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Zenith Planning and Design Consultants

Creative solutions for sustainable development

DEVELOPMENT AND FLOOD RISK

SEQUENTIAL AND EXCEPTION TESTS

August 2012

Address: 201-209 Queens Road Beeston

Proposal: Erection of retail unit with three apartments above

Zenith Planning and Design 30 Padleys Lane Burton Joyce NG14 5BZ

Alison Dudley Dip. Town Planning Tel 0115 9313364 email [email protected]

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Introduction

Until March 2012 the definitive guidance from central government to local authorities in respect of development and flood risk was set out in Planning Policy Statement 25 (PPS25). However this was replaced from March 27th by the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). Nevertheless the Government’s approach has not changed, and the NPPF states in paragraph 100 “inappropriate development in areas at high risk of flooding should be avoided by directing development away from areas at highest risk, but where development is necessary, making it safe without increasing flood risk elsewhere”. Paragraph 101 states “Development should not be allocated or permitted if there are reasonably available sites appropriate for the proposed development in areas with a lower probability of flooding. The Strategic Flood Risk assessment will provide the basis for applying this test. A sequential approach should be used in areas known to be at risk from any form of flooding.”

Para 103 states that Local Planning Authorities should, when determining planning applications, ensure flood risk is not increased elsewhere and only consider development appropriate in areas at risk of flooding where, informed by a site-specific FRA following the Sequential Test and the Exception Test, it can be demonstrated that :

Within the site, the most vulnerable development is located in areas of lowest flood risk unless there are overriding reasons to prefer a different location and

Development is appropriately flood resilient and resistant, including safe access and escape routes where required and that any residual risk can be safely managed, including by emergency planning and it gives priority to sustainable drainage systems.

This sequential test relates to a site on the southern side of Queens Road Beeston Nottingham. The site currently contains a single storey retail unit occupied by Car Phone Warehouse and a large hard surfaced car park. It is proposed to erect a retail unit of approx 250 sq metres with three apartments above (2 no 1 bed flats on the first floor and 1 no 2 bed flat on the second floor). The frontage to Queens Road is predominantly commercial in character with a number of retail units. The area to the south of the application site is residential in character.

The site lies within an area classified by the Environment Agency as Flood Zone 3(a), that is, an area with a high probability of flood of 1:100 or greater, where less vulnerable developments (such as retail) are acceptable, but more vulnerable uses (such as residential) need to pass both the sequential and exception tests.

The planning application is supported by a Flood Risk Assessment (FRA) prepared by Enzygo Environmental Consultants The FRA has shown that there is an inherent risk due to flood from the nearby Trent, and that during the 1 in 100 year (plus climate change) event a maximum water depth on site would be 0.48m and during the 1 in 1000 year event the maximum water depth on site would be 0.94m.” However, with the completion of the Left

Zenith Planning and Design 30 Padleys Lane Burton Joyce Nottingham NG14 5BZ

Alison Dudley Dip. Town Planning Tel 0115 9313364 email [email protected]

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Bank Alleviation Flood Defence work this risk is significantly reduced and the Greater Nottingham SFRA shows that the site will not be inundated with floodwater during the 1 in 20 year, the 1 in 100 year and the 1 in 100 year (plus climate change) events. However, the site will be inundated with floodwater during the 1 in 1000 year event. During the 1 in 1000 year event that the site has a hazard rating of low to moderate which results in danger for some (i.e. children).

This report has been prepared in accordance with Environment Agency guidance and demonstrates that the proposed development meets the requirements of both tests.

Background Information Relating to the Supply of Housing Land

The NPPF requires that local planning authorities should identify a 5 year rolling supply of specific deliverable sites for housing, sufficient to meet their identified housing requirements as set out in the development plan (plus an additional buffer of 5%) and that Annual Monitoring Reports should be prepared confirming the availability of sufficient land to meet the targets set in the development plan.

The recently published Greater Nottingham Aligned Core Strategy sets out the housing targets for Broxtowe Borough Council, together with those for and Gedling Borough Council, for the period up to 2028. These are based on the targets set in the Regional Spatial Strategy (adopted March 2009). Although the Regional Plan (the RSS for this area) has now been revoked, the three local authorities have agreed that the RSS targets are still relevant. The RSS figures for the period 2006 to 2026 have therefore been retained, updated to reflect the number of completions between 2006 and 2011, and extended by a further two years. The target set in the RSS for Broxtowe Borough Council of a minimum 6,800 units has therefore become 6,150 in the Aligned Core Strategy. Of this total of 6,150, a target of 250 units has been set for the period 2011 -2013 and 1,600 units for the period 2013 – 2018.

The Core Strategy accepts that “in terms of deliverability, the housing provision figure is considered to be extremely challenging ...... but achievable ...... given an early return to good market conditions.”

The majority of the new housing in Broxtowe is to be provided within or adjacent to the main built up area of Greater Nottingham. The Strategy explains the rationale behind this provision stating, “Areas in the urban south of Broxtowe benefit from being in the stronger housing sub-market, having the most comprehensive public transport links particularly to Nottingham and being in the greatest area of affordable housing need.”

In fact only two key strategic sites are identified in the Core Strategy within Broxtowe Borough – the Boots site at Beeston which straddles the boundary with Nottingham City Council, and where a target of 550 units in the period 6 + years has been set for that part of the site which lies within Broxtowe, and land at Field Farm at Stapleford where a target of

Zenith Planning and Design 30 Padleys Lane Burton Joyce Nottingham NG14 5BZ

Alison Dudley Dip. Town Planning Tel 0115 9313364 email [email protected]

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450 units has been set in the period 6+ years . In addition to these two sites, a number of smaller sites for housing have been identified in the settlements of Awsworth, and Brinsley, and the settlements of Eastwood and Kimberley have been identified as strategic locations for future housing development but no specific sites identified as yet. All of these sites have been allocated targets for the period of 6+ years.

It can be seen therefore that in the short term at least it will be difficult to achieve the targets set in the Core Strategy.

The latest available Annual Monitoring report for Broxtowe Borough Council is the report for 2010/2011. The RSS set a required rate for house-building in Broxtowe of 340 houses per year. However the actual figure for 2010/2011 was 222. Whilst this was an improvement over the figure for 2009/2010 of 95 units, over the first five year period of the Regional Plan 370 less houses were built than the 1700 required by the Plan. The Monitoring Report lists all the allocated sites or sites with planning permission which are likely to come forward for development during the 5 year period. The 2010/2011 Report confirms that over the 5 year period there will be a shortfall of 882 units compared to the Regional Plan target. It is clear therefore that windfall sites will remain a small but important element of the provision of the required new houses.

An analysis of planning permissions included in the Monitoring Report and applications submitted over the past year since the Report was prepared reveals that the majority of these windfall sites are very small, typically providing between 1 and 3 units.

Applying the sequential approach

Notwithstanding the identified shortage of suitable sites for residential development to meet the required 5 year supply, it is still necessary to undertake a sequential test as set out in PPS25. Broxtowe Borough Council have previously advised in relation to a nearby site that it is appropriate to limit the area of search to the southern part of the District. The northern and southern parts of the District have their own distinctive character and potential occupiers looking to live in Chilwell or Beeston would be unlikely to consider options in the north of the District such as Giltbrook, Newthorpe or Strelley. The area of search has therefore been limited to the part of the District which lies to the south of the A52, i.e. Beeston Rylands, Toton, Attenborough, Chilwell, and Beeston. It should be noted that much of the area covered by Beeston Rylands, Toton, and Attenborough lies within Flood Zones 2 (1in 1000 year flood) and 3 (1 in 100 year flood) and that some parts of Chilwell, and Beeston also lie in flood risk areas.

The sites listed below comprise :-

a) sites within the defined area with planning permission for 3 or more dwellings which were identified in The Annual Monitoring Report 2010/2011 as contributing to the 5 year supply and

Zenith Planning and Design 30 Padleys Lane Burton Joyce Nottingham NG14 5BZ

Alison Dudley Dip. Town Planning Tel 0115 9313364 email [email protected]

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b) sites within the defined area which have been granted planning permission for 3 or more dwellings since the publication of the Monitoring Report.

Where these sites are within Flood Zones 2 or 3, this is listed alongside the number of dwellings proposed or completed.

Central Ordnance Depot Swiney Way Toton Local Plan allocated site H1(a). Development (completed) -377 dwellings – partly in Zones 2/3

T.A. Centre Ranson Road Toton Local Plan Allocated Site H1(b). Development (completed) 95 dwellings- partly in Zone 3

Ex Sports Ground South of Queens Road and site of the Maltings Dovecote Lane Beeston Local Plan Allocated Site H1(d)(Development under construction) 229 dwellings in Local Plan but actual granted pp 204 – Zone 3

116 Station Road Beeston (Outline planning permission) 12 dwellings – Zone 2/3

Long Eaton Textiles 168 Bye Pass Road Chilwell ( Construction started ) 85 dwellings – Zone 2/3

55 and 57 Carrfield Avenue Toton (Outline planning permission) 9 dwellings - Zone 2/3

Brethren Meeting Hall Hillside Road Beeston ( Outline planning permission)20 dwellings

Rear of Sycamore Court Broadgate Beeston (Detailed planning permission) 6 flats

Hofton and Son Regent Street Beeston (Detailed planning permission) 9 dwellings

Workshop and premises Roberts Yard Beeston ( Detailed planning permission) 8 dwellings

Former Garage Block Wheatgrass Road Chilwell ( Detailed planning permission ) 6 dwellings

Former Garage Site Ellis Grove Beeston (Detailed planning permission) 4 flats

Three Horse Shoes Middle Street Beeston (Detailed planning permission) 7 flats – Zone 2

2 Lilac Grove (Detailed planning permission) Conversion from care home to 7 flats – Zone 2/3

It should be noted that the three largest sites are now either complete or substantially complete. Of the remaining sites, it can be seen that many of them fall within Zones 2 or 3.

In addition to the above sites, a 1.4 ha site on Field Lane Chilwell is allocated as a housing site for a minimum of 50 dwellings in the Broxtowe Local Plan (H1(f) but does not have

Zenith Planning and Design 30 Padleys Lane Burton Joyce Nottingham NG14 5BZ

Alison Dudley Dip. Town Planning Tel 0115 9313364 email [email protected]

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planning permission and is not expected to come forward for development in the next five years. It should also be noted that the 2010/2011 LDF Monitoring Report commented that the 20 units granted planning permission at Brethren’s Hall was a very high density scheme which was considered undeliverable in the current economic climate and was therefore unlikely to come forward in the next 5 years.

Reference was made above to the site allocated in the LDF Aligned Core Strategy at the Boots Campus at Beeston, which straddles the boundary with Nottingham City Council. A “Statement of Development Principles” for the Boots site has been approved by both local authorities, which proposes that the part of the site nearest to Beeston Rylands could be developed with 1000 houses, with up to 550 of this total being located within Broxtowe. This land has been identified as a residential site in spite of its location within Flood Zone 3, although it will benefit from the same level of protection as the application site when the Left Bank Flood Alleviation Scheme is complete.

The scarcity of residential sites outside Flood Zones 2 and 3 in the immediate area has already been acknowledged by the local authority in the granting of planning permission on sites such as the former Nottingham Rugby Club site ( Zone 3) and more recently 168 Bye Pass Road Chilwell (Zones 2 and 3). The report of the Chief Executive on the planning application for 85 dwellings at 168 Bye Pass Road, which was presented to the Development Control Committee in November 2010 confirmed that no sequentially preferable sites that were “reasonably comparable” were available.

Similarly the FRA submitted with the planning application for 116 Station Road Beeston was accompanied by an email from the planning officer at Broxtowe Borough council confirming that in the LPA’s view there were no sequentially preferable available sites.

Housing Mix The aligned Core Strategy states that residential development should contribute to a mix of housing tenures, types and sizes to create mixed and balanced communities. The evidence base for the future housing needs set out in the Strategy is the Strategic Housing Market Assessment 2007, which identified that the biggest growth would be among smaller households especially single persons.

Analysis of the sites with planning permission reveals that few of these sites are directed at this end of the market. In fact only 4 of the sites listed comprise developments for flats and these are all located in the Beeston area ( Broadgate, Lilac Grove, Ellis Grove and Middle Street). The proposed development is for 2 one bed and 1 two bed flats. Beeston is a very popular location with smaller households, particularly younger households, and demand for flats is high, as confirmed by the letter from CP Walker & Son estate agents accompanying this report. It is a highly sustainable location with good local facilities and good transport links to major employers such as Boots, the University of Nottingham and QMC as well as Nottingham City Centre. Much of the Beeston area falls within EA Flood Zones 2 and 3, however several site specific FRAs which have based on more recent modelling undertaken for the Greater Nottingham Strategic Flood Risk Assessment have demonstrated that the Zenith Planning and Design 30 Padleys Lane Burton Joyce Nottingham NG14 5BZ

Alison Dudley Dip. Town Planning Tel 0115 9313364 email [email protected]

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sites have a lower probability of flooding than initially thought, and that with the completion of the Left Bank flood alleviation scheme the actual risk is considerably reduced.

It can therefore be concluded that there are no reasonably comparable sites available that would be sequentially preferable to the application site

Applying the sequential test at site level

EA guidance on the sequential test suggests that the test should also be applied at site level and that it should be demonstrated by the applicant that other less vulnerable uses have been considered, and that the detailed layout takes account of any differences in risk across the site.

The site currently contains a small single storey retail unit. The proposed development comprises an additional ground floor retail unit which is classified by the EA as a less vulnerable use which does not need to be subjected to either a sequential or exception test, and three flats on the upper floors. The flats will therefore not be at risk of flood.

The buildings have been located on the slightly higher parts of the site and the car parking on the lower parts of the site where water depth would be greater in the event of a flood.

Applying the Exception Test

For the site to pass the exception test, the following must apply :-

1) The wider sustainability benefits of the development should outweigh the flood risk 2) The site should comprise previously developed land 3) The development must be safe and should not increase flood risk elsewhere

The application relates to a brown field site which comprises a small single storey, flat - roofed retail unit and a large hard -surfaced car park. The development of the site will improve the appearance of the site and make a positive contribution to the street scene as well as providing much needed starter homes in a highly sustainable location well-served by public transport and close to local facilities including schools.

There are safe escape routes to both Queens Road and Windsor Street and the development will not increase flood risk elsewhere. ( See FRA for details ).

Conclusion

The site complies with the requirements of both the Sequential and Exception Tests and subject to the mitigation measures proposed in the FRA, the development will not provide a risk to residents or to adjoining sites.

Zenith Planning and Design 30 Padleys Lane Burton Joyce Nottingham NG14 5BZ

Alison Dudley Dip. Town Planning Tel 0115 9313364 email [email protected]

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References

Annual LDF Monitoring Report 2010/2011 Aligned Core Strategies June 2012 National Planning Policy Framework March 2012 Environment Agency guidance on PPS25 Sequential Tests

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Zenith Planning and Design 30 Padleys Lane Burton Joyce Nottingham NG14 5BZ

Alison Dudley Dip. Town Planning Tel 0115 9313364 email [email protected]