The Vale of Aylesbury Plan Wing Fact Pack November 2011
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The Vale of Aylesbury Plan Wing Fact Pack November 2011 All Saints Church Contents Section Page 1 Introduction page 3 2 Location and Setting page 5 3 Story of Place page 6 4 Fact File page 9 5 Issues Facing the Parish page 34 6 Parish Constraints page 36 7 Annex page 40 Front Cover Photo Source: Helge Rieder, June 2009 at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:AllSaintsChurchWing‐2.jpg 2 1. Introduction Purpose of the document This Fact Pack document was initially produced in 2010 to help inform the town/parish council about the characteristics of their parish for the ‘community view’ consultation. This consultation was undertaken early on in the preparation of the Vale of Aylesbury Plan as part of a bottom up approach embracing localism and aiming to get local communities more involved in the planning process. The town/parish council were asked to consult with their community on the following: The level of future housing and/or employment development up to 2031, including specific types of homes, employment and other development The location, sizes and phasing of development The types of infrastructure (social, community, physical) needed to enable development, including where it should be located Any other issues relating to planning and development This Fact Pack document has also been used to support neighbourhood planning by providing evidence for the context of the neighbourhood plan, including information on housing, employment, infrastructure and the environment. This Fact Pack document has also been used to support the Vale of Aylesbury Plan Settlement Hierarchy Assessment. This forms part of the evidence that classifies settlements into different categories, where different levels of growth are apportioned to over the next 20 years. The document also forms part of the background work relating to Neighbourhood Plans as well as the production of the Vale of Aylesbury Plan. The Fact Pack does not form planning policy for Aylesbury Vale. What the Fact Pack includes The content of the Fact Pack reflects the size of the parish or town, providing the most detail for larger villages/towns which are likely to experience greater levels of growth, compared to smaller parishes/villages which are likely to experience less growth. Smaller parish’s Fact Packs have a more limited content in the Fact Packs. Fact Packs for larger villages/towns identify the following information: Location and setting within the district (relationship to other settlements) Story of place (how the parish has developed from its origins to the present day) Issues facing the parish (e.g. infrastructure and local services deficits) Social demographics (population, age profile, social groups, levels of deprivation and crime levels) Economic profile (allocated employment sites, change of use to employment looking back 5 years, sectors of employment, levels of economic activity, distances travelled to work and broadband speeds) 3 Local service provision (retail, healthcare, leisure, public open space, tourism, and education) Housing profile (dwelling types, tenure, occupancy, past completions and commitments, average house prices, housing needs waiting list and gypsy and traveller sites) Transport infrastructure (road network, cars per household, public transport provision) Environmental constraints (maps to identify agricultural land quality, landscape sensitivities, biodiversity constraints, flooding and historic constraints) Fact Packs for smaller parishes/villages identify the following information: Location and setting within the district (relationship to other settlements) Social demographics (population and age profile) Housing profile (dwelling types, tenure, occupancy, past completions and commitments, average house prices, housing needs waiting list and gypsy and traveller sites) Economic profile (employment change of B use classes looking back 5 years, sectors of employment and levels of economic activity) Issues facing the parish (e.g. infrastructure and local services deficits) Environmental constraints (maps to identify agricultural land quality, landscape sensitivities, biological constraints, flooding and historic constraints) Where possible information in the Fact Pack has been supplemented with information from the town/parish council to draw upon local knowledge, particularly for the section on issues relating to the parish. Some town/parish councils have also published the document on their website for the community to view and use. In addition to this Fact Pack, a district wide Fact Pack has been written to develop an understanding at the strategic level on the availability of infrastructure, services, facilities, planning issues and environmental constraints. This can be viewed on our website1. Availability of data Statistics identified in the Fact Pact are primarily from Census data (2001), AVDC monitoring data (updated annually) and research carried out by Buckinghamshire County Council. There are also a number of websites that have been used to retrieve information, such as crime statistics, broadband coverage and housing sales. Where possible, parish level data has been used. If this level of data is not available super output area (SOA) boundaries or ward boundaries have been used (often these cover a larger area than just the settlement). The boundaries of the parish, SOA and ward can be viewed on map 1 in this document. This Fact Pack is a ‘living document’ which is intended to be regularly updated. Information contained within the Fact Pack is correct at the time of writing. It is acknowledged that some of the information may change over time and the Fact Packs will be updated accordingly. 1 District Fact Pack http://www.aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk/local-development-plans/planning-policy/vale-of-aylesbury- plan-/fact-packs/ 4 2. Location and Setting Wing is situated 8 miles to the northeast of Aylesbury on the A418, 3 miles west of Leighton Buzzard and 12 miles south of Milton Keynes. The village is within the parish and ward of Wing, which also includes the settlements of Burcott to the north and Ascott to the east. The Grand Union Canal is located approximately 2.5 miles due east. Other villages just beyond the parish boundary are Cublington, Mentmore, Soulbury and Stewkley. There are frequent bus services to Aylesbury, Leighton Buzzard and Milton Keynes. The nearest railway station is Leighton Buzzard on the London Midland network. Super Output Area 7732 Super Output Area 7731 © Crown copyright. Aylesbury Vale District Council 100019797 2011 MAP BEING UPDATED. Note: Super Output Areas (SOAs) are a set of geographical areas developed following the 2001 Key census, initially to facilitate the calculation of the Indices of Deprivation 2004 and subsequently for a range of additional Ward boundary Neighbourhood Statistics (NeSS). The aim was to produce a Super Output Areas Boundaries set of areas of consistent size, whose boundaries would not change. Parish Boundary The landscape to the north and east of Wing village is a clay plateau around 130‐140m above sea level with gently undulating landform eroded by local streams. There are paddocks and smaller parcels of grazing land around the settlements with an extensive World War Two airfield now used as a poultry farm. Sparse woodland cover and long straight roads connecting settlements are also characteristics. The village of Wing overlooks the valley to the south. 5 3. Story of Place Settlement Origins and Early Growth Wing was first recorded in the Domesday Book as ‘Witehunge’ and in Old English as ‘Weowungum’. This name may have meant ‘Wiwa’s sons or people’ or alternatively ‘the devotees of a heathen temple’. The remains of the temple referred to may be the Anglo‐Saxon church, among the oldest in the country. All Saints Church is one of the finest Saxon churches in the country, and a Grade 1 listed building. It dates to the 10th century, with some extensions over the following five centuries. The village has the oldest continuously used religious site in the country with evidence showing the site as having religious usage going back well over 1300 years. Historic Almshouse in Wing Source ‐ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wing,_Buckinghamshire, March 2011 The pre‐historic route, the Icknield Way from Oxford‐Cambridge, once passed through the village of Wing. This was in use in the medieval period and was partly responsible for the increase in the village size at that time. An abbey was founded in the nearby village of Ascott in the 7th century. This had been built by an unknown royal from the Kingdom of Wessex and was given to a Benedictine convent. The Lych Gate at Wing. Source – AVDC, 2010 The Lych Gate is a traditional English feature entrance to the church yard. 6 Ascott House Ascott House is set in a 3,200 acre estate in the adjacent hamlet to Wing named Ascott. The house was originally a farm house built in the reign of James I and known as Ascott Hall. In 1873 the house was acquired by Baron Mayer de Rothschild of the neighbouring Mentmore Towers estate. The Rothschilds had acquired land in Buckinghamshire and built several large mansions after 1852. The giving of Ascott House to his nephew, Leopold de Rothschild lead to its transformation into the more substantive country house seen today. Ascott House Front in 2008. Source ‐ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ascott_House_Front.jpg More information on the history and events at Ascott House can be found at:‐ http://www.ascottestate.co.uk/index.htm 20th Century growth Following World War Two, the district council embarked on an extensive programme of renewing the older parts of the village and improved several public amenity areas. This development was shared between AVDC and private developers. By the late 1960’s, around 200 new houses had been built. The 1967 Wing Plan prepared by the district council, considered the future locations of housing, identifying seven areas for several hundred homes beyond the limits of the historic core and the existing post‐war housing. The village of Cublington, adjoining Wing was considered for the location of the third London airport by the Roskill Commission in the late 1960’s.