the cope with new traffic. Improvements to the wider possibility of routing the existing bus service 9 highway network / key junctions will be proposed (serving Kidderminster and Cookley) through the to ensure that the road network can cope with the site.