ROCHE NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN Contents SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION page 1 WHY ROCHE NEEDS THIS NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN page 1 ABOUT ROCHE PARISH page 2 CHARACTER OF ROCHE VILLAGE page 5 SECTION 2: POLICIES page 8 A: HOUSING NEEDS AND ALLOCATIONS POLICY A1 - Roche village page 10 POLICY A2 - Trezaise/Higher Trezaise page 13 POLICY A3 - School places page 13 B: TRAFFIC ISSUES POLICY B1 - Link Road west of Roche page 15 POLICY B2 - Potential development of Site D page 18 POLICY B3 - Heavy goods diversion page 19 C: EMPLOYMENT AND COMMERCIAL SERVICES POLICY C1 - Employment and development page 20 POLICY C2 - Mixed use development page 21 POLICY C3 - Protection of existing business premises page 23 POLICY C4 - Co-op car park page 23 D) COMMUNITY GREEN SPACE DESIGNATIONS POLICY D1 - Community Green Space designations page 24 Policy D1(a): The Old Fairground page 24 Policy D1(b): The Glebe Meadow page 24 Policy D1(c): The play and recreation area page 24 Policy D1(d): The duck pond and surrounding green space page 26 POLICY D2 - A coordinated approach to green spaces page 26 E) RENEWABLES POLICY E1 - Wind and solar farms page 26 F) HISTORIC ENVIRONMENT POLICY F1 - Assessment of historic assets page 27 POLICY F2 - Area of special architectural and historic interest page 28 POLICY F3 - Protecting local character page 28 POLICY F4 - Preservation of settlement boundaries page 30 POLICY F5 - Retaining community identity page 30 POLICY F6 - Designated heritage assets page 30 POLICY F7 - Non-designated heritage assets page 30 POLICY F8 - Protection of archaeological assets page 31 G) NATURAL ENVIRONMENT POLICY G1 - Protection of wildlife page 32 H) DESIGN POLICY H1 - Reinforcing character and heritage page 32 POLICY H2 - Ensuring the highest standards of development, protecting landscape character page 34 POLICY H3 - Maintaining a sense of place page 34 APPENDIX: ROCHE DESIGN GUIDE DRAFT Roche Neighbourhood Plan Section 1: Introduction SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION permission for the development we want to see. The Roche Parish Neighbourhood Plan has To help deliver this vision Roche Parish coun- been developed to ensure that future cil took the proactive approach of initiating growth and development in the parish is this Neighbourhood Plan and seeking to se- shaped by local people to sustain and im- cure the consent of local people in a referen- prove the quality of the community and its dum. In turn, the community will also benefit built and natural environment, in order to from 25 percent of the revenues from the support sustainable development in the Community Infrastructure Levy (once Corn- community. It seeks to protect the unique wall council have that in place) arising from character of this Parish, and ensure that fur- any development that takes place in the Par- ther development will contribute towards ish. This will contribute to Parish funds, ena- creating and maintaining a strong, sustain- bling improved local services. able community with high quality place- making. There was throughout the process of consult- ing upon and drawing up the Roche Neighbourhood Planning builds on the Na- Neighbourhood Plan, recognition that under tional Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and the legislation it can’t promote less develop- the Cornwall Local Plan to give an extra level ment than is proposed in the Local Plan, but of detail at the local level. In accordance with should build upon its foundations. The NPPF (§184 and §185) the Neighbourhood Neighbourhood Plan that has now been cre- Plan has been prepared so as to be in general ated is pro-growth and consistent with the conformity with the strategic policies con- saved policies from the adopted Restormel tained in the development plan (here the Local Plan, and planned to be consistent with saved policies of the Restormel local plan). the emerging Cornwall Local Plan. The plan is Regard has also been had to the policies of pro-growth provided that such growth seeks the emerging Cornwall Local Plan. to ameliorate any negative impacts of growth Such Neighbourhood Planning enables com- on the community and the Neighbourhood munities to play a much stronger role in shap- Plan sets out how to achieve this. ing the areas in which they live and work and WHY ROCHE NEEDS THIS NEIGHBOUR- in supporting new development proposals. This is because unlike the parish, village or HOOD PLAN town plans that communities may have pre- Rapid housing expansion in the village has pared in the past (as Roche Parish did), a taken place due to relatively cheap land with Neighbourhood Plan forms part of the devel- easy access to main roads and existing ser- opment plan and sits alongside the Local Plan vices. Roche’s location in the county and prepared by the local planning authority. De- lower than average house prices have made it cisions on planning applications will be made an attractive place for young families and first using both the Local Plan and the Neighbour- time buyers to settle. Taken together this has hood Plan, and any other material considera- doubled the parish population over the past tions. 25 years. Therefore Neighbourhood Planning provides Traffic growth is an even greater issue than the opportunity for Roche Parish to not only the population growth. Roche is located on set out a positive vision for how we want our the B3274 which links St Austell in the south community to develop over the next ten, fif- to the A30 and to Newquay and Padstow in teen, twenty years in ways that meet identi- the north. This channels substantial traffic fied local need and make sense for local peo- through Trezaise, Roche and Victoria, acting ple, but to put in place planning policies that as the main HGV route between the western will help deliver that vision or grant planning communities of St Austell and the china clay 1 DRAFT Roche Neighbourhood Plan Section 1: Introduction to the A30. It is also heavily used by aggre- ises – including some large retail units along gate HGVs from St Dennis and Whitemoor. the old A30, the Victoria Business Park, and The most recent traffic survey in the centre of most recently the Cornwall Services develop- Roche averaged one HGV every minute trav- ment on the new A30 junction. The new A30 elling through the village over a 24 hour pe- dual carriageway intersects the northern edge riod. of the Parish, with a junction and services just east of Victoria. Planners have not always secured high quality place making and there has been too little in Roche Village itself is located 6 miles from St place to achieve high quality place making Austell on the south coast and 12 miles from and design. Moreover, rapid growth has led Newquay on the north coast. The village gets to increased pressure on local services – for its name from a granite outcrop east of the example, local school places are in short sup- village, with Roche being the Norman-French ply. Important green spaces have been under word for rock. On top of Roche Rock is a ru- threat of unwelcome development. Traffic ined chapel (dedicated to St Michael). has increased substantially, yet safe pedes- The parish church of St Gomondas/Gonandus trian routes have not been achieved. The (Fig 1.2), is situated on a vantage point over- Neighbourhood Plan for Roche allows all looking the main body of the village; with the these issues to be addressed (quality, location scheduled Chapel on Roche Rock, it is one of and quantity of development, safe pedestrian the principal focal points in a much wider links, reduced traffic impacts, the preserva- area. It is a grade II* listed building, with a tion and enhancement of rural communities, medieval tower, but with most of the surviv- historic buildings and features, and protecting ing fabric and character dating from the res- key open spaces). It puts the community in toration of 1890 by the great Victorian church charge of its own destiny. architect J.D Sedding, Associated with the Old Rectory to the north, linked to the church The vision for the future of Roche through a formal and informal landscape in Parish is: 'Supporting a thriving the style of a mini Country House and Park, the group stands symbolic of the rich history Parish to meet local needs, and of the village, and of its rich heritage of both enhance its Character and Dis- designated and undesignated historic build- tinctiveness for a Sustainable Fu- ings and sites. ture'. ABOUT ROCHE PARISH Roche Parish is a civil parish in mid-Cornwall, on the northern edge of the China Clay com- munities. There were 1592 dwellings in the parish according to the most recent (2011) census and the population was 3381. The largest settlement by far is Roche village itself. South of Roche but connected to it is Trezaise, a primarily linear community ex- Figure 1.2 - Roche Parish Church tending from Roche along the main road south. Half a mile north of Roche village is the settlement of Victoria where Roche rail sta- tion is situated along with some housing and services (pub, café) but chiefly business prem- 2 Figure 1.1 - Map of Roche Parish 3 DRAFT Roche Neighbourhood Plan Section 1: Introduction Because over the past 25 years the village has proximately one HGV through Roche every more than doubled in its population, it has minute on average. Trezaise and Higher expanded its housing beyond the traditional Trezaise forms a linear settlement along the limits of the village. This growth was refer- main road south of Roche and comprises a enced in the St Austell, St Blazey and China sporadic extension of the main village.