Countryside, Countryside Gaps and the Coast Countryside and Gaps
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Eastleigh Borough Local Plan 2016-2036 Eastleigh Borough Local Plan 2016-2036 4.45 The road will be designed to appropriately manage and cater for all diferent Countryside and gaps road users including pedestrians and cyclists, and to integrate into the new 4.46 The issues set out in Chapter 2 suggest communities as places. that the Borough’s countryside is under pressure from development and non- agricultural uses, with some areas in need Countryside, countryside of improved management, in particular those adjoining the urban edges of gaps and the coast settlements. Quite a large proportion of the Borough’s countryside is in use for Relevant issues and objectives recreational horse-grazing, with related development pressures for stabling and Issues (Chapter 2): G1, G2, G3 other built facilities. Objectives (Chapter 3): ii, iv, vii 4.47 The Borough’s countryside is an important Related local and national strategies/policies (see and diminishing resource. It is valued Appendix B) for many reasons, including agriculture and community food production, its Source Reference/ title landscape qualities and biodiversity Eastleigh Borough Biodiversity Action Plan value. Habitats of value include the Council 2012 - 2022 special characteristics of the valleys of PUSH Green Infrastructure the rivers Itchen and Hamble and the Strategy networks of ancient woodlands, streams Framework for Gaps and wetlands throughout the Borough. The countryside is also important for the North Solent Shoreline North Solent Shoreline setting it provides for towns and villages, Management Plan Management Plan (see and the opportunities it provides for Client Steering Group policy Units 5C04 - 5C10). recreation. The Council is keen to protect Hampshire County Hamble River Harbour and enhance the countryside within the Council Authority Strategic Borough and maximise its opportunities Vision, Strategic Plan for people and wildlife, from the and Management Plan urbanising impacts of development. Hampshire Integrated Character 4.48 However, there are particular needs Assessment18 2011 arising from rural activities and the rural communities require housing and Countryside Access services, the strategy allows for limited Plan for Hampshire development to ensure these needs are Marine Management Draft South Marine met. In permitting such developments, the 19 Organisation Plan Council will seek to promote the beneficial NPPF Paragraphs 17, 109 - 114 management of the countryside. This will 18 http://www3.hants.gov.uk/landscape-and-heritage/hampshire-integrated-character-assessment.htm 19 https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/south-marine-plans 51 Eastleigh Borough Local Plan 2016-2036 June 2018 include encouragement of proposals that of the NPPF in relation to supporting a enhance the woodlands in the Forest of prosperous rural economy. Much of it has Bere20 area and recreational links to and the characteristics of urban-fringe where within this area. careful management is required to avoid urbanisation and the coalescence of 4.49 The Borough’s countryside performs an settlements, and the Local Plan’s policies important role in separating and providing are framed accordingly. a setting for the Borough’s settlements. Maintaining the individual identities of the Strategic policy S7, New Borough’s communities is an important development in the countryside priority for the Borough Council. The most obvious way of achieving this is keeping There is a presumption against new them physically separate from each other development in the countryside, and from Southampton. Development subject to other policies of this Local over recent years has tended to cause Plan. Countryside is defined as all some merging of settlements – for the areas outside the urban edge as example West End has now merged with defined on the policies map, including Southampton. The Council considers that river valleys, ancient woodland designating areas between settlements and the undeveloped coast. as countryside gaps to be kept free of urbanising development is the best way Planning permission will be granted for of preventing further loss of local identity, new development in the countryside and has defined a number of such gaps, provided it is related to: see figure 5, having regard to the criteria set out in the PUSH Framework for Gaps. i. the provision of employment through agricultural development 4.50 Parts of the countryside are underlain (policy DM17), the extension with mineral deposits. As the minerals and replacement of existing planning authority for this Borough employment uses (policy DM18) Hampshire County Council seeks to avoid and the re-use of existing buildings the sterilisation of such resources by (policy DM19); permanent non minerals development. Areas safeguarded because they contain ii. residential extensions and important minerals are identified by the replacement buildings (policies County Council in the Hampshire Minerals DM18 and 27), limited residential and Waste Plan (2013), and they are also conversions (policy DM19), shown on the Local Plan policies map. rural workers’ dwellings (policy The Hampshire Minerals and Waste Plan DM29) and accommodation for identifies the former Hamble Airfield as an Gypsies, Travellers and travelling area for the extraction of sand and gravel. showpeople (policy DM33); 4.51 The countryside within Eastleigh Borough iii. community, tourist, or visitor uses is not regarded as being a rural area for through the re-use of buildings the purposes of applying the provisions including facilities for the 20 The Forest of Bere is an area of approximately 26,000 hectares which stretches across south-east Hampshire from the Itchen Valley in Eastleigh to the border with West Sussex. It covers the northern part of the Borough mainly north of the M27. See Hampshire County Council’s Countryside Access Plan for the Forest of Bere 2008-2013: http://www.hants.gov.uk/rh/countryside/access/forestofbere.pdf 52 Eastleigh Borough Local Plan 2016-2036 Eastleigh Borough Local Plan 2016-2036 Figure 5: Countryside gaps 53 Eastleigh Borough Local Plan 2016-2036 June 2018 interpretation of heritage assets • Eastleigh and Bishopstoke; (policies DM12); • the two new communities at the iv. outdoor recreation and open space Strategic Growth Option*; (policies DM34 and DM35); • the Strategic Growth Option and v. allotments and community farms Colden Common*; (policy DM34); • the Strategic Growth Option and vi. cemeteries (policy DM39); and Lower Upham/Upham*; vii. essential public utilities (policy DM9). • Fair Oak (including the Strategic Growth Option) and Horton In permitting new development in the Heath*; countryside the Borough Council will seek to: • Botley and Boorley Green; a. avoid adverse impacts on the rural, • Hedge End and Botley; woodland, riparian or coastal character, the intrinsic character • Hedge End and Southampton; of the landscape including the • Hedge End and Horton Heath; avoidance of adverse landscape impacts on areas adjoining national • Hedge End and Bursledon; parks and their settings, and on the biodiversity of the area; • Bursledon/Netley and Southampton; b. secure long-term beneficial management practices that • Bursledon and Hamble/Netley; will enhance the landscape and • Boyatt Wood and Otterbourne Hill; biodiversity of the countryside and coast; and • Boyatt Wood and Allbrook; c. avoid sterilisation of mineral as set out in the key diagram and on the resources, in accordance with policies maps. *The precise boundaries the Hampshire Minerals and of countryside gaps connected to Waste Plan. the Strategic Growth Option will be determined following masterplanning. [Note: DM (development management) policies are in Chapter 5.] In countryside gaps, development which physically or visually diminishes Strategic policy S8, Protection the gap, or has an urbanising efect of countryside gaps detrimental to the openness of the gap, the character of the countryside or In order to maintain the separate the separate identity of the adjoining identity of settlements and separation settlements will not be permitted. from Southampton, countryside gaps Proposals for development within gaps are defined between: will also be assessed against other relevant policies but will be resisted • Eastleigh and Southampton; where this approach is not met. 54.