Recommendation – Approve Members' Notes Summary This

Recommendation – Approve

Members’ Notes

Summary

This detailed report considers an application for the Sustainable Urban Extension on land to the West of Northampton. The report considers the proposed key elements of the development, along with supporting documentation. It sets out the range of consultation undertaken and reports on the representations received. It reviews the national and local planning policy context, within which this major growth proposal has been put forward. It reviews the key infrastructure elements such as transport and highways, drainage and landscaping. The report highlights the key community facilities that will be provided to support the Sustainable Urban Extension, including, a local centre, provision of school and educational facilities and sports and community facilities.

A view has to be taken as to whether or not there are any adverse impacts that would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits of granting consent when assessed against the policies in the Framework as a whole.

The Council accepts that it cannot currently demonstrate that it has a five year housing land supply (insofar as it relates to the Northampton Related Development Area - NRDA) and recognises the contribution towards affordable housing provision and substantial contribution towards meeting the housing needs associated with the NRDA as a material consideration in favour of the proposal.

In terms of viability, it is considered that the development of the site can make appropriate contributions to community infrastructure and affordable housing whilst still returning a reasonable return. Negotiations are still in the final stages, and an appropriate S106 package will be achieved in order to mitigate the impacts of the development and create a sustainable, inclusive, high quality development.

In the context of the presumption in favour of sustainable development set out within the NPPF, it is considered that on balance, the proposal would result in sustainable development. The application accords with the development plan for Daventry District Council. It will deliver a balanced and sustainable development of up to 1750 new homes and community infrastructure in an attractive well design, landscaped and pleasant environment. The proposed arrangements for accessing the development will enable it to be safely and conveniently accessed by car and public transport without significant adverse impacts on the existing highway network. The scheme will promote sustainable transport within and beyond this site. The application will protect and enhance the site’s biodiversity and historic heritage. The scheme will not cause flooding. Nor will it have any other significant adverse environmental impact that would warrant the refusal of planning permission. The scheme will, of course, extend into open countryside, taking up agricultural land and will change the appearance of the existing countryside. On balance, however, that change is justified by the positive contribution that the scheme will make.

It is therefore recommended that planning permission be granted for the development, subject to the imposition of the conditions listed in the attached schedule and the completion of a Section 106 Agreement.

The report sets out suggested conditions and proposed Heads of Terms requirements to secure the effective delivery of the development, along with the community infrastructure.

Consultations for both applications – First consultation exercise October 2017 Please note that the consultation responses received below relate to both Application A and Application B unless otherwise stated.

Application A relates to 83ha of land. The description of development for Application A is;

‘Demolition of existing barns and the erection of up to 1,750 dwellings, a primary school, a mixed use local centre (uses A1-A5, D1); together with associated public open space, landscaping, highways, sustainable drainage system and all ancillary infrastructure works, including a new primary sub-station’

Application B relates to 30ha of land at New Sandy Lane which comprises an initial phase of development. The description of development for Application B is;

‘Erection of up to 600dwellings, a primary school, a mixed use local centre (uses A1-A5, D1); together with associated public open space, landscaping, highways, sustainable drainage system and all ancillary infrastructure works, including a new primary sub-station’

Highways England – No objection subject to a condition to secure an appropriate agreement to facilitate improvements to the A45 and its junctions referred to in the A45/M1 J15 NGMS Memorandum of Understanding January 2017.

In April 2016 Highways England was invited to provide comments on an EIA Screening and Scoping Report submitted in support of the Northampton West SUE, and advised the applicant that a contribution would be required towards the Northampton Growth Management Scheme (NGMS). This would equate to a contribution per dwelling of £426.63. This position was incorporated in to Highways England’s response which advised that Highways England would recommend a condition to be attached to the planning permission for the applicant to enter into a S278 Agreement with Highways England to provide a contribution towards the NGMS.

Northampton County Council (NCC) - Local Highway Authority – Following an initial review of the information submitted the following points have been raised for further clarification from the applicant.

1. The initial scoping for the updated Transport Assessment was carried out a year ago, since which time the Northampton Strategic Transport Model has been updated. We would advise that a comparison between the 2031 reference cases would provide an appropriate comparator. 2. In terms of additional detailed information requests please can you provide the following;  Turning counts for a number of junctions  Queue Survey data for all junction in the study area  It is noted that Junction 7 (New Sandy Lane/Roman Road) and Junction 8 (Berrywood Road/Sandy Lane) junctions are modelled as a network model. However the approaches are not defined in the model outputs for 2016 base year. It is requested the model outputs should be provided with approach area.  It is requested that signal specification should be provided for all signalised junctions in the study area.  In 2031 future year, from NSTM model outputs, the flows from the New Sandy Lane approach are missing at Junction 1 (A428 Harlestone Road/New Sandy Lane junction). This should be clarified. 2031 future year model outputs were also missing for a number of junctions.  In addition at Junction 11 (Sandy Lane/A4500) it is unclear whether the mitigation scheme model outputs are provided.

Northampton County Council (NCC) – Application A

Education – A development of this size is expected to generate approximately 180 Early Years, 180 Primary School pupils and 120 secondary and Sixth-form pupils based on an average dwelling mix and pupil generator multipliers.

The County Council will provide an update on the Early Years provision once the refreshed evidence base is available.

In terms of Primary Education provision, this development has accounted for the need for a new primary school on site (in Phase 1) to accommodation the 2.5 forms of entry expected to be generated form the total housing numbers. The Planning Statement outlines a land contribution of 3.11ha for Primary provision.

This development is expected to generate 2.5 forms of entry. As a new, fully fitted out 2fe Primary School to accommodate 2.5 forms of entry expected to be generated from the total housing scheme of 1750.

As a new, fully fitted out 2fe Primary School cost 6.5m and 3 fe Primary school cost £8.5 million, the proportional contribution should be £7.5m. 600 dwellings equates to 34% of the total development, therefore 34% of the £7.5m is required from this stage of the development towards the 3fe school that will be constructed on site.

A Primary Education contribution of £2,250,000 is required plus 3.11 ha of land will be required.

The site for the Primary School should be flat, for both use of playing fields and disabled access, and well drained. The site also needs to be completely cleared (including any archaeology that may been identified) and fully serviced prior to being transferred to the County Council (at no cost). The land for the school should be transferred to the County Council at the developer’s earliest opportunity, so that construction work can start according to the County Council’s requirements, following a need assessment.

With any Primary School being delivered as part of a larger housing development, the County Council seeks for the first school to be open by no later than the occupation of the 300th dwelling to ensure that pupils coming forward from the development can be accommodated (preferably earlier if feasible). The County Council would welcome clarification on when the Primary School sites offered will be made available in order to ensure this policy can be adhered to. It is also worth noting that there is currently very limited capacity in primary schools in the west of Northampton, so the developer may find it advantageous to consider having the primary school available before the 300th trigger, should this be feasible.

With regards to the construction of the school, the County Council wishes to maintain control of the build, in order to ensure that the school is ready at the appropriate time. The school will likely have a phased opening, to ensure that the pupils coming forward in the development can be accommodated, and that the places are not filled by people travelling from outside of the development site.

In terms of Secondary Education, the closest current provision to this development is at The Duston School. However, due to the significant level of planned for new housing in the area surrounding the proposed development, the county council will be seeking to secure construction of a new Secondary School to serve the area to the west of Northampton.

It is therefore anticipated that a contribution towards providing local Secondary Education capacity for the children from this development will be secured through the Community Infrastructure Levy. This is demonstrated by the inclusion of Secondary Education on South Northamptonshire Council’s Regulation 123 list.

It should be noted that the schools specified in this response are the most likely recipients of the funding we are requesting. However it is not guaranteed that this is where the contributions will be spent. The County Council recognises that any contribution secured must be spent on mitigating the impact of the development locally; however we reserve the right to specify the project on which it is spent on at a later date when further clarity is known, such as the ability of the schools to expand on their existing site, for example. Due to the pooling restrictions on planning obligations in place since April 2015 the County Council will always aim to detail a specific school and/or project in the completed Section 106.

Northampton County Council (NCC) Fire Hydrants - New developments generate a requirement for additional fire hydrants in order for fires, should they occur, to be managed. It is assumed that the development will need 12 x fire hydrants to be installed.

A contribution of £10,704 is required (£892 per hydrant) to support the cost of installation the infrastructure. The hydrants should be installed at the same time as the rest of the water infrastructure and prior to any dwellings/commercial buildings being occupied.

Northampton County Council (NCC) Libraries – Where a new development will generate additional need and library space requirement, the County Council requires contributions towards the cost of providing new, extended and/or improved library facilities. The Council has developed a Library Strategy to 2021 which examines the improvements required across all library provision in the county to support the delivery and growth.

In order to adequately serve the growing population, improvements to the current library are planned which will enable more flexible spaces to be available to the public.

Local planning and library authorities are recommended to adopt a minimum tariff of £88 per person, based on BCIS building costs.

Northampton County Council (NCC) Lead Local Flood Authority – No objection subject conditions in relation to details of surface water drainage and the maintenance and upkeep of surface water drainage system.

Northampton County Council (NCC) Archaeology – The application area has been archaeologically evaluated by Cotswold Archaeology and the results as contained in the reports within the Environmental Statement identified areas of intensive Iron Age activity and also areas of ridge and furrow.

The planning Statement Section 6, paragraph 6.34 identifies that there are areas of archaeological activity that will be impacted on by the development and that further investigation will be needed. This should be dealt with by archaeological complex rather than ‘prior to construction of the relevant phase of development’ if the activity extends out from the phase.

The evaluation has identified that although the development contains some archaeological activity this is not significant to prevent development. The archaeological activity identified therefore does not represent an over-riding constraint on the development provided that adequate provision is made for the investigation and recording of any remains that are affected. This can be secured via appropriate conditions.

Northampton County Council (NCC) – Application B

Education – A development of this size is expected to generate approximately 525 Early Years, 525 Primary School pupils and 350 secondary and Sixth-form pupils based on an average dwelling mix and pupil generator multipliers.

The County Council will provide an update on the Early Years provision once the refreshed evidence base is available.

From a financial perspective, this development is expected to generate 2.5 forms of entry. As a new, fully fitted out 2fe Primary School cost 6.5m and 3 fe Primary school cost £8.5 million, the proportional contribution should be £7.5m.

A Primary Education contribution of £7,500,000 is required plus 3.11 ha of land will be required.

A contribution of £892 per hydrant to support the cost of installation the infrastructure. The hydrants should be installed at the same time as the rest of the water infrastructure and prior to any dwellings/commercial buildings being occupied.

The final location of the fire hydrants for this development must be agreed in consultation with the Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service Water Officer prior to installation.

Whilst the Fire Hydrant capital contribution can be secured through a planning obligation, it is also the preference of the county council that fire hydrants should be designed into the development at the masterplan stage and enforced through a planning condition.

In order to adequately serve the growing population, improvements to the current library are planned which will enable more flexible spaces to be available to the public.

Local planning and library authorities are recommended to adopt a minimum tariff of £88 per person, based on BCIS building costs.

The evaluation has identified that although the development contains some archaeological activity this is not such significance as to prevent development. The archaeological activity identified therefore does not represent an over-riding constraint on the development provided that adequate provision is made for the investigation and recording of any remains that are affected. This can be secured via appropriate conditions.

Wildlife Trust – No objection subject to a number of conditions in order to ensure that the development proceeds in accordance with Section 5 and 7 of the Ecological Impact Assessment prepared by Hankinson Duckett Associates. A condition requiring an Ecological Management Plan be submitted and a future Ecological Monitoring Programme be designed is also recommended.

Natural England – No objection subject to compliance with their Standing Advice.

Sports England – No objection but comment that the onsite sport pitch provision relates to a current standard and the council’s emerging playing pitch strategy should be used to check/guide the specific requirements that relate to this element of the whole development.

Northampton Borough Council – No objection subject to the following issues being addressed;

1. Ensure that sufficient provision is made to mitigate the impacts of the development on the existing highway network as is deemed appropriate and as early as feasible as part of the delivery of the development. 2. Appropriate provision is secured for sustainable transport measures throughout the site and to provide links to the surrounding area, including the provision of appropriate public transport provision, cycle and footpath links. 3. Affordable housing provision has a significant and direct impact on this Authority. 4. The primary school should be delivered in the first phase of development. 5. Condition requiring the submission of a Construction Environmental Management Plan, including vehicular routing. 6. Appropriate consideration is given to contamination and air quality impact arising from the proposed development. 7. Appropriate provision and contributions are made for education and healthcare requirements. 8. The site forms part of the Northampton Related Development Area. As such open space provision should be based on the standards by Northampton Borough Council as defined in the Council’s ‘Planning Obligations Strategy’ Supplementary Planning Document (February 2013). 9. Appropriate consideration and mitigation of flood risk and drainage matters to meets the requirements of the Environment Agency and the Lead Local Flood Authority. 10. Appropriate consideration be given to Green Initiatives as part of the development proposals in accordance with the requirements of Policies S10 and S11 of the West Northamptonshire Joint Core Strategy. 11. The provision of Green Infrastructure is delivered in accordance with the recommendations of the Northampton Green Infrastructure Plan.

NHS England – We have reviewed the three local practices which accept patients from the Harlestone/New Duston area and their patient list sizes, it is notable that the Long Buckby surgery is already at capacity when comparing the number of patients they have against the square meterage of the practice. It is evident that any future population growth will have an impact on this practice. If the practice were to find themselves significantly over capacity, it would have a knock-on impact for neighbouring practices that accepts patients from the same post codes.

The NHS have calculated the impact of the development (on the number of dwellings proposed, not taking into account any existing deficiencies) and have calculated a cost of £779.23 per dwelling.

Crime Prevention Design Advisor – Expect the developers to address the potential for crime and disorder which will arise as a result of this development under the reserved matters applications as they come forward for each parcel of land. In addition, the following issues have been raised;

1. This includes the development being designed to comply with Secured by Design. 2. With regards to land allocations, a common problem for both schools and local centres in residential environments is the provision of parking. Locating them in the same space surrounded by roads rather than bisected by roads would also help in terms of pedestrians and road safety. Whilst the reasoning behind the location for the sports pitches is understood as a soft edge of development treatment however there does seem to be a lot of pitches. 3. It is important for open spaces to be overlooked and not hidden away. It is also important that it is separated from the nearest dwellings by a well-used road to reduce noise nuisance caused by inappropriate use. 4. Affordable housing should be located in small clusters of between 8-12 tenure blind properties across the site. 5. Northamptonshire Police does not approve of the use of rear courtyard parking and these should be avoided. On plot, on street and the use of front courtyards is recommended. 6. The central hub comprising the school and local centre should be covered by monitored CCTV.

Environment Agency – No objection subject to the inclusion of a number of conditions.

Ramblers Association – The commitment to create a network of footways and footpaths across the site is welcomed, as is the intention to protect for future use the existing Public Right of Way (PROW) which runs between Roman Road and Port Road, together with the provision of an off-site connection to this.

An assurance is given that PROW CU27 will not be affected by the development and on this understanding, and also that on the understanding that safe access to and along this footway will be maintained during the construction period, confirm that the Ramblers have no objection to the application.

Anglian Water – No objection subject to the inclusion of a number of conditions relating to foul sewerage network and surface water disposal.

DDC Landscape Officer/Conservation Officer – (Community) –

The parish boundary running across the application site is defined by Dallington Brook. This is an important historic landscape feature and its associated waterside trees and woodland make a positive contribution to the character and appearance of the local area. The watercourse and the bypass on the eastern side could be used to create strong edges to contain the built up area of Northampton, perhaps with a much lower density of low-key development occurring on the northern side of the brook reflecting the rural character of the landscape to the north. The proposed layout of the SUE does allow for an element of open space provision on the rising land at the northern edge of this part of the site but the construction of the access road and bridge over the brook and the large-scale residential designations would not create any real distinction between this and the Northampton side of the brook.

Upper Harlestone and the parkland between the two settlements have now been included in the Harlestone conservation area (boundary amended July 2017).

Policy N4 of the JCS identifies the need to protect the villages of Harlestone in their countryside settings. A combination of the topography and the existing vegetation structure (hedgerows, tree belts and woodlands) within and surrounding the site provides a good level of enclosure and buffering. With careful retention/management of existing vegetation and reinforcement where appropriate the impact upon daytime views from Harlestone and across this landscape towards Northampton could be limited. We would encourage the implementation of a programme of advanced planting across the whole site, rather than carrying out piecemeal planting during or after each phase of construction, to maximise the effectiveness of landscape and visual mitigation.

Consideration should be given at an early stage to how much of the existing tree and woodland cover in the area surrounding the development site is under active forestry management (i.e. by the Althorp Estate) and what the risk of this being cleared or thinned in the foreseeable future is. How much reliance can be given to it as a visual buffer for the medium-long term? A subsequent conversation with the Althorp Estate confirmed that the parcels of generally pine woodland located on the north and north western boundary of the application site are under rolling forestry management programme. It was confirmed that the trees will eventually be felled and replanted which would have a significant visual impact while altering the views and immediate character of the immediate landscape. As previously noted the continued existence of the trees should not be relied upon as a visual backdrop or screen/mitigation for the proposed development and specific plant needs to be provided where necessary within the extent of the application site to provide mitigation.

To the north of the site located adjacent to Harlestone Road between Harlestone Heath Garden Centre and Dave Brickwood Way leading to Lower Harlestone is a working quarry. While there is some planting between the site and the application site, the Althorp Estate Office confirmed that there is a further parcel of planting to be provided by the quarry owners, consideration should be given to the issues associated with such a use. The Landscape Strategy Plan has identified that the existing hedgerow along the north western most boundaries nearest to the quarry should be reinforced with native tree belt planting which would provide visual mitigation in time, but physical distance would be the best mitigation for noise. In light of the location of the quarry and the likely forestry management work to Round Oak Plantation to the immediate north that when harvested would significantly alter the outlook further consideration given to the viability of extending as far north, specifically beyond Port Road. As previously noted it is important that planting beyond the site is not relied upon to provide visual mitigation and given the management information for the wood, planting within the site should be provided along the northern boundary, with sufficient set back of housing hence to reference to Port Road.

One concern is the potential for additional night-time impact. Currently the sky glow from Northampton exerts very little influence over the site and surrounding rural area (as the images in the ES show) but bringing the built up area nearer to the villages could have a much greater impact. The lighting assessment (appendix G5) concludes that viewpoints to the north of the site would experience an increase in the sky glow visible from Northampton. The specification and positioning of lighting is obviously a matter of detailed design, but consideration should be given at an early stage to the likely lighting demands of the illustrative masterplan, such as the siting of sports pitches on rising ground at the northern edge of the site and the specific requirements for external lighting associated with such uses. The possible requirements for street lighting moving further out of the current expansion of Northampton, in particular associated with roundabouts and junctions should also be considered in terms of spreading of light west toward Harlestone.

The 19th century buildings of Fleetland Farm and Heath Farm are recognised as non- designated heritage assets. A level 1 building recording has been carried out. Some modern barns at Fleetland Farm are intended to be removed but the other buildings will remain. Fleetland Farm appears to be the more interesting group from a heritage point of view. Heath Farm has been much altered and the current house is modern and of no special architectural interest.

The planning statement accompanying the applications describes all the buildings at Heath Farm and the historic buildings at Fleetlands Farm as being retained. The cultural heritage assessment describes Fleetland Farm as being used for community buildings, but both sets of buildings seem to be excluded from the red application boundaries. It seems that their future would not be secured by the proposed development. The agricultural context of these building groups will be lost as a result of the proposed development, which will cause some harm to the character and appearance of the local landscape. There may be an opportunity for the existing building complexes to inform the character of development in these areas rather than simply being engulfed by new housing and playing pitches.

The proposed masterplan makes some use of existing hedgerow and tree structure. Opportunities to retain existing landscape features and form should be maximised in order to ease the transition from the urban area of Northampton to the rural edges of Daventry district. The positioning of the proposed housing needs to take into account both the position and composition (species, size and scale) of the retained vegetation. Retained hedges should be associated with footpaths and roads in order that they can be realistically incorporated into the design, avoiding where possible retained hedges or trees forming the boundary between the rear gardens of two properties. Where houses are adjacent to trees a sufficient distance should be provided in order to avoid future conflict through concerns over lack of light, proximity to building, subsidence etc. In terms of proposed planting, the main structural tree planting should mainly be of native species given the location of the site on the edge town and a form of transition into the countryside beyond. The same points as noted for proximity of housing to existing trees holds for new planting in terms of sufficient distance to allow trees and vegetation to develop without the issue of future conflict. Much can also be achieved by planting appropriate species in terms of potential growth and ultimate size.

The cultural heritage assessment describes extant ridge and furrow earthworks in the northern part of the site around Fleetland Farm. This is recognised as a non-designated heritage asset. The proposal is to retain an area of green space around the farm, which relates to c.3.1ha of ridge and furrow. From the information provided with the cultural heritage assessment it does seem that this is a rather isolated and fragmentary survival of the medieval field system. The retention of a small section as open space is unlikely to better reveal or enhance its significance, but it does seem that its value has already been eroded by previous development and land use changes.

DCC Local Strategy Service

Planning Law requires that applications for planning permission must be determined in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. The development plan for Daventry District consists of the policies in the WNJCS and the remaining saved policies of the Daventry District Local Plan.

The application relates to a site which is allocated for housing in policy N4 of the WNJCS, therefore in principle the proposal is supported. Policy N4 sets out criteria which any application should meet, these are considered below:

a) In the region of 2,550 dwellings: The application relates to only part of the allocated site, and indicates on page 79 of the Design and Access Statement that development beyond the ‘red line’ boundary will be undertaken in later phases on land ‘controlled by others’.

From the limited amount of information available regarding the land controlled by others, it is not possible to assess whether or not the target of 2550 dwellings would be achievable on the allocation, however the average density across the application site is in accordance with H1.

b) A primary school: The masterplan makes provision for a three form entry primary school site, adjacent to the local centre. At paras 5.12 and 6.16 of the Planning Statement it is indicated that discussions are ongoing with the education authority about the detailed requirements for the school, and at 5.39 it is indicated that primary education is likely to be included in the heads of terms. NCC as education authority will advise further in this regard, but it is essential that appropriate arrangements are included in the s106 to ensure the requirement for a school is secured

Provided that appropriate provision is secured in the s106, this criterion would be complied with.

c) A local centre to include local retail facilities of an appropriate scale (including a small convenience store), health care services and community facilities: The masterplan makes provision for a local centre to the east of the site adjacent to Sandy Lane. This location is slightly further east than indicated in the Northampton West Strategic Development Framework. The impact of this is that some dwellings to the west of the allocation will be more distant from the local centre, but this has to be weighed against the benefits of locating adjacent to the SLRR and existing residents in Duston, attracting more passing and local custom (subject to what provision is made for pedestrian access) and, therefore, potentially making the centre more viable.

At paras 5.14 and 6.17 of the Planning Statement it is indicated that 1.71 ha of land is being made available for a mixed use local centre comprising A1-5 and D1 uses, as part of the first phase.

At 5.39 it is indicated that community facility provision and financial contributions towards healthcare provision is likely to be included in the heads of terms. No mention is made of securing provision for a local convenience store.

Further work will be required with the applicant to ensure that appropriate provision for the local centre is secured through the s106 as required by this criterion.

d) Necessary highway works to mitigate the impact of the development including a financial contribution to the north west bypass and the Kingsthorpe Corridor (A508). Paragraph 6.21 and appendix 1 of the planning statement indicate that financial contributions towards off–site highway improvements will be made. It is understood that the required improvements to the Kingsthorpe Corridor and the Cock Hotel Junction have already been implemented; therefore there would be no basis for further contributions to these schemes.

NCC as highway authority will advise further with regards requirements for highway improvements. Provided that appropriate provision is secured in the s106, this criterion would be complied with.

e) An integrated transport network focused on sustainable transport modes including public transport, walking and cycling with strong links to the adjoining neighbourhoods, employment areas and the town centre; The masterplan indicatively makes provision for footway and cycling networks, these will need to be developed further as the scheme moves to more detailed stages. The pedestrian crossing of Sandy Lane has potential benefits, but it appears that it is proposed to tie into the north south aligned cycleway/footway only, with no convenient connections into the residential area to the east.

The applicants transport assessment sets out indicative proposals for public transport. Based on discussions with stagecoach, the applicants assert that public transport could be provided to the early phases of development by extensions of existing services. They suggest the northern section could be served by an extension of the existing no 5 service without subsidy. The southern section would be served by an extension of the no.15 service via Berrywood Road. The assessment does not indicate if this would require subsidy or not. The location of the proposed drop off point would require passengers to cross busy roads, and it is not clear from the submission what would be done to aid crossing to ensure it is safe and attractive. Also the distances to some parts of the early phases would appear excessive. It appears further consideration of the public transport proposals in needed to ensure they are appropriate. Also nothing is included in the draft heads of terms to provide subsidy, if that were required, this will need to be full explored.

f) Structural greenspace and wildlife corridors as indicated on the policies map The masterplan provides for ‘proposed screen planting’ which broadly aligns with the ‘structural greenspace’ as identified in the Core Strategy to the north of Port Road. To the south of Port Road, the area identified as structural greenspace in the Core Strategy is identified on the masterplan as a combination of screen planting, natural and semi natural green space playing pitches and residential development. The Greenspace designation in the Core Strategy is indicative only, rather than prescriptive, however because of the significant variance from this in the submission careful analysis will be needed to ensure the objectives of the greenspace designation are met, noting that the design and access Statement recognises that this edge is visually sensitive (page 21) . Part of the greenspace designation is ridge and furrow – see below.

g) Archaeological and ecological assessment of the site and required mitigation The site contains some ridge and furrow to the south of Port Road. This can be considered a non-designated heritage asset. The County Council’s archaeological service will advise in this regard.

h) Sport and recreation provision The proposals make provision for 27.35 ha of public open space together with 9 ha of sports pitches.

Policy RC2 requires the provision of open space in accordance with the standards set out in open space/recreation studies. At the time the WNJCS was adopted the Council’s relevant study was the 2009 Open Space, Sport and Recreation Study. The requirement for different typologies of open space required by that study is set out on page 16 of the SPD. The Council is well advanced in reviewing that study, and the findings from the new study have been incorporated into the Emerging Draft Settlements and Countryside Local Plan – see pages 118-119.

It would appear that the proposal provides more open space than the standards would require, however there is only limited information in the application to assess the proposed level of provision against individual typologies, therefore, the applicant should be invited to make an assessment of the open space requirement for the application having regard to the above.

i) Flood risk management including surface water management and from all other sources The County Council as local lead flood authority will advise in this regard.

Necessary infrastructure is required to be phased alongside the delivery of the development

This is dealt with in the comments above and in the section dealing with the Infrastructure and Developers contribution SPD.

Development proposals must be accompanied by a masterplan.

The application includes a masterplan for the entire site, albeit a sizeable part of the allocation is outside of the applicant’s control. Nevertheless the applicant has sought to demonstrate how the application site could come forward without prejudicing the development of the residual land and without prejudicing the proper planning of the area. It is not clear from the documentation as to how much, if any, interaction there has been with the owners/controllers of the residual land. It would be helpful to make some inquiries in this regard.

Infrastructure and Developer Contributions SPD.

The Supplementary Planning Document on developer contributions sets out expected contributions. The application is assessed against the SPD below

Open Space

In accordance with the SPD a variety of open space typologies will need to be provided either by on site provision or by way of a financial contribution. See h) above

Swimming Pools

The Council has resolved to provide a swimming pool referred to as ‘Leisure Centre East’. (meeting of Council on 24th July). A specific site has yet to be established – this is the subject of current work.

The SPD notes that where the Council has a policy to deliver a swimming pool, as is the case, it will require contributions from developers.

The contribution identified in the SPD is £135.91 per person.

Indoor Sports Halls

The SPD notes that contributions will be required towards sports hall provision.

The contribution identified in the SPD is £252.71 per person.

Community Halls

The SPD notes that on sites over 1,000 houses provision for community halls on site is preferred. This is supported by policy N4 which refers to the provision of community facilities in the local centre.

Policy N4 of the Core Strategy identifies the need to provide a community facility on site. The SPD identifies that for developments of this scale onsite provision is the preferred option. A use of this type could be combined with other facilities on site, including provision for youth.

Indoor Youth Facilities.

The SPD notes that contributions will be required for indoor youth facilities. This could be secured through provision within the community building, or a financial contribution (£28.75 per person) to secure provision elsewhere.

Libraries

The SPD does not identify the need for library contributions from this allocation. Regard should also be had to any response from NCC.

Transport

The SPD requires the need for appropriate contributions towards transport – this will include appropriate contributions as per the Northampton Growth Management Scheme and any appropriate traffic management measures for affected villages. Regard should also be had to any response from NCC.

Schools The SPD requires provision for primary education. This is dealt with above.

Healthcare

Policy N4 of the Core Strategy identifies the need for health care facilities within the SUE. The approach of the health authorities to health facilities has changed since work on the WNJCS was undertaken, with a move towards larger centres. NHS England and the CCG will advise in this respect.

Emergency Services and Public Safety

This will be dependent on the response from Northamptonshire County Council.

Broadband

The position regarding broadband provision in this part of the town should be explored to identify the potential for broadband connection. It is assumed that the developer will in any case seek to secure this.

Town centres

The scheme lies closer to Northampton’s town centre than Daventry’s. The SPD identifies the potential for contributions to be made to Northampton town centre schemes if any such schemes are identified by the Borough Council. No requests for contributions have been received from the Borough.

Construction Training

The SPD identifies that contributions will be sought on all schemes over the threshold. Given the proximity of this scheme to Moulton college it appears an ideal candidate to pursue a scheme through construction futures or similar, and provision is made in the draft heads of terms.

Biodiversity

The SPD identifies the need for appropriate mitigation of any impacts on biodiversity.

Neighbourhood Impacts The SPD identifies the need for appropriate mitigation of any impacts on neighbourhoods. In this regard the impact, particular of traffic on the nearby settlement of Harlestone is particularly relevant.

Management

The Adoption of Assets policy makes it clear that the District Council will not ordinarily take on new areas of open space. Maintenance will normally be undertaken by a management company or the parish council.

Monitoring

Arrangements will need to be put in place to monitor the s106.

Affordable Housing

Policy H2 sets out that all new housing developments in the Northampton Related Development Area, of 15 or more dwellings are required to include 35% affordable housing.

The Council’s Housing SPD also stipulates that the tenure mix of the affordable dwellings should be 70% affordable rent and 30% shared ownership or intermediate housing.

The affordable housing should be secured through a section 106 agreement. Details for the terms of the agreement should be in accordance with the Housing SPD.

Delivery

The housing trajectory in the WNJCS Housing Technical Paper (December 2013) identifies that completions are expected to start in the year 2019/20 (50 units), and then continue at a rate of 125 units per annum for the following two years and then at 100 per annum.

The applicant’s Design and Access Statement sets out that phase 1 will be the central part of the site, consisting of 600 dwellings, followed by phase two to the south and north west. Phase 3 will be to the south west and north.

The planning statement indicates that construction would start approximately 12 months after the grant of outline planning permission, and take approximately 18 years. The housing Technical Paper produced for the Core Strategy envisaged the entire allocation being built out over an 11 year period. The applicant’s suggested rate should be explored to establish, what, if anything can be done to increase the rate of delivery to more closely align it with what the Core Strategy envisaged.

DDC (Environmental Health – Community) – No object subject to a number of condition relating to noise, construction, contamination and air quality.

Harlestone Parish Council – Harlestone Parish Council recognise that the principle of development in the broad manner set out in the application is considered acceptable as it is a long standing allocation. However, whilst acknowledging this, the Parish Council has a number of concerns regarding the details of these applications and accordingly objects to the proposals in the current form and would wish to seek a number of mitigation measures to address these concerns;

Transport –

1. Raise concerns regarding the overall impact of the development on the strategic road network. It is noted that the applicants are undertaking to make contributions towards the delivery of the Kingsthorpe corridor and the north-west bypass however there remains serious questions regarding the eventual delivery of the bypass both regards to timing and funding. The Parish Council therefore consider that in the absence of the delivery of fundamental infrastructure such as this then both the District and County Councils are not in a position to approve an application which relies so much upon this infrastructure to mitigate its impact on the local highway network. 2. The Parish Council also note that the Transport Assessment (TA) is silent on the impact of the development on the local and wider road network in the event of a closure of the M1. 3. Express concern with the opening of Port Road and the impact this will have upon the setting of the area. The impact will be to increase traffic flows through the villages particularly at peak times. The TA predicts an additional 100 peak time movements utilising Port Road which is considered wholly inappropriate. Port Road was simply not designed to be used by significant amount of traffic. 4. Allowing potentially significant amount of traffics to pass through the villages will be as detrimental and irreversibly damaging as any building would be. The Parish Council acknowledge that the TA indicates some form of management will be put in place however it is considered that despite any traffic calming measures that may be put in place the fact is that if motorists are able to use the road, they will. 5. The Parish Council object to the delivery of housing on this site until the appropriate wider strategic highway works has been delivered. 6. The use of roads through the villages for construction traffic or for diversions is wholly unacceptable. The Parish Council wish to be party to these discussions.

Masterplanning

1. Welcome the location of the school and community facilities to a more central location than shown in previous iterations of the masterplan. 2. Feel it is important that the pallet of materials used on site reflects the local vernacular. 3. Important that the design looks towards the villages and delivers a semi-rural feel and quality as opposed to an urban edge. 4. Note that the proposal seeks to concentrate the majority of the proposed affordable housing on the edge of the development. There is concern that in doing this the occupants of the affordable housing are somewhat isolated. Suggest that the affordable units are pepper-potted throughout the development.

Open Space

1. A total of 10 sports pitches are stretched along the northern boundary of the site. The Parish Council welcomes the delivery of open space but feels that the provision appears to be highly excessive. 2. What arrangements are in place for the operation of these playing fields e.g. changing rooms, car parks etc. 3. Important that the northern boundary is carefully landscaped. 4. Important for a variety of open space to be provided. The sports pitches appear uniformed football pitches, will there be provision for other sports uses. Less formal open space is required, natural play, walking trails etc.

Infrastructure

1. Proposed community centre – what form will this take. How will this complement the existing village hall in the village? Request that the internal space is adaptable and flexible in providing the opportunity to create larger spaces for functions and smaller spaces for informal meetings. 2. Parish Council would seek to be responsible for the management of the open space. 3. Application is unclear on the delivery of a GP’s surgery 4. The developer should provide sufficient utilities infrastructure at the construction phase e.g. power supplies and cabling to serve the delivery of CCTV, ANPR cameras, high speed broadband. 5. Concern that the delivery of a new primary school could draw pupils from the village and surrounding area thereby impacting adversely on pupil numbers at the school.

Duston Parish Council – The primary concern is the significant increase in highway traffic that will inevitably result from the development. Duston has many through roads but these are residential streets which means that to access retail and leisure facilities from the new development by car, in both Northampton and the Sixfields district, it is necessary to drive through many Duston neighbourhoods.

Have serious concerns that heavier traffic in residential areas presents a safety risk to pedestrians and human health with higher levels of pollution. This is why the delivery of the North West Relief Road and the completion of the Sandy Lane Relief Road is crucial and must be completed in the near future. This will ensure that access to these developments does not principally come through Duston.

Request that the road network is able to accommodate public transport and accompanying bus stops. Also requests that the proposed amenities, as set out in the application, have commenced prior to the first phase of development

Neighbours

This application has been publicised by way of site notices displayed near the site, by advertisement in the local newspaper, and a letter sent to all properties immediately adjoining the application site that the Council has been able to identify from its records.

A total of 7 representations have been received objecting to the proposal on the following grounds;

a) Our concerns are based largely on the perceived lack of consideration to preserving the unique nature of Upper Harlestone and protecting the village from the very real threat of increased traffic from this development. b) Allowing access from the new developments onto Port Road in the direction of Upper Harlestone will dramatically increase the number of vehicles passing through the village. This will have a detrimental effect on the conservation area. c) We believe it right and proper that DDC should ensure that the development in this case should be made to re-visit its proposals and ensure ‘increased traffic flow will not harm the fabric, character or setting of the conservation area’ as per the recommendations in the conservation report. d) Concerned about impact upon the surrounding villages. The traffic on Port Road is increasing year on year and with the proposed development providing further access to the road it can only get worse. With over 2,000 houses being built on our doorstep the road through the village will become a rat run, while Port Road is barely wide enough for two vehicles to pass as it is and the increase in traffic will only result in more accidents. e) When you take into account the housing developments at Buckton Field, Dallington Grange and St Crispins, the increase in traffic through the Brampton’s and the Harlestone will become completely intolerable as the existing roads will be unable to cope. None of these developments should be allowed before the Northern Relief Road is completed and other infrastructure is provided, namely hospital beds, doctor surgeries and school places. f) Do not feel that the area can absorb more houses and subsequently traffic, the infrastructure is just not there. The shopping centre at Sixfields is overloaded now on a weekend so I feel more housing on top of what is planned is out of the question. g) The fantastic landscape will be spoiled forever and it is not acceptable when other areas have not been completed such as St Crispins. h) The area is currently used by ramblers. i) Need to consider the impact upon local residents for example the new road (to link from Upton to Kingsthorpe) is still incomplete, there are insufficient teachers to work in the local schools and we already have insufficient doctors to work in GP practices so why build more houses until the infrastructures are in place to accommodate all of the new residents. j) Residents of Harlestone wish to preserve its unique rural identity and in particular stop the influx of traffic through the narrow lanes of the village. This must be thoroughly thought through now as this early stage. We already have rat runs through the village morning and evening which is largely one way traffic. The new development will change this into two way traffic causing an impossible situation for our narrow lanes which are a feature of our rural and historic village. k) The report mentions improving health outcomes and quality of life with walking and cycling links to adjoining neighbourhoods. It seems to this provides a perfect opportunity to restrict access from the SUE along Port Road west towards Harlestone to walking, cycling and farm traffic only. This is what most residents of Upper Harlestone have been requesting for many years.

Consultation responses on both applications - Second consultation exercise – 29th November 2018 – Addendum to the Traffic Assessment, updated Written Scheme of Investigation and revised Illustrative Masterplan

Submission of additional information and amendments

Additional information (second phase of consultation) was submitted on 29th November 2018 by the applicants.

The Updated Traffic Assessment – Addendum include;

 Updated baseline junction capacity models for several off-site locations requested by NCC in its initial consultation response;  Reconfirmed the agreed methodology adopted in respect of trip generation, trip internalisation and development trip distribution and assignment parameters;  Presentation of various outputs from the NSTM2 analysis conducted by NCC’s consultants WSP;  Detailed two adjustments to the development traffic flows outputted from NSTM2, which were requested by NCC;  Presentation of revised junction capacity assessments for three 2031 future year test scenarios;  Suggested off-site highway mitigation package.

The purpose of the Addendum Technical Note was to draw together the various assessments and the full package of off-site highways mitigation that has been produced following a meeting held with NCC in June 2018.

Ramblers Association – The previous comments made are still relevant. No additional comments to make.

Northampton County Council (NCC) - Local Highway Authority – Discussions have been ongoing between the applicant’s highway consultant and the LHA following the submission of the updated TA. Subject to all of the LHA’s requirements and obligations being secured by the LPA, the LHA does not object to the either of the applications.

These conditions and obligations are outlined in detail towards the end of this report. In brief, the conditions and obligations relate to the following;

 Implementation of 3 new access junctions by an agreed time;  Widening of Port Road and Roman Road for bus service and service vehicles;  Realignment of Port Road to discourage traffic continuing on to Harlestone;  Grampian style condition to restrict the number of dwellings that can be delivered prior to the completion of the SLRR to 430 units;  Provision of shared footway/cycleway on Roman Road to link into existing facilities on Berrywood Road;  Provision of a shared footway/cycleway on southern side of Port Road to existing bridge;  Provision of a share footway/cycleway on spine road for the development;  Provision of a number of off-site highway junction improvements with specified trigger points;  Submission and approval of a Construction Traffic Management Plan (CTMP);  Conditions to control the construction and maintenance of any non-adopted/private streets.

Neighbours

The amendments have been publicised by way of site notices displayed near the site, by advertisement in the local newspaper, and a letter sent to all properties immediately adjoining the application site that the Council has been able to identify from its records.

3 representations have been received. Two of the representations object to the proposal on the following grounds;

a) Currently when commuting along New Sandy Lane and Sandy Lane at peak times there is significant congestion, in addition during the night there are numerous HGV movements to and from the Lodge Farm Industrial Estate. Looking at the proposed relief road and adjustments to New Sandy Lane, l believes the additional roundabouts will contribute to increased pollution, both noise and exhaust fumes. The existing infrastructure in and around Northampton is inadequate to serve the industrial estates around the time and therefore increasing the number of dwellings adjacent to a primary road around the town is not currently sustainable. Improvements to road infrastructure in the area are long overdue, however it is not clear from the application what standard the roads will be constructed to and therefore I am not convinced that the roads which are proposed are suitable for HGV traffic that will probably use them. b) Concern that residents of St Giles/New Duston have not been notified of the application. c) Whilst any attempt to mitigate the effect of traffic movements is welcomed and dissuade vehicles from travelling towards Upper Harlestone, consider the new ‘link in the road’ will be insufficient to achieve this. There appears to be an assumption that nearly all traffic will head towards the existing urban area and main roads but it is human nature to travel the line of least resistance and vehicles struggling to exit the development via Port Road on to New Sandy Lane or Harlestone Road in particular, would naturally chose a route which could achieve the same aim without excessive queuing at junctions. d) Upper and Lower Harlestone have conservation areas due to their many listed buildings. The Harlestone Conservation Area Action and Management Plan (Section 10.2) specifically state ‘increases in traffic could negatively affect the peaceful rural atmosphere of the conservation area as well as placing the fabric of historic buildings at risk’. Significant increases in traffic will utterly alter the nature of the villages. Therefore would urge consideration for better access routes directly on to New Sandy lane, possibility by way of dedicated slip roads. Additionally measures to curb the use of Port Road towards Upper and Lower Harlestone. e) Note the area of land earmarked for football pitches lies to side of the site nearest to Upper Harlestone. It needs to be categorically stated that these pitches will not be floodlit. Any floodlighting would cause additional light pollution, as well as additional noise and traffic movements to and from the pitches over extended hours. Also consider the amount of sports pitches to be excessive.

One representation raises the following comments

i) Despite being described as a sustainable urban extension, it is clear that the residents of a development of this size, on the edge of Northampton, will be car dependent. It is therefore essential that the Sandy Lane diversion is complete prior to adding 1000’s of additional car journeys to the local network. Developments of this size must be linked to the delivery of the Sandy Lane Relief Road. ii) Plans show the Sandy Lane Relief Road as a street with housing and even a school facing the proposed road. This is not acceptable as the road would in effect be slower with more obstacles than the existing Sandy Lane. iii) Concerned about the increase in traffic through Harold who wish to gain access to and from the motorway. Congestion on the existing Sandy Lane and the failure to deliver the relief road appropriate or at all could result in the village being used as a rat run to and from the motorway. iv) Concerns about the proposed roundabout on the Roman/No bottle Road. The roundabout seems to encourage traffic into the village. It appears to sit opposite the existing junction into Harold; this would actively encourage traffic to take the route through the village. Access to the proposed estate should be primarily off the ring road with the traffic circulating through the proposed estate. v) Note that the illustrative masterplan doesn’t show the Harold junction off the Bootle Road connecting to the roundabout, however, the existing junction seems to be located too close to the proposed roundabout. The intensions for this junction are unclear.

Planning Policies & Guidance

Planning law requires that applications for planning permission must be determined in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

West Northamptonshire Joint Core Strategy

Policy SA Presumption in favour of Sustainable Development

Policy S1 the Distribution of Development

Policy S3 Scale and Distribution of Housing Development

Policy S4 Northampton Related Development Area

Policy S5 Sustainable Urban Extensions

Policy S6 Monitoring and Review

Policy S7 Provision of Jobs

Policy S8 Distribution of Jobs

Policy S10 Sustainable Development Principles

Policy S11 Low Carbon and Renewable Energy

Policy H1 Housing Density and Mix and Type of Dwellings

Policy H2 Affordable Housing

Policy H4 Sustainable Housing

Policy BN1 Green Infrastructure Connections

Policy BN2 Biodiversity

Policy BN3 Woodland Enhancement and Creation

Policy BN4 Upper Nene Valley Gravel Pits Special Protection Area

Policy BN5 the Historic Environment and Landscape

Policy BN7a Water Supply, Quality and Wastewater Infrastructure

Policy BN7 Flood Risk

Policy BN9 Planning for Pollution Control

Policy INF1 Approach to Infrastructure Delivery

Policy INF2 Contributions to Infrastructure Requirements

Policy N4 Northampton West Sustainable Urban Extension

Policy C1 Changing Behaviour and Achieving Modal Shift

Policy C2 New Developments Policy C3 Strategic Connections

Policy C5 Enhancing Local and Neighbourhood Connections

Daventry District Local Plan (Saved Policies)

Policy GN1 Criteria for Location of Development

Policy GN2 General Criteria for Development

Policy EN25 Landscaping and Protection/Incorporation of Existing Landscape Features

Policy EN42 Design of Development

Policy HS24 Housing in Open Countryside

Policy RC1 Provision of Open Space in New Development

Settlements and Countryside Local Plan (Emerging Draft)

Policy HO8 Housing Mix and Type

Policy ST1 Sustainable Transport Infrastructure

Policy EN1 Landscape

Policy ENV3 Green Wedge

Policy ENV4 Green Infrastructure

Policy ENV5 Biodiversity

Policy ENV7 Historic Environment

Policy ENV9 Renewable Energy and Low Carbon Development

Policy ENV10 Design

Policy ENV11 Local Flood Risk Management

Policy CW1 Health and Wellbeing

Policy CW2 Open Space Requirements

Other Material Planning Considerations

National Planning Policy Framework (July 2018)

Para. 8, 9, 10, Sustainable Development 11, 12

Para. 47 Approve proposal that accord with the development plan without delay

Chapter 5 Delivering a Sufficient Supply of Homes

Chapter 9 Promoting Sustainable Transport

Chapter 11 Making Effective Use of Land

Chapter 12 Achieving Well-Designed Places

Chapter 15 Conserving and Enhancing the Natural Environment

Chapter 16 Conserving and Enhancing the Historic Environment

Nortoft Study: Planning for the Future of Open Space, Sport and Recreation in West Northamptonshire

Sport England – Guidance Note, Village and Community Halls

Relevant Planning History

None relevant

Observations

Application site

The site is located on the western edge of Northampton, approximately 6km west of the town centre. Application A site is approximately 83ha in area, application B is approximately 30ha in area and located within the central eastern part of the main application site. The site straddles the administrative boundary of Daventry District Council and South Northamptonshire District Council.

The site is bounded to the east by New Sandy Lane and the urban edge of Northampton, to the south by Roman Road and beyond this agricultural land, to the west and north west is currently agricultural land (land to the west is part of the wide Northampton West allocation) and to the north is Round Oak Plantation and restored part of Harlestone Quarry inert landfill.

The site consists predominately large arable fields contained by hedgerows, fence lines and trees and includes smaller pockets of woodland and scrub. Dallington Brook flows from west to east through the centre of the site and is characterised by a corridor of vegetation. Bottomclose Spinney occupies 0.45ha of woodland immediately to the north of Dallington Brook. There is also a small area of unnamed woodland located near the south of the site to the west of the access road to Heath Farm.

Two small farm estates are located within the development area; Fleetlands Farm in the north within Daventry and Heath Farm in the south with in South Northamptonshire, although the majority of farm buildings are not included in the applications. The site is bisected by Port Road in the north, which leads to Harlestone.

To the east of the application site is New Sandy Lane, a single carriageway relief road connecting Harlestone Road at the north to Roman Road at the south.

Beyond New Sandy Lane is a surface water balancing pond that receives run off from New Sandy Lane and to the east of the site boundary at the north eastern corner, is New Duston which forms the urban edge of Northampton and comprises streets of late 20th Century two storey housing. There is a landscape buffer, cycleway and footpath between the western edge of the residential area and New Sandy Lane, meaning that apart from Fleetlands Farm and Heath Farm, the closest existing housing is over 60m from the site.

To the south of the site is Roman Road, a single carriageway road that connects Northampton with Nobottle to the west. Roman Road meets New Sandy Lane at a double mini roundabout south east of the site. Beyond Roman Road to the south, the land remains relatively flat before rising up to a ridgeline south of which the land slopes back down to the village of Harpole.

To the west and north west of the site are agricultural fields, with the land rising to a ridge, before dropping down to Upper Harlestone and Harlestone. To the west, south of Dallington Brook, is a Public Right of Way (PROW) (CU11 and KP1) bridleway which connects Upper Harlestone and Roman Road. A footpath also boarders the north boundary of the site (CU27) which also links to Upper Harlestone.

The site is visually contained and screened from the villages of Harpole, Upper Harlestone and Harlestone by the existing topography and areas of woodland and sits within a ‘bowl’ of land.

The site comprises a significant proportion of the Policy N4 allocation for the Northampton West Sustainable Urban Extension (SUE) contained in the West Northamptonshire Joint Core Strategy.

Description of development

The application was submitted to Daventry District Council on 13th September 2017. The application seeks outline planning permission for a Sustainable Urban Extension (SUE). Detailed proposal are include for considered at this time as regards the means of access to the development. The remaining matters of scale, appearance, layout and landscaping are reserved for later approval.

An illustrative Masterplan supports both Application A and Application B in accordance with WNJCS Policy N4.

These applications seek outline planning permission for residential-led developments of up to 1,750 and 600 dwellings. As a point of clarity the 600 dwellings would form Phase 1 of the total of 1,750 dwellings that would be provided across the larger site area and NOT in addition to the 1,750.

The breakdown of the proposal is as follows;

Application A – DA/2017/0889

 Up to 1,750 residential units at average densities of 30-35 dph (up to 2.5 storeys), 35-40dph (up to 3 storeys) and 35-40 dph (up to 3 storeys) as defined on the Land Use and Density Parameter Plan including building heights (47.71ha)  Mixed use local centre (A1-A5, D1 uses) (1.71ha)  One 3 form of entry primary school (3.1ha)  New primary points of access (unreserved) from New Sandy Lane, Roman Road and Port Road  Indicative internal primary road alignment which will have a width of 6.2m  New footpath and cycle infrastructure  Retained and new Green Infrastructure as defined on the Green Infrastructure Parameter Plan, comprising 27.35ha of Natural and semi natural public open space amenity green space  Outdoor sports facilities  New drainage infrastructure and Sustainable Drainage System (SuDS)  New primary electricity sub-station  Ancillary infrastructure

Application B – DA/2017/0890

 Up to 600 residential units at average densities of 30-35 dph (up to 2.5 storeys), 35- 40dph (up to 3 storeys) and 35-40 dph (up to 3 storeys) as defined on the Land Use and Density Parameter Plan including building heights (14ha)  Mixed use local centre (A1-A5, D1 uses) (1.71ha)  One 3 form of entry primary school (3.1ha)  New primary points of access (unreserved) from New Sandy Lane, Roman Road and Port Road  Indicative internal primary road alignment which will have a width of 6.2m  New footpath and cycle infrastructure  Retained and new Green Infrastructure as defined on the Green Infrastructure Parameter Plan, comprising 12.6ha of Natural and semi natural public open space amenity green space  Outdoor sports facilities  New drainage infrastructure and Sustainable Drainage System (SuDS)  New primary electricity sub-station  Ancillary infrastructure

These are joint application which are also being dealt with by South Northamptonshire District Council.

The application has been separated into two separate applications due to contractual obligations with the land owner. This was not a request of the LPA.

The application has been subject to a scoping opinion under the Town and Country Planning Act (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2011 (as amended). The application is classed as a Schedule 2, EIA Development and as such an EIA has been carried out and submitted as part of the application. This assesses the likely significant impacts of the proposed development during construction and operation of the development and proposes mitigation measures where required.

The Indicative Masterplan shows the scheme in detail, by identifying various roads and residential development blocks throughout the site and more detailed arrangements for the local centre, primary school, open space areas and water attenuation features.

Technical documents submitted with the application

Indicative Masterplan A key component of this outline application is the indicative masterplan which illustrates how the different components of the development would fit together.

The masterplan is supported by other parameters plans which include:

 Proposed land use and density  Green infrastructure  Plan of buildings to be demolished  Illustrative phasing plan  Landscape strategy  Surface water drainage strategy

Design and Access Statement sets out the design rationale and principles to realise the development vision. The document explains the vision for the site, identifies design considerations and illustrates the place-making principles that have influenced the form and content of the proposals. It also explains the Council’s aspirations, as set out in planning policy, which has guided the formulation and development of the masterplan and access strategy.

Planning Statement set outs the policy background which has led to the development of the masterplan. Sections set out the development framework, the scope of the Environmental Statement and planning assessment.

Statement of Community Involvement sets out details of the pre-application discussions with various bodies, the key steps were:-

 Significant pre-application discussions with officers at DDC and SNDC and other key consultees relevant to the future determination of the application.  Pre-application meetings Parish Councils and subsequently reported to the Parish Councils via newsletters and minutes of Council meetings.  The public have been consulted on the principal of development of this site through the numerous consultations and the Examination in Public of the West Northamptonshire Joint Core Strategy which allocates the site as an SUE.

Environmental Statement considers the likely significant environmental impact arising from the development. The statement includes chapters on;

 Transport and Accessibility Assessment  Noise Impact Assessment  Air Quality Assessment  Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment and Landscape Strategy  Ecological Impact Assessment and detailed site surveys  Cultural Heritage Assessment including detailed Archaeological Investigations Report  Flood Risk Assessment including Surface Water Drainage Strategy  Ground Conditions

A Non-technical summary of the Environmental Statement has also been submitted.

Transport and Accessibility – examines the environmental effects of vehicle traffic that will be generated by the proposed development. The development proposals will generate traffic flows that could have potential impacts on the road network and surrounding the site. The overall impacts of the wider masterplan proposals upon the identified receptors are largely consistent with the occupation phase assessment in terms of negligible and minor adverse impacts. The mitigation measures proposed to support the application sites will also benefit the wider masterplan proposals in terms of the potential for reducing the significance of effects at junctions and links in the vicinity of the site.

Noise - considers the potential noise impacts of changes in traffic flows on the local road network; construction activity and fixed plant items on existing residences. In short term and long term, a negligible significance is assessment at worst to nearby dwelling. Road traffic will be migrated as an inherent part of the layout and design of the proposed development to ensure that a suitable noise environment is provided for future occupiers.

Air Quality - considers that the site is acceptable for residential use and that air quality does not provide any constraints to the proposed development and concentrations of nitrogen dioxide are predicted to be below the objectives or limit values at all existing and proposed receptors. It concludes that pollutants from road traffic emissions do not provide constraints being below the objectives at all receptors.

Landscape and Visual – the site lies within a ‘bowl’, surrounded by local ridges of higher ground. The ridges form the wider setting to the town and contain the settlement, physically and visually separating it from the surrounding rural villages of Harlestone, Nobottle and Harpole. A number of sensitive receptors have been identified. Inherent mitigation measures for the proposed development have focussed on avoiding development on the visually sensitive high ground within the site and designing the development in order to retain many key landscape features. 10 years post completion, the character of the new development would be determined and the development would have become the new settlement edge to Duston. The structural landscaping within the site would have established sufficiently to mitigate many of the landscape and visual effects experiences at construction and there would be no residual substantial adverse landscape or visual effects within or surrounding the site.

Biodiversity – the design and layout for the proposal as set out in the parameter plans have been arrived at through an iterative process, with the findings of ecological surveys providing informed advice on avoidance and reduction of ecological effects and inclusions of opportunities for ecological enhancement over successive design iterations.

Cultural Heritage – the assessment has identified no significant adverse effects (during construction or occupational phase) upon the cultural heritage resource that cannot be appropriately mitigated, subject to the implementation of actionable mitigation measures to be agreed. The setting of heritage assets has been assessed in accordance with current Historic England guidelines. The proposed development is not considered to alter the important elements of the setting of nearby designated heritage assets, and the significance of these assets will remain unharmed.

Flooding and Drainage – the site generally has a low flood risk of flooding from all sources. A relatively small flood extent is located in close proximity to Dallington Brook on the site. These areas are to be designated as open space and therefore do not pose a flood risk to properties. It is noted that construction activities and the completed development have the potential to impact upon the surface water drainage regime and contaminate surface water. However, it is concluded that, following the implementation of inherent and standard mitigation measures, the residual impacts associated with the demolition/construction and operational phases are not significant.

Ground Contamination – the site has been subject to a detailed desk study and an extensive initial phase of intrusive investigations, soil and groundwater testing and ground gas monitoring. Further sampling, testing and monitoring will be required at specific target locations such as the farms, former landfill areas, former allotments and the sheep-dip location in order to determine detailed mitigation measures such as remediation, provision of capping or enhanced gas protection.

Socio-economic – the total population when the development is complete will be around 4,600 residents which will generate additional demand on local community infrastructure, however, these will mostly be accommodated on site through school provision, open space and community facilities secured through planning obligation. Planning obligations will also secure the financial contributions for facilities requiring funding but not being provided on site. The proposed Northampton West and Phase 1 developments will therefore have negligible effects on community infrastructure within the NRDA.

Appraisal

The main considerations in the determination of this application are:-

 Environmental Statement  The principle of the development  Highways and access  Affordable Housing  Education  Health Care  Urban Design Principles  Ecology  Trees, Landscape and Visual Impact  Cultural Heritage and Archaeology  Open Space and Recreation  Local Centre  Air quality  Noise  Drainage and Flood Risk  Land contamination  Sustainability  Phasing  Socio-Economic Impact  Infrastructure and Developer Contributions  Planning Balance and Conclusions

ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENT

The application is accompanied by an Environmental Statement (ES). The ES covers the application site and contains information describing the proposal, aspects of the environmental likely to be significantly affected by the development and measures to prevent or mitigate any identified impacts.

The applicants submitted an application for a Scoping Opinion prior to submitting the current application. The ES accompanying the application covers the areas identified in the scoping report. The areas covered are; transport and accessibility, noise, air quality, landscape and visual, biodiversity, cultural heritage, flooding and drainage, ground conditions, socio- economic and mitigation.

The ES for each chapter considers the impacts and the significance as well as the cumulative effects. It is not possible within this report to set out all of the impacts identified, but below is a summary of the areas covered. The full report, technical notes and non- technical summary can be view via the Council’s website.

Transport and Accessibility – The overall impacts of the wider masterplan development proposal upon the identified receptors are largely consistent with the occupation phase assessment in terms of negligible and minor adverse effects. There are limited locations with an effect greater than the occupation phase. The mitigation measures proposed to support the application site will also benefit the wider masterplan proposals in terms of the potential for reducing the significance of effects at junctions and links in the vicinity of the site.

Noise – The ES concludes that the construction and operational impacts of the development would be negligible/minor and therefore not significant. More detailed mitigation in the form of layout/glazing etc. can be secured at reserved matters stage.

Air Quality – The impacts of local traffic on the air quality for residents living in the proposed development have been shown to be acceptable at the worst-case locations assessed, with concentrations being well below the air quality objectives.

The overall operational air quality effects of the development are judged to be ‘not significant’ i.e. negligible. This conclusion, which takes account of the uncertainties in future projections, in particular for nitrogen dioxide, is based on the concentrations being below the objective at all receptors.

Landscape and Visual – The site is located within the Northampton West SUE, which has been allocated for housing development. The position of the site within a bowl created by local landform and immediately adjacent to the existing urban edge, results in a housing development that is closely related to the existing settlement of Northampton and is both physically and visually separated from the wider landscape. This, in combination with the mitigation measures proposed within the Green Infrastructure and Landscape Strategy plans, would result in a sustainable housing development with no significant long term effects on landscape or visual receptors.

Biodiversity – The design and layout for the proposed Application A and B developments as set out in the development parameter plans has been arrived at through an iterative process, with the findings of ecological surveys providing informed advice on avoidance and reduction of ecological effects and inclusion of opportunities for ecological enhancements over successive design iterations. Where additional measures have been required to safeguard the ecological value of the site, these have been identified resulting in negligible residual ecological impacts, for proposed developments, the wider masterplan and the cumulative effects with other committed development.

Cultural Heritage – The assessment identified no significant adverse effect (during either construction or occupational phases) upon the cultural heritage resource that cannot be appropriately mitigated, subject to the implementation of actionable mitigation measures agreed with the heritage advisors to the Local Planning Authorities.

Flooding and Drainage – It is noted that construction activities and the completed development have the potential to impact upon the surface water regime and contaminate surface water. However, it is concluded that, following the implementation of inherent and standard mitigation measures, the residual impacts associated with the demolition/construction and operational phases are not significant. On this basis, there is no requirement for additional mitigation measures over and above those inherent to the project.

Ground conditions – The site has been subject to a detailed desk study and an extensive initial phase of intrusive investigations, soil and groundwater testing and ground gas monitoring. No potential geotechnical impacts have been identified that should not be mitigated by standard measures as will be described in the Construction Environment Management Plan. From the investigations to date there would appear to be no serious impediment to the development from a geotechnical or geo-environmental perspective and no requirement for inherent mitigation measures; most potential impacts will be mitigated by standard measures and practices and the few actionable mitigation measures are no unusual or special – they are of a nature that is commonly undertaken on many sites in the region. With mitigation measures implemented, all effects of the proposed development will be negligible.

Socio-economic – The total population when the development is complete will be around 4,600 residents (1,380 in Phase 1) which will generate additional demand on local community infrastructure, however, these will mostly be accommodated on site through school provision, open space and community facilities secure through planning obligations. The proposed Northampton West and Phase 1 developments will therefore have negligible effects on community infrastructure within the NRDA.

All new development has some impact on the environment. The ES has not identified any significant, long term major adverse impacts. Where impacts have been highlighted, mitigation measures have been proposed. These mitigation measures would be secured through planning conditions, should the application be approved. The ES is therefore considered to contain ‘adequate information’ to enable the determination of the application.

PRINCIPLE OF DEVELOPMENT

Planning Law requires that applications for planning permission must be determined in accordance with the development plan to the extent that development plan policies are material to the application unless material considerations indicate otherwise. The development plan for Daventry District consists of the policies within the WNJCS and the remaining saved policies of the local plan.

The Development Plan comprises the adopted West Northamptonshire Joint Core Strategy (JCS) and the ‘saved’ policies of the adopted Daventry District Local Plan (DDLP). Section 38(6) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 requires that planning applications are determined in accordance with the development plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

Daventry District Local Plan June 1997

By and large the saved policies of the Local Plan are not an especially helpful guide to the approach that ought to be taken towards determining the issues of principle that arise from this substantial application. Specifically, whilst policies indicate that the development of large numbers of houses and other urban development in the countryside ought to be resisted (the application site being within countryside) it is plain that in the consideration of the SUE little weight can be given to these policies; the ‘in principle’ restriction on development that it imposes is effectively displaced by Core Strategy Policy N4.

The preparation of the Joint Core Strategy took account of these saved policies in determining the most sustainable locations for development related to the growth of Northampton. When the JCS was adopted, the allocation superseded the provisions of the saved policies (insofar as they relate to areas covered by the allocation) because it is a more recently adopted plan, so although, technically, the saved policies remain in place, the designations insofar as they relate to the area of the proposed allocation will have little weight, given that they have been superseded by more recent policies.

West Northamptonshire Joint Core Strategy (Part 1) December 2014

The WNJCS sets out the scale of development to be accommodated in Northampton in the plan period up to 2029. The JCS sets out the spatial strategy whereby the majority of development within this District will take place within Strategic Urban Extensions (SUE’s) within the Northampton Related Development Area (NRDA). Policy S1 of the JCS points to the need to provide limited development within rural areas, but with the priority being given to making the best use of previously developed land in sustainable locations. The JCS sets out core objectives, including climate change, infrastructure and development, connections, protecting and building urban communities, housing, green infrastructure and high quality design, that this proposal must also be considered against.

Policy S3 deals with the scale and distribution of housing development and sets out the number of additional dwellings for which provision will be made in the plan period (about 42,620 net additional dwellings across West Northants) and how this will be distributed across the three Councils. Policy S4 of the JCS deals with the NRDA, stating that provision will be made for about 28,470 net additional dwellings within the NRDA in the period 2011 to 2029. Northampton’s housing and employment needs will be met primarily within Northampton’s existing urban area and at the SUE’s within the NRDA boundary.

The application relates to a site which is allocated for housing in Policy N4 of the WNJCS, therefore in principle the proposal is supported.

Policy N4 states that ‘the development will make provision for;

a) In the region of 2,550 dwellings; b) A primary school; c) A local centre to include local retail facilities of a local scale (including a small convenience store), health care services and community facilities; d) Necessary highway works to mitigate the impact of the development including a financial contribution of the north west bypass and the Kingsthorpe corridor (A508); e) An integrated transport network focused on sustainable transport modes, including public transport, walking and cycling with strong links to adjoining neighbourhoods, employment areas and the town centre; f) Structural greenspace and wildlife corridors as indicated on the policies map; g) Archaeological and ecological assessment of the site and required mitigation; h) Sport and recreation provision; and i) Flood risk management including surface water management and from all other sources.

The application relates to a site which is identified for a housing-led development in the JCS. Viewed in the round, the application undoubtedly accords with the policies of the JCS.

A material consideration is government policy through the Framework.

The National Planning Policy Framework

The National Planning Policy Framework promotes sustainable development. That is, development which contributes towards building a strong economy, supporting local communities and which protects and enhances the environment. The NPPF places particular weight on timely and plan-led decision making. Therefore proposals that accord with a development plan should be approved without delay.

The NPPF places considerable emphasis on promoting sustainable transport. The highway section of this report demonstrates that the applicant has taken proper measures to promote the use of public transport as well as ensuring car borne and other vehicular traffic is able to access, egress and circulate within the development safely and conveniently, and without causing congestion on the existing road network.

The NPPF puts much emphasis of the delivery of a wide choice of high quality homes. Against that background a key objective of the scheme is to provide 1600 new dwellings of different sizes and tenures to meet the present and future needs of residents of this Borough. The houses that are proposed to be provided are critically important to securing and maintaining Northampton Borough’s 5 year supply of land for housing in accordance with paragraph 67 of the Framework in the foreseeable future. It should be stressed that if planning permission is refused then by any measure the Borough’s housing land supply will soon be inadequate.

The NPPF requires new development to be built to a high standard of design. That will be achieved by a comprehensive master plan supported by a phasing plan, detailed masterplans and design code for each phase. Officers are satisfied that the result will be to create an attractive townscape and living environment. The NPPF requires that built development should also promote healthy communities. To that end the scheme provides a range of social, recreational and cultural facilities. They include schools, shops and open space (including sports pitches) and well equipped children’s play areas. The development will also be complemented by comprehensive measures to conserve and enhance the natural and historic environment in accordance with section 16 of the Framework.

Having considered the principle of the proposed development, in terms of the policy context, it is necessary to consider a number of specific aspects, as follows;

Overall conclusion on the relationship of the application to the development plan

This application proposes to deliver 1,750 dwellings out of the 2,550 dwellings allocated by Policy N4. The proposal excludes quite large section of the N4 allocation; primarily agricultural land to the south west. The applicants have currently only been able to secure the parts of the allocation within the red line area as the land owners for the other parts of the land designated as Northampton West SUE are not willing or able to sell at present. The south-eastern corner of the N4 allocation is also excluded from this application as it is within the control of another developer and this forms part of the application for Norwood Farm/Upton Lodge (JCS Policy N9a) which falls within South Northamptonshire District Council. An area of land to the north east of the application is also excluded from this application as planning permission has already been granted for residential development (planning reference DA/16/0840) and development commenced.

The NRDA cannot demonstrate a 5 year supply of housing land. The NPPF is clear on the need to boost significantly the supply of housing and whilst the Development Plan’s relevant housing policies are out-of-date, the need to bring forward development that can be delivered in the short term is emphasised to avoid additional pressure for opportunistic “windfall” development on sites much less sustainable than, and which do not contribute to the wider strategic objectives of the allocated SUE’s (such as the delivery of major infrastructure). This is a significant material consideration in favour of the proposed development and much be weighed as part of the planning balance exercise.

In the context of the presumption in favour of sustainable development set out within the NPPF, it is considered that, on balance, the proposal (subject to suitable conditions) would result in sustainable development and any harm as set out in the sections below would out outweigh the benefits of granting consent. Having regard to the matters set out above, officers are firmly of the opinion that the application accords with the development plan viewed as a whole.

HIGHWAYS AND ACCESS

Policy N4 of the JCS requires the necessary highway works to mitigate the impact of the development including a financial contributions to the north west by pass and the Kingsthorpe Corridor (A508) as well as requiring an integrated transport network focused on sustainable transport modes, including public transport, walking and cycling with strong links to the adjoining neighbourhoods, employment areas and the town centre.

Policy C1 of the JCS states that priority will be given to proposed transport schemes that will contribute towards behavioural change by, inter alia, providing access by walking, cycling and public transport, maximising the use of existing capacity within the transport infrastructure and managing the demand for car based travel within urban areas. Policy C2 expects new development to achieve modal shift targets set out in the JCS by maximising travel choice from non-car modes. It further requires allocated SUE’s to:

a) Provide access via walking, cycling and public transport routes to a mix of uses including local employment, housing and retail facilities b) Ensure that new or enhanced public transport services are secured on occupation of the first dwelling when this is appropriate c) Secure the most efficient network for walking, cycling and public transport within the development; and d) Ensure sufficient density across the site in order to sustain public transport and other local services.

The NPPF promotes sustainable development and states that there is to be a "presumption in favour of sustainable development" when making plans and decisions. In respect of considering development proposals, paragraph 108 states:

“In assessing sites…specific applications for development, it should be ensured that: a) appropriate opportunities to promote sustainable transport modes can be – or have been – taken up, given the type of development and its location; b) safe and suitable access to the site can be achieved for all users; and c) any significant impacts from the development on the transport network (in terms of capacity and congestion), or on highway safety, can be cost effectively mitigated to an acceptable degree.”

A Transport Assessment (TA) was submitted with the planning application. This TA was informed by detailed outputs from the Northamptonshire Strategic Transport Model (NSTM). Since submission of the application, NCC has undertaken a review of its strategic transport model and has subsequently updated it. In doing so, the development proposals have been reassessed using the updated version of the model.

Two junctions are proposed to access the first phase of development:

New Sandy Lane – 3 arm roundabout

Port Road – 4 arm roundabout

A further access junction will be required to access any further development:

Roman Road – 3 arm roundabout

The development seeks a reduction in the speed limits on New Sandy Lane from 60mph to 40mph. The applicants also intend to reduce the speed limit on Port Road to 30mph. The LHA have advised that any alterations to speed limits on the public highway will need to be approved NCC’s Speed Limit Review Panel.

With regards to Phase 1 of the development, the TA confirms that the applicant will accept a Grampian style planning condition which caps the number of units which will be occupied in advance of the opening of the Sandy Lane Relief Road (SLRR) at 430 units. The opening of the SLRR will then result in a redistribution of development generated trips and assist in ameliorating traffic impacts. The full quantum of Phase 1 (600 dwelling and the subsequent phases) cannot be completed until such time that the SLRR has been implemented in full and is open to traffic.

The Sandy Land Relief Road (SLRR) will provide a high standard link between Weedon Road and Berrywood Road, and is required to be delivered by the developers of Norwood Farm SUE (S/2016/1324/EIA). This road is required to be delivered in order to facilitate the impact of the Northampton West SUE in its entirety. As assessment was undertaken by the applicant to consider how much development could be accommodated (with any interim mitigation require) prior to the delivery of the SLRR.

Officers have raised concerns with imposing a condition to restrict the numbers of dwellings within Phase 1 of the scheme prior to the delivery of the SLRR. It is however felt that in order to move the development forward and with agreement of the applicant and the NCC Highways, the condition allows development to commence.

As part of the S106 agreement, a phased delivery of public transport from the outset of the development leading to the completion of the development will be secured. The developer has agreed to enter into a legal agreement to deliver the required bus services as follows:-

 The total cost exposure the developer will be capped at £1,750,000 equating to a contribution of £1,000 per dwelling. The initial contribution will therefore be £430,000 for Application B, until such time that the SLRR is constructed and further payments based on £1,000 per dwelling can be made.  Northamptonshire County Council (NCC) shall procure the bus service to and from the development through a competitive tender process. In return the developer will pay sums to NCC to secure the bus service.

The Initial Bus Service shall commence on the occupation of the 100th dwelling on the site which is currently anticipated to take place during Year 2 of the development. The bus service will initially route between Northampton town centre (North Gate bus station) and the development via A428 Harlestone Road and Port Road at an hourly frequency Mondays to Saturdays (daytime) and will at this time serve a new bus stop on Port Road, east of the norther site access roundabout and west of the bridge over New Sandy Lane. Following occupation of any dwelling beyond 400m of the above new bus stop on Port Road, the Initial Bus Service will enter the development site via the proposed Port Road access roundabout and route along the northern section of the site spine road. Future Reserved Matters applications that will be submitted to determine the site layout will need to (a) provide suitable and safe walking routes from residential dwellings on the development site to bus stops located on the spine road and (b) identify suitable (temporary) turning arrangements for the Initial Bus Service within the development.

Any occupation beyond 430 units will require the Enhanced Bus Service to be provided. The developer will construct the spine road through the site between Port Road and New Sandy Lane such that buses are able to loop through the development. Future Reserved Matters applications that will be submitted to determine the site layout will need to provide suitable and safe walking routes from residential dwellings on the development site to bus stops located on the agreed route.

The developer will provide bus stops and associated infrastructure (i.e shelters, real-time passenger information displays) along the site spine road. The intended final commercial frequency for the service will be every 20-minutes during the daytime, Mondays to Saturdays. NCC anticipates that the bus service will be self-supporting following expenditure of the contribution sum and therefore continue on a commercial basis without further financial support from the developer.

A Framework Travel Plan has been agreed for the proposed development site. The developer will be required to provide a full Travel Plan by way of an obligation within the S106 Agreement. This will set out methods to reduce reliance on private car, reductions in road congestion, promotion of healthy lifestyles and reduction in carbon emissions associated with the proposed development.

The following enhancements to the footway/cycleway provision are agreed with the applicant in order to provide the necessary sustainable links to and from the development;

 A shared footway/cycle way provision on Roman Road linking to existing facilities on Berrywood Road.  Shared use along Port Road from the junction with (Old) Sandy Lane to the Port Road site access roundabout.  Shared use along the spine road

All of these new footpaths and cycleways within the site will need to be secured by condition to ensure they are appropriately provided, maintained and available for use in perpetuity.

The LHA have raised concerns about the wider traffic implications arising from this development. However, the potential for this development to have significant adverse impact on a number of existing roads and junctions was recognised as part of formulating and adopting Policy N4 of the JCS. As a result, the policy seeks to minimise usage of the private car by requiring the development to make full provision for a bus service through the site and the maximisation of pedestrian/cycle links so that there is a high degree of integration with existing communities.

It is however clear that the proposals will still have an impact on the functioning of a number of existing junctions within close proximity of the site. The following junctions have been identified as requiring mitigation;

Phase 1

 Junction 11 – A4500/Sandy Lane

Subsequent development

 Junction 1 – A428 Harlestone Road/New Sandy Lane  Junction 2 - A428 Harlestone Road/Whites Lane  Junctions 3 and 4 – A428 Harlestone Road/Quarry Road/Lodge Way  Junction 6 – A428 Harlestone Road/Mill Lane/Bants Lane  Junction 9 – Main Road/Berrywood Road  Junction 10 – Berrywood Road/Berrywood Drive  Junction 13 – A4500 Weedon Road/Tollgate Way/A5076  Junctions 16, 17, 18 – A4500 Weedon Road/Spencer Bridge; A428 Harlestone Road/Spencer Bridge Road; A4500 Weedon Road/Spencer Bridge Road  Junction 21 – A4500/Upton Valley Way North/SLRR  Junction 22 – New Sandy Lane/Weggs Farm Road  Junction 30 – A5076 Danes Camp Way/Hunsbury Hill Avenue/Hunsbarrow Road

The mitigation scheme has been reviewed and agreed by NCC Highways and would either be delivered by the developer (under a S278 agreement with NCC) or via a financial contribution for NCC to undertake the works.

In accordance with the West Northamptonshire Spatial Strategy, the development is also required to provide a contribution towards the delivery of the North West By-pass as following:

£2,800 per dwelling, payable prior to 1st occupation of each phase of development totalling;

£1,680,000 for phase 1, and

£3,320,000 for phase 2

Highways England, with the support of the local planning authority partners, has developed the Northampton Growth Management Scheme (NGMS) to cover the A45 corridor between Junction 15 of the M1 and Great Billing Interchange. This NGMS has the primary aim of managing and providing mitigation at each junction along this corridor to address the impacts from increases in vehicular traffic arising from planned development growth in and around Northampton, and will enable “ringmaster” contributions to be accepted from development around Northampton.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed by the highway and planning authorities to work together to secure the implementation of the NGMS, and all the local planning authorities to use their planning powers to secure developer contributions towards delivery. The NGMS allows for these developer contributions to be staged recognising the importance of viability to developers of these large scale schemes. The applicant has agreed to provide a contribution towards Highways England’s’ NGMS, to be secure via a S106 Agreement, of £426.63 per dwelling.

The LHA has requested a condition to ensure that a Construction Traffic Management Plan (CTMP) is submitted to ensure that routing agreements for construction traffic are in place to limit disruption during the construction phases to local road users. The CTMP will also cover days/hours of construction, measures to control dust, details of wheel washing facilities etc.

Overall conclusion on the impact of the development upon highway safety

In summary, officers consider that access, traffic and transport impact of the proposed development against the requirements of Policies C1, C2, N4, SA, S1 and S10 of the Joint Core Strategy and guidance contained within he NPPF have been appropriately assessment and can be suitably mitigated within a S106 agreement and relevant planning conditions.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING

Housing applications have to be considered in the context of the NPPF’s presumption in favour of sustainable development. Within the NPPF there is a requirement to deliver a wide choice of homes and create sustainable, inclusive and mixed communities. Local Planning Authorities should plan for mixed housing recognising the needs of different groups in the community and identify a range of housing and tenure types. Where there is an identified need for affordable housing, the NPPF states this need can be met on site or off site if it can be robustly justified. The NPPF states that the supply of new houses can be achieved through planning for larger scale developments, including extensions to existing villages or towns.

Policy H1 of the JCS seeks to ensure that an appropriate mix of housing is provided which reflects the needs of existing and future households having regard to the evidence provided by the West Northamptonshire Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA). It is noted that within the policy justification text that whilst the SHMA provides the starting point for the consideration of size and mix, it is also necessary to have regard to specific local circumstances and needs. Policy H1 advises that across Northamptonshire, new housing development will provide for a mix of house types, sizes and tenures to cater for different accommodation needs, including the needs of older people and vulnerable groups.

The starting point for determining the appropriate amount of affordable housing that should be provided within the SUE is 35% which is identified in Policy H2, however in all cases the percentage requirements identified within the policy are subject to the assessment of viability on a site by site basis. The tenure split should be 70% affordable rent and 30% intermediate housing.

At the request of the applicant, an assessment of the viability of the scheme has been undertaken, fundamentally to assess the level of affordable housing that the scheme could financially support, taking account of the significant infrastructure and Section 106 costs that would be required for the development to be approved and implemented in a way that mitigated its impact. The Framework (paragraph 57) makes clear that it is up to the applicant to demonstrate whether particular circumstances justify the need for a viability assessment at the application stage. The weight to be given to a viability assessment is a matter for the decision maker, having regard to all the circumstances in the case, including whether the plan and the viability evidence underpinning it is up to date, and any change in site circumstances since the plan was brought into force.

Consequently, an open book approach to the assessment of viability of the scheme has been sought to identify the level of contributions the scheme can reasonably afford to support. The viability appraisal prepared for the applicant’s has been reviewed by a consultant working on behalf of the Council.

A Viability Appraisal (VA) was carried out for this development because of the costs associated with Application B (600 dwellings) which incorporates much of the infrastructure of Application A (1,750 dwellings) has made the first Phases unviable. For example, the main site accesses, significant stretches of the spine road, the local centre, primary school and a significant proportion of the amenity space would be delivered as part of Application B. The scheme is currently split into 3 Phases, these being;

 Phase 1a – would be for the first 430 dwelling of Application B as this is the number of houses NCC Highways agree can be delivered before the Sandy Lane Relief Road (SLRR) is completed.  Phase 1b – would be for the remaining 170 dwellings from Application B (making up the total 600).  Phase 2 – would be for the remaining 1,150 dwellings from Application A thereby making up the grand total of 1,750 dwellings.

The applicant’s VA was independently assessed by a consultant appointed by and working on behalf of DDC and SNC. Following this appraisal it was concluded that the scheme would offer the following percentages of affordable housing;

 Phase 1a (430 dwellings) – 0% affordable housing  Phase 1b (170 dwellings) – 30% affordable housing  Phase 2 (1,150 dwellings) – 35% affordable housing (policy complaint)

Overall this means an average percentage across the entire development of 26% affordable units.

It has been agreed between DDC, SNDC and NBC that the nominations for the affordable housing provision within the NRDA will go to those locally derived needs within NBC.

Overall conclusion on acceptability of the affordable housing provision

Whilst it is appreciated that the affordable units within the early phases of development is not policy compliant, the largest phase (amount to almost two thirds of the total number of dwellings to be provided) would be delivered in accordance with policy. The delivery of an average of 26% affordable housing over the entirety of Application A is acceptable in the context of the VA.

In summary, subject to securing the affordable housing provision as set out above through obligations in the S106 agreement, it is considered that the proposed development would, on balance, be acceptable and accord with the intentions of the NPPF.

EDUCATION

Policy N4 of the JCS requires a primary school be provided within the development and INF1 and INF2 require new developments to provide the necessary infrastructure to support it.

Early Years

Early Years Education (i.e. pre-school/nurseries) must be provided for children aged between the ages of 2 and 4. NCC have identified that the proposed development would provide a pupil yield of 525 Early Years. A financial contribution will be secured via S106 agreement to ensure these places can be provided.

Primary

NCC have identified that the proposed development would generate a need for 525 primary school pupil places. A 2.5 form entry Primary School is proposed within the development and the delivery of this is to be secured via a S106 agreement.

The Parameter Plans for Application A and B make provision for 3.11ha of land, sufficient to accommodate a 3 Form Entry Primary School and its associated playing fields. The land for the Primary School will be made available as part of Phase 1 (Application A and B). Northamptonshire County Council have confirmed that the provision of this land is an acceptable amount of land for the required provision and is supported.

As a new, fully fitted out 2fe Primary School costs £6.5m (based on actual build costs) and a 3fe Primary Schools costs £8.5 m, the proportional contribution from this development towards Primary provision should be £7.5m.

Whilst discussions are still on going with regards to the S106 agreement, it is likely to contain a clause to ensure that the school is opened by no later than the occupation of the 300th dwelling to ensure that pupils coming forward from the development can be accommodated (preferable earlier is feasible).

Secondary

Currently the closest current provision to this development for secondary education is at The Duston School. Due to the significant level of planning for new housing in the area surrounding the proposed development, the County Council will be seeking to secure construction of a new Secondary School to serve the area to the west of Northampton.

Overall conclusion on the impact of the development upon education provision

In summary, early years, primary and secondary education needs resulting from the proposed development can all be met or secured via S106 agreements or CIL contributions in accordance with development plan policies. As a result of the school being included within the smaller Application B site, all on-site and off-site education needs resulting from either application can be met. It is considered that the proposed development would be in accordance with Policy N4 of the Joint Core Strategy.

HEALTH CARE Policy N4 of the JCS sets out the requirements for the provision of health care services within the Local Centre on the site. INF1 and INF2 require new developments to provide the necessary infrastructure to support it.

Various discussions have taken place with NHS England and the County Commissioning Group (CCG) throughout the application process which have established that they would not support a doctor’s surgery on site. This is partly due to the difficulties in recruiting the GPs to run small surgeries and partly to reflect current NHS aspirations for moving away from smaller GP practices and creating larger but fewer Primary Care Centres or ‘Health Hubs’ where patients would have access to a greater range of services and care.

Primary care home is an innovative approach to strengthening and redesigning primary care; the model brings together a range of health and social care professionals to work together to provide enhanced personalised and preventative care for their local community. This also takes the pressure off overburdened hospitals and allows doctors the scope to take on minor surgery within the PCH. The developer is aware that on-site provision is not possible and has agreed to make a financial contribution towards off-site facilities.

The developer is agreeable to providing a financial contribution towards such off-site facilities which will be secure via a S106 agreement.

Given the substantial number of patients, NHS England and the CCG know they cannot expect local practices to soak up the additional patients without good strategic planning. Following discussions with the partners of St. Luke’s, the NHS and CCG acknowledge that the expansion of St Luke’s PCC is the only project identified at present which could potentially deal with the number of new patients created as a result of the development. This potential larger practice at St Luke’s would also serve the new residents at Norwood Farm.

St Luke’s PCC is approximately 3km from the application site and is consequently not within a reasonable (400m) walking distance. Patients are therefore likely to drive to the facility. Whilst this is not ideal and officers would prefer a doctor’s practice on site we have to listen to the advice of NHS England and the CCG who advise that firstly smaller surgeries are not part of their future business plan and also there is no real prospect of a doctors practice coming forward on site. Therefore, the only realistic solution for providing primary healthcare to future residents of the development is to support the expansion of the existing St Luke’s Primary Care Centre as it becomes a Primary Care Home.

Overall conclusion on the impact of the development upon health care Taking into account the comments raised by NHS England and the CCG, it is considered that with an appropriate financial contribution towards the expansion of the existing St Luke’s PCC there would be adequate primary healthcare provision to serve the needs of future residents of the proposed developments.

URBAN DESIGN PRINCIPLES

This is an outline application that seeks the approval of the development and access only. Accordingly, the details of layout and design are reserved for subsequent approval. Notwithstanding this point, the application is submitted with a master plan and parameters plans which provide an example as to how the site could be development in accordance with its constraints and the findings and recommendations of the applicable chapters of the Environmental Statement

The master plan has been developed in consultation with key stakeholders including Northampton County Council, Natural England, the Wildlife Trust and a range of officers within the Council.

The main design principles are set out in the master plan and the Design and Access Statement, parameters plans and the planning statement. The parameter plans detail the developable areas of the site and set out a series of scale parameters that any development within that area will not exceed and include;

 Access and movement  Land use  Density and Building heights  Green Infrastructure

The parameters plans provide a logical methodology to which the master plan development can be delivered against and as such provides a framework that the development and therefore any reserved matters application should adhere to. The plans have been prepared alongside the findings of the various chapters of the Environmental Statement and as such take account of the sites topography and natural constraints and are heavily influenced by the submitted visual impact assessment

The Density, Scale and Massing Parameters Plan indicate that the majority of the residential buildings will be ‘up to 3 storeys’. The development is envisaged to be predominately of 2- 2.5 storey detached and semi-detached dwellings with some larger 3 storey buildings positioned along primary routes and key locations. Greater building heights at these points will allow for greater enclosure of the main street and local centre as well as providing ‘landmarks’ to ease orientation and navigation. Buildings will generally decrease in height towards higher points on the site and in the transition from urban to rural edge.

The majority of the site would be between 35-40 dph, with the higher density housing located to the south of the site which has less visual impact. The lower density housing will be located to the north and west of the site creating a lower density edge. The range of densities illustrated ensure variation across the scheme in terms of built form and massing, helping to create district character areas and respond to elements of the masterplan.

With regards to the urban structure, the access and movement routes are well structured with a central spine road connecting Port Road to Roman Road and connecting to the primary site access from New Sandy Lane. The route is expected to change in character along its length as it passes through difference character areas, alongside the primary school and through the landscaped corridor. This primary route will have a level of consistency to help with the legibility of streets, including tree line ‘avenue’ planting, dedicated off-road cycle and pedestrian footpath and landscaped grass verges.

There is a hierarchy of smaller roads leading off the main spine which is good urban design practice. It will be important to keep the 3 access points proposed to ensure permeability of the new development. The block structure of housing areas reinforces the permeable structure

In summary, the masterplan provides a robust development structure which was the potential to deliver a well-planned new community.

Overall conclusion on urban design principles

In order to secure the delivery of appropriate design solutions when reserved matters are submitted, a planning condition is recommended that requires the illustrative design and layout principles in the Parameter Plans and Design and Access Statement to be adhered to and requires detailed masterplans for each development to support the detailed design of the reserved matters applications. A condition requiring the submission of a ‘Design Code’ to be approved by the District Council is also recommended. This approach would set a blueprint for future development and is considered the most appropriate way of securing a high quality design framework which subsequent applications must adhere to.

ECOLOGY The Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2017 consolidates the Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010 with subsequent amendments. The Regulations transpose Council Directive 92/43/EEC, on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (EC Habitats Directive), into national law. They also transpose elements of the EU Wild Birds Directive in England and Wales. The Regulations provide for the designation and protection of 'European sites', the protection of 'European protected species', and the adaptation of planning and other controls for the protection of European Sites.

Under the Regulations, competent authorities i.e. any Minister, government department, public body, or person holding public office, have a general duty, in the exercise of any of their functions, to have regard to the EC Habitats Directive and Wild Birds Directive.

The Regulations provide for the control of potentially damaging operations, whereby consent from the country agency may only be granted once it has been shown through appropriate assessment that the proposed operation will not adversely affect the integrity of the site. In instances where damage could occur, the appropriate Minister may, if necessary, make special nature conservation orders, prohibiting any person from carrying out the operation. However, an operation may proceed where it is or forms part of a plan or project with no alternative solutions, which must be carried out for reasons of overriding public interest.

The Regulations make it an offence (subject to exceptions) to deliberately capture, kill, disturb, or trade in the animals listed in Schedule 2, or pick, collect, cut, uproot, destroy, or trade in the plants listed in Schedule 4. However, these actions can be made lawful through the granting of licenses by the appropriate authorities by meeting the requirements of the 3 strict legal derogation tests:

(1) Is the development needed to preserve public health or public safety or other imperative reasons of overriding public interest including those of a social or economic nature and beneficial consequences of primary importance for the environment?

(2) That there is no satisfactory alternative.

(3) That the action authorised will not be detrimental to the maintenance of the population of the species concerned at a favourable conservation status in their natural range.

The Regulations require competent authorities to consider or review planning permission, applied for or granted, affecting a European site, and, subject to certain exceptions, restrict or revoke permission where the integrity of the site would be adversely affected. Equivalent consideration and review provisions are made with respects to highways and roads, electricity, pipe-lines, transport and works, and environmental controls (including discharge consents under water pollution legislation).

Natural England’s Standing Advice sets out habitats that may have the potential for protected species, and in this regard the site, although consisting of predominately arable land, does contain hedgerows and fence lines, semi natural and plantation woodland, water courses, ponds and ditches.

Paragraph 175 of the NPPF states that when determining planning applications, local planning authorities should apply the following principles: a) if significant harm to biodiversity resulting from a development cannot be avoided, adequately mitigated, or, as a last resort, compensated for, then planning permission should be refused; d) development whose primary objective is to conserve or enhance biodiversity should be supported; while opportunities to incorporate biodiversity improvements in and around developments should be encouraged, especially where this can secure measurable net gains for biodiversity.

Paragraph 180 of the NPPF states that planning decisions should also ensure that new development is appropriate for its location taking into account the likely effects (including cumulative effects) of pollution on health, living conditions and the natural environment, as well as the potential sensitivity of the site or the wider area to impacts that could arise from the development. In doing so they should (amongst others) limit the impact of light pollution from artificial light on local amenity, intrinsically dark landscapes and nature conservation.

Policy BN2 of the JCS requires development to maintain and enhance existing designations and assets or deliver a net gain in biodiversity. Policy BN3 specifically relates to the enhancement and creation of woodland and Policy BN4 specifically relates to the protection of the Upper Nene Valley Gravel Pits SPA.

The Environmental Statement (Chapter 8) includes the assessment of the nature conservation interests of the site

In respect of planning applications and the Council discharging of its legal duties, case law has shown that if it is clear/very likely that Natural England will not grant a licence then the Council should refuse planning permission; if it is likely or unclear whether Natural England will grant the license then the Council may grant planning permission.

In this instance no part of the site is covered by any statutory designations. The watercourses within the site are connected to the River Nene and there is a potential pollution pathway to the Upper Nene Gravel Pits Special Protection Area (SPA). The SPA is located approximately 7.4km to the east of the site and covers 1,385 hectares across four local authorities. It is a composite site comprising 20 separate blocks of land and water fragmented by roads and other features, and located adjacent and/or close to urban areas. The site falls within the 10km consultation zone for this SPA.

With regards to non-statutory designated areas, the site is adjacent to Round Oak Plantation pWS (potential Wildlife Site) and Sandy Lane Verge pWS. Subject to the implementation of the standard and actionable mitigation outlined in the ES to protect these areas throughout construction and operational phase, these areas would not be expected to be adversely affected by the wider masterplan. Any impact on these receptors would therefore be expected to be negligible.

The application is supported by the following surveys have been undertaken:

 Phase 1 Habitat Survey Plan  Hedgerow Survey  Bat Survey  Water Vole and Otter Survey  Badger Survey  Breeding and Winter Bird Survey  Reptile Survey  Great Created Newt Assessment

These conclude that a typical assemblage of breeding birds for the locality and habitat, with some of conservation concern, a low level of bat foraging and community activity of common and widespread species; a medium population of breeding great crested newts and badger setts within the site.

Appropriate mitigation will be provided during demolition and construction so as to avoid harm to protected species.

With specific regard to identified protected species;

 Breeding birds – range of artificial nest boxes will be erected on new building and retained trees that will provide alternative nesting during the establishment of the created habitats on site.  Bats – implementation of sensitive working practices to avoid direct damage and indirect effects of noise, lighting and dust on retained bat roost features during construction. Sensitive design of lighting scheme during operational phase to avoid lighting retained roosts and roosting opportunities. Opportunities for enhancement of retained semi-natural habitats and to provide new and replacement wetland, hedgerows, trees, scrub and species rich grassland within areas of open space throughout the site.  Badgers – Sensitive working practices to avoid disturbance of retained active setts and provision of stand-off buffers of at least 20m between retained active setts and adjacent development. Opportunities for the provision of new high quality foraging habitat in areas of open space across the site.  Invertebrates – Opportunities to enhance and create new habitats of value to invertebrates such as species-rich rough and meadow grassland, hedgerows, scattered trees, orchard and scrub within the site Green Infrastructure.

The Council’s Ecology Officer has considered the application and the submitted Ecological Assessments. The Ecology Officer is satisfied that the level of detail submitted with the outline planning application is appropriate to address ecological matters. Natural England were consulted on the application and confirmed they have no objection to the proposal.

The Green Infrastructure Parameter Plans makes provisions for multifunction green corridors throughout the site. The proposal seeks to retain, incorporate and enhance the existing landscape features and habitats whilst also maximizing connectivity. The proposals are also likely to incorporate Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems in the form of ponds and swales which will provide further opportunities for habitat creation.

The landscape structure of the proposed new community has been carefully considered to provide a range of interlinked routes and spaces with distinctive character and functions. Together with the proposed network of tree lined routes these parks, squares and green spaces will create a legible landscape delivering a strong sense of place within the new community.

Overall conclusions on the impact of the development upon the ecology of the site and surrounding environment

Considering the large scale of the proposed development and its location in an open, predominately rural landscape, a number of significant changes to landscape character, views and visual amenity are to be expected. As with any large strategic allocation, it is accepted that any proposed development will result in some significant changes to landscape character, by changing it from a predominately rural landscape to a developed urbanised area.

Subject to the imposition of planning conditions and appropriate obligations secured in a S106 agreement to deliver the necessary implementation, creation and management of green infrastructure, it is considered that the proposed development would be in accordance with Policy N4 of the JCS.

Officers are satisfied, on the basis of advice from the Council’s Ecologist and the absence of any objection from Natural England, and subject to conditions, that the welfare of any European Protected Species found to be present at the site and surrounding land will continue and be safeguarded notwithstanding the proposed development and that the Council’s statutory obligations in relation to protected species and habitats under the Conservation of Habitats & Species Regulations 2017, have been met and discharged. The proposals are therefore considered to comply with Policy BN2 of the JCS.

TREES, LANDSCAPE AND VISUAL IMPACT

Policy N4 of the JCS supports the development of up to 2,500 dwellings, providing structural greenspace and wildlife corridors as indicated on the proposals map (figure 5). The area shown as indicative structural greenspace within the JCS is intended to given an indication of the general extent of structural greenspace, but the detailed boundaries needs to be resolved through master planning, supported by appropriate landscape evidence.

The applicants have submitted a Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment (LVIA), submitted as part of the Environmental Statement, prepared by Hankinson Duckett Associated. The landscape assessment assesses the impact of the proposed development on the landscape recourse in terms of a) landscape character and b) visual amenity. It considered the potential effects experiences by visual receptors on routes, public rights of way, at residential locations and on the landscape elements and key characteristic that contribute towards distinctive landscape character.

Potential effects have been analysed at construction, occupation (Year 1) and 10 years post completion once planting has established (residual effects).

The LVIA is based upon the parameter plans and is supported by the design principles set out in the Design and Access Statement. The scoping opinion process determined the location and number of representative viewpoints for assessment, including those requiring visualisations and photomontages, to better demonstrate the size and scale of development proposed.

The proposed development has the potential to affect the landscape as a resource, including the features of the site, and the landscape character of the site itself and the surrounding landscape. The proposed development could result in the loss of some landscape features such as trees and shrubs however through the provision of new planting, could ultimately have a beneficial landscape effect. The proposed development is also likely to have an effect on views and the visual amenity as experienced by people.

The baseline section of the ES has identified that the landscape within the study area is typical of the ‘Undulating Hills and Valleys’ Character Type. The study area is an undulating landscape of mixed agricultural use, unified by strong hedgerow boundaries with hedgerow trees, which typify the enclosure of the area. The agricultural landscape is punctuated by small tree copses and shelterbelts, which combine with tree-lined streams, hedgerows and hedgerow trees to break up the openness of the landscape.

The main variation in character between the landscape within the site and the key characteristics set out within the published character assessments is the impact of major settlement on the rurality of the landscape. There is a strong relationship with the settlement edge of Northampton, which is in contrast to the land located beyond the ridgeline which is wholly rural in character.

The site lies to the west of Northampton and is located within a ‘bowl’, surrounded by local ridges of higher ground. The ridges form the wider setting to the town and contain the settlement, physically and visually separating it from the surrounding rural villages of Harlestone, Nobottle and Harpole. The local ridges are a key consideration of the development of the site as they have the potential to contain and screen the proposed housing development. In contrast, the higher ground to the west and north-west of the site is visually sensitive as development of this land would have become visually prominent within the local landscape.

Sensitive receptors within the application site include;

 Regional Landscape character type: Rolling Ironstone Valley Slopes. Character Area 4a Harlestone Heath and the Brampton’s (Current Landscape Character Assessment, prepared by NCC)  Local landscape character area: Harpole Valley Slopes  Althorpe Park  Harlestone village  The Dallington Brook Corridor  Key features within the site, including the Dallington Brook Corridor, woodland copses, internal hedgerows and hedgerow trees  Users of nearby rural rights of way  Local residents  Motorists on local rural roads

The proposed development will significantly alter the character of the surrounding area and by the very nature of its scale will be clearly visible from all directions.

Inherent mitigation measures for the proposed development have focussed on avoiding development on the visually sensitive high ground within the site and designing the development in order to retain as many key landscape features as practicable. The mitigation set out with the Green Infrastructure parameters plan and Landscape strategy plan has built upon this structure and has introduced additional screening (in the form of woodland planting) to the north west and east, in addition to new features and habitats within the site.

As the mitigation planting within the site matures and the new habitats and features within the site establish, the predicted impact of the proposed development would reduce. The landscape structural planting within the site would soften the effects of the built development and would contribute to the creation of a positive new housing development. Where possible key features would have been retained through the course of the development and utilised to form the basis of the green infrastructure strategy within the development

10 years post completion, the character of the new development would be determined and the development would have become the new settlement edge to Duston. The structural landscaping within the site would have established sufficiently to mitigate many of the landscape and visual effects experienced at construction and there would be no residual substantial adverse landscape or visual effects within or surrounding the site.

The site is located within the Northampton West SUE, which has been allocated for housing development. The position of the site within a bowl created by local landform and immediately adjacent to the existing urban edge, results in a housing development that is closely related to the existing settlement of Northampton and is both physically and visually separated from the wider rural landscape.

Overall conclusion on the impact of the development upon trees, landscape and visual impact of the site

Any loss of countryside has to be balanced against the need to provide the identified amount of development and the sustainability of the site and the potential loss of agricultural land in another location.

To ensure that visual impact of the development is controlled and to allow for a masterplan concept to be delivered, the parameter plans and masterplan will be subject to a planning condition to ensure that the subsequent phases and accompanying reserved matters approvals are supported by more detailed masterplans for each phase and delivered in accordance with them. Officers are satisfied that the submitted scheme corresponds with the land uses outlined in Policy N4 of the JCS.

CULTURAL HERITAGE AND ARCHAEOLOGY

Chapter 9 of the submitted Environmental Statement contains a Heritage Desk-Based Assessment, a Geophysical Survey and a Trial Trench Evaluation for the application site and the proposed development.

There are no Listed Building, Conservation Areas or Scheduled Ancient Monuments found within the site. There are however a number of non-designated heritage assets in the form of historic buildings at Heath Farm and Fleetlands Farm. The closest listed buildings and conservation areas are in Harlestone and Harpole and there is a Registered Park and Garden at the Althorpe Estate.

The Northamptonshire National Mapping Programme identified and transcribed two large complexes of cropmarks either side of Dallington Brook where it extends through the site. Cropmarks of similar morphology are widespread across the catchment of the River Nene and its tributaries, some of which have been confirmed as prehistoric in origin through archaeological investigations. On the basis of current evidence, it seems likely that the cropmarks within the site represent the buried remains of Iron Age and/or Romano-British stock enclosures and field systems, and possibly associated settlements. Such features, and any associated archaeological material, could be of regional heritage significance.

In the northern part of the site, to the north and north east of Fleetlands Farm, there are earthworks of medieval and post medieval ridge and furrow cultivation formed through historic ploughing within open field system. The extent of survival of such earthworks across Harlestone Parish is not fully established, however, the parish is not identified as a priority township by the Turning the Plough Assessment (NCC 2001) and the earthworks within the site form an isolated area of survival, which contribute little to the understanding of the wider medieval open field system.

The County Archaeologist has agreed the mitigation area with the applicant’s consultant however they have advised that the archaeological mitigation should be undertaken in relation to the archaeological core areas as identified in the Cotswold Archaeology evaluation report rather than according to the phasing/areas/infrastructure shown on the masterplan.

The submitted report identifies that there are areas of archaeological activity that will be impacted on by the development and that further investigation will be needed. The County Archaeologist is satisfied that the archaeological investigation that has been carried out has provided enough evidence to ensure the use of planning conditions to require further work to ensure sufficient protection of archaeological remains.

In summary the scheme is not considered to have significant detrimental impact upon archaeological sites of importance and is therefore in accordance with Policy N4 of the JCS.

Built Heritage

Fleetland Farm and Heath Farm have undergone Level One Building Recording. Two stone built barns at Heath Farm appear to be surviving components of late 18th or early 19th century farmstead; whilst the largely unchanged complex at Fleetland Farm is of mid-19th century date. It is not yet known whether these buildings are to be demolished within the development proposals or whether they will incorporated into the scheme. In due course, more detailed and measured surveys may be required.

No further assessment was considered necessary as the site does not constitute a key element of setting that contributes to their heritage significance.

Overall conclusion on the impact of the development upon archaeology and the built heritage within and adjacent to the application site.

To summarise, there are no overriding heritage constraints to the proposals that have been identified and the proposals are therefore in accordance with Policy BN5 of the JCS and the overarching intentions of the NPPF.

OPEN SPACE AND RECREATION

Policy N4 of the JCS requires the provision for structural green spaces, wildlife corridors, sport and recreation. Policy BN1 requires new development to enhance and provide additional green infrastructure connections and BN3 supports proposal to manage existing woodlands and for the creation of new woodland. Saved policy EN25 also requires the retention of existing landscape features. Policies ENV1 and ENV4 of the emerging Local Plan (Part 2) supports proposals to protect, enhance and restore the District’s green infrastructure assets.

The Nortoft Study: Planning the Future of Open Space, Sport and Recreation in West Northamptonshire was prepared to establish comprehensive strategies for delivering open space, sport and recreation for area. The structure of these strategies and their interrelationships recognise the approach of the West Northamptonshire Joint Core Strategy including the Northampton Related Development (NRD) and the requirements of each authority to have its own assessments. These strategies inform the Local Plan (Part 2) and forms part of the evidence for the Local Plan.

The application provides a total of 27.35ha of open space which will be provided across the site comprising of amenity space and structural landscaping. These will be linked by a network of informal green corridors which provide pedestrian connections and informal recreation spaces. The existing network of public rights of way surrounding the site will be enhanced and integrated into proposed footpath links within the site, providing new connections to the wider countryside. The open space provision is approximately 33% of the site area.

Structural Landscaping

There are no specific standards for structural landscaping set out within Policy N4. The Policy sets out that structural greenspace and wildlife corridors will be provided to positively address the enhancement of biodiversity within the site boundaries.

The Green Infrastructure Parameter Plan sets out where structural landscaping will be provided. This will be provided along the edges of the developments site and through the middle of the site linking to the existing green corridor formed by the Dallington Brook. Structural landscaping will also be provided along the spine road within the development. There is a substantial area of structural landscaping along the north western boundary of the site, along the boundary of the site closest to Harlestone.

Amenity Open Space

The Green Infrastructure Parameter Plan highlights a large area of amenity open space to be provided north of the Dallington Brook, close to the centre of the site. The development seeks to establish a hierarchy of spaces and connecting green routes, with more formally designated spaces and connecting green routes and formally designated spaces located at key movement/activity hubs.

It is proposed that the site will comprise of 27.35ha of public open space which includes approximately 18.35ha of informal POS and a 9ha site for playing pitches.

The amount of informal public open space is 2.03ha below the 20.38ha required by the Nortoft Study however the application is over-providing on formal playing pitches by 2.56ha to ensure that the requirement for the whole Northampton West SUE can be served at a single location. The sports pitches are proposed on the edge of the urban area with footpath links to surrounding countryside and a substantial County Park is to be provided on the adjoining SUE at Norwood Farm. This small deficit is therefore not considered to be significant.

Sports Pitches

As highlighted above, the proposal includes the provision of approximately 9ha of sports pitches on the north western edge of the development. The requirement for sport pitches is only 6.44ha and therefore the development is over providing by 2.56ha. This 9ha of formal playing pitches virtually provides sufficient provision for the entire SUE allocation (application B is only for 1,750 units). The 9ha would be large enough to provide 2 adult football pitches and 2 junior pitches.

The illustrative Masterplan identifies that more sport pitches could be provided on land within the allocation but outside of the application site in the south western corner of the site.

With regards to Application B (600 dwellings) no sports pitches are proposed with the application site. It is however unlikely that only the first phase would ever be developed in isolation. The S106 could require proportional contributions towards off-site provision in the event that this did occur.

Play Areas

The Nortoft Study set out the requirements of 0.25ha of space for children and young people’s facilities per 1000 population compared with emerging Policy CW2 requirement for 0.3ha per 1,000 population. The amount of play areas to be secured via the S106 agreement and will allow for the formation of;

 2 No. Local Areas of Play (LAP) of 500sqm (400sq plus 100sqm buffer)  2 No. combined Local Equipped Areas of Play (LEAP)/LAPS of 4,000sqm  1 No. Neighbourhood Area of Play (NEAP) of 8,500sqm.

The development will focus on a smaller number of play areas for the provision of better landscaped and equipped spaces that will be more useable and attractive to children and parents.

With regards to Application B (600 dwellings) this includes the larger area of amenity green space and would therefore be an ideal, central location for the NEAP of 8,500sqm. It would also be possible to fit a LAP of 500sqm within the site area for Application B and therefore a total of 8.5ha to 9ha could be secured for Application B. This would exceed that required by both emerging Policy CW2 and the Nortoft standards.

The overall estimate of commuted maintenance sums expected will be in the order of £4,000,000. The actual maintenance sum will be determined following relevant Reserved Matters Approvals and scheme approvals having been achieved to confirm the specifications and quantum of open space. The S106 provides the opportunity for the Parish Council to take on maintenance of the play/open space however if for any reason this is not the case then it will be transferred to a private management company.

Overall conclusion of the development upon the provision of open space and recreational land within the application site.

On balance, whilst there is a slight under-provision of amenity open space this should be balanced against the overprovision of both sports pitches and equipped play areas which will provide opportunities for both new and existing residents to utilise. In any case, the shortfall for the wider allocation could be more than provided for when the remaining phases of the allocation come forward to the south west of the main site and south of Roman Road. It is therefore considered that the amount of on-site provision for the various forms of open space accord with the emerging policy and the recommendations set out in the Nortoft Study.

LOCAL CENTRE

The Parameter Plans accompanying applications A and B make provision for 1.71ha of land for a mixed use Local Centre comprising of A1-A5, and D1 uses. It is proposed to be located centrally, at the heart of the development, close to the eastern boundary of the site, adjacent to the proposed New Sandy Lane access. It is considered that this location is easily accessible for both new residents and existing residents at New Duston and the surrounding area and easily visible to benefit from passing trade. The Local Centre will be made available as part of the first phase of development

A mixed use local centre combining community, leisure, retail and residential uses is proposed to encourage a variety of activities throughout the day and promote activity. Indicative uses are as follows;

 Retail (Use Class A1)  Financial and professional services (Use Class A2)  Restaurant and case use (Use Class A3)  Public House (Use Class A4  Hot food takeaway (Use Class A5)  Residential i.e. flats over shops (Use Class C3)  Community and health care facility (Use Class D1

Forming the eastern edge of the site, Sandy Lane edge responds to the existing urban edge of Northampton and the New Sandy Lane. Development densities are correspondingly higher around this urban core and building form a 2-3 storey continuous built frontage. The local centre square will be predominately paved as a community gathering space, defined by structural landscaping.

The following provides an indication of floorspace for each of the uses;

 Total A1-A5 floorspace - 4,000m2; of which  Total A1 max – 2,500m2;  Total A4 max – 1,000m2;  Max individual A1 unit – single 1,500m2 with other units max 500m2;  (to consider) Max individual A2/A3/A5 unit – 250m2;

The approach above allows for both a small neighbourhood food store (for example an Aldi, Lidl or larger Co-Op) and a couple of other A1 retail units or a local food store (Sainsburys, Morrisons, Tesco Local) plus more units to come forward. This approach prevents a traditional supermarket which could have a greater impact upon the wider areas. In order to ensure a successful local centre, it is felt that the suggested floorspaces are acceptable and in line with current approaches.

A clause in the S106 is proposed to ensure that marketing of the local centre will take place from occupation of the 150th dwelling until the earlier of either the occupation of 900 units or 7 years from the start of the marketing period. The S106 will set out requirements for a marketing plan to be submitted and agreed prior to commencement of development and will also set out certain actions that will need to be incorporated within the marketing plan.

Within the Local Centre, there is a requirement for community facilities. This could be located within a larger local centre unit as it could be more efficient to build, sharing costs and car parking requirements etc. The community facility will be 600sqm in accordance with guidance from Sport England on village and community halls. The S106 will be worded to require the construction of the community hall (trigger to be agreed) and transferred to SNDC/DCC or potentially the unitary authority on a suggested 999 year lease with option to sub-let to appropriate organisation (e.g. Parish Council).

With regards to health care facilities, Policy N4 of the WNJCS requires this service to be provided within the Local Centre. Advice has been sought from the NHS who have advised that any future population growth will have an impact on surrounding practices and if the practice were to find themselves significantly over capacity, this would have a knock-on impact for neighbouring practices that accepts patients from the same post-codes. The NHS have suggested a contribution based on the agreed population ratios. This contribution will be secured by the S106 agreement and will be used to provide an extension to the existing health care facility at St Luke’s or another surgery, details to be agreed.

Overall conclusion of the proposed Local Centre upon the development and surrounding area

The Local Centre is considered to be of an appropriate scale designed to serve the local communities. Subject to the imposition of planning conditions and obligations with the S106, it is considered the proposed development is in accordance with WNJCS Policies S9 and N4 and it is consequently considered that it will not have a significant adverse impact on the vitality and viability of primary shopping areas in Northampton.

AIR QUALITY

An assessment of the likely impact of the proposed development on local air quality is included within Chapter 5 of the submitted Environmental Statement (ES). It considers the potential effects of construction and operation of the development and considered the suitability of the site for residential development.

Policy BN9 of the JCS sets out criteria for the control of pollution from new development including;

 Maintaining and improving air quality, particularly in poor air quality areas, in accordance with national air quality standards and best practice

The NPPF, paragraph 181, states that planning policies and decision should sustain and contribute towards compliance with relevant limit value or national objectives for pollutants……and the cumulative impacts form individual sites in local area.

Northampton Borough Council have not declared an Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) within the locality of the site however background concentrations have been defined using the national pollution maps published by Defra. Exceedances of the annual mean EU limit value for nitrogen dioxide in the study area have been identified using the maps of roadside concentrations published by Defra. Existing sources of emissions within the study area have been defined using a number of approaches.

The main potential effects during construction works are dust deposition and elevated PM10 (particulate matter) concentrations. During construction it will therefore be necessary to apply a package of mitigation measures to minimise the potential for dust annoyance and elevated Particulate Matter (PM10) concentrations. A condition is recommended which requires the applicant to submit a Construction Environmental Management Plan.

Even with the Construction Environmental Management Plan in place there remains a risk that a number of existing off-site properties might be affected by occasional impacts. Any effects will be temporary and relatively short lived and will only arise during dry weather with the wind blowing towards a receptor, at a time when dust is being generated and mitigations measures are not being fully effective. The overall impacts during construction are however judged to be minor and ‘not significant’.

The operational impacts of increased traffic emissions arising from the additional traffic on local roads, due to the development, have been assessed. Concentrations have been modelled for a number of worst-case receptors, representing existing properties where impacts are expected to be greatest. In addition, the impact of traffic emissions from local roads on the air quality for future residents have been assessed at eight locations within the new development itself. In the case of nitrogen dioxide, a sensitivity test has also been carried out which considers the potential under-performance of emissions control technology on modern diesel vehicles.

It is concluded that concentrations of pollutants will remain below the objective at all existing receptors in 2025, whether the scheme is developed or note. Consequently, air quality does not provide any constraints to the delivery of the proposed development.

Overall conclusion on the impact of the development upon the quality of air within the locality

The Council’s Environmental Protection Officer is satisfied that air quality assessments have been undertaken in accordance with the relevant standards and procedures and concurs with the conclusions and mitigation proposed, where necessary. For these reasons, subject to the imposition of planning conditions, it is considered that the proposed development would be in accordance with Saved Policy GN1 of the Local Plan and Policy BN9 of the JCS and the overarching intentions of the NPPF.

NOISE

An assessment of the likely impact of the proposed development on the noise and vibration climate of the area is included within Chapter 5 of the submitted Environmental Statement (ES).

Policy S10 of the JCS requires new development to minimise pollution from noise.

The NPPF, paragraph 180, states that planning policies and decisions should ‘mitigate and reduce to a minimum potential adverse impacts resulting from noise from new development and avoid noise giving rise to significant adverse impacts on health and the quality of life’.

The noise assessment carried out by Cole Jarman considers the impact of noise and vibration arising from the construction and operation of the proposed development, the effect of noise and vibration sources in the vicinity of the site on the proposed development and a qualitative assessment of plant noise emissions with respect to minimising the impact of the proposed industrial and commercial uses at nearby residential receptors.

With regards to noise effects at existing residences due to changes in traffic flows on local road network associated with the development, in the short and long term, a negligible significance is assessed to nearby dwellings. The assessment takes into account all development phase and the cumulative effects of other nearby developments.

Noise impacts during the construction phase have been considered. Example construction noise criteria have been set out and best practice means have been suggested to minimise the noise impacts as far as possible and practical. This can be controlled and maintained within acceptable levels through a Construction Environmental Management Plan (CEMP). This can be secured by the imposition of a condition requiring the CEMP to be agreed prior to work commencing. Allowing for this, the impact is assessed as being generally Low Adverse with a small potential for Medium Adverse impacts to be observed, but only over limited periods. The significance of the effect is therefore considered to be Minor Adverse.

Potential effects upon proposed residences within the development have been considered in terms of road traffic noise for all phases of the development forming the Application A. Road traffic noise will be mitigated as an inherent part of the layout and design of the proposed development to ensure a suitable noise environment is provided for future occupiers. The significance of effect will be negligible.

Potential impacts upon the proposed primary school to be included within Phase 1 have been considered in terms of road traffic noise. Road traffic noise will be mitigated as an inherent part of the layout and design of the school to ensure a suitable noise environment is provided for future occupiers. The significance of effect will be negligible.

Overall conclusion on the impact of the development with regards to noise implications

The Council’s Environmental Protection Officer is satisfied that noise assessments have been undertaken in accordance with the relevant standards and procedures and concurs with the conclusions and mitigation proposed, where necessary. The design of this outline planning application has taken into account the site constraints from noise. Issues relating to noise arising during construction can be satisfactorily controlled through the use of appropriately worded conditions. In that event it is considered that the scheme will accord with Saved PolicyGN1 of the Local Plan and Policy BN9 of the JCS and the overarching intentions of the NPPF.

DRAINAGE AND FLOOD RISK

Chapter 10 of the submitted Environmental Statement contains a Flood Risk Assessment (FRA) for the application site and the proposed development. An FRA has been prepared in accordance with NPPF, which provides an assessment of flood risk to the site and demonstrates that future occupants of the site will be safe from flooding and that the proposed development will not increase flood risk elsewhere.

The NPPF at paragraph 163 advises that LPA’s should, when determining planning application, ensure that flood risk is not increased elsewhere. Paragraph 165 advises that major developments should incorporate sustainable drainage systems unless there is clear evidence that this would be inappropriate.

Policy BN7 of the JCS sets out general development principles and requires that development proposals include adequate provisions for foul and surface water drainage, incorporating allowances for climate change.

The site generally has a low flood risk of flooding from all sources. A relatively small flood extent is located in close proximity to Dallington Brook on the site. These areas are to be designated as open space and therefore do not pose a flood risk to properties.

The site is currently greenfield and drains naturally to Dallington Brook and the associated tributaries. The effect of the drainage strategy and mitigation measures proposed will ensure potential effects remain at negligible levels;

 Surface water runoff from the proposed development is to be managed by restricting runoff to the equivalent greenfield runoff rate for each return period, up to the 1 in 200 year plus climate change event, and providing on-site attenuation storage to cater for this runoff.  The Sustainable Urban Drainage System (SUDS) will form a ‘treatment train’ naturally controlling the urban pollutant, and contaminants from vehicular areas will be intercepted and retained by petrol interceptors where appropriate, and thus prevented from entering and receiving watercourse via the site’s surface water management system.

During construction the adoption of industry standard techniques for the management and treatment of surface water run-off through the implementation of the CEMO will lead to the residual risk to water quality and quantity leaving the site being negligible during demolition and construction.

The Environment Agency, Anglian Water and the Lead Local Flood Authority (NNC) have all considered the application and the submitted Flood Risk Assessment. Between the consultees there is a consensus of opinion and they are satisfied that the level of detail submitted with the outline planning application is appropriate to address flood risk and surface water drainage matters. If planning permission is granted, all consultees require the imposition of detailed conditions with regards to the submission of full details of the surface water drainage system and a scheme for the maintenance and upkeep of the drainage system.

Overall conclusion on the impact of the development upon drainage and flood risk

Subject to the imposition of planning conditions it is considered that the proposed development would be in accordance with Saved Policy GN1 of the Local Plan and Policies BN7 and BN7a of the JCS and the overarching intentions of the NPPF.

LAND CONTAMINATION

Policy BN9 of the JCS requires that proposals for new development which are likely to cause pollution or result in exposure to sources of pollution must demonstrate that they proposed opportunities to minimise and where possible reduce pollution issues. Policy BN10 relates to ground instability and states that development will only be permitted on sites of unstable or potentially unstable land provided that, the nature of the ground stability has been assessed and appropriately mitigated.

The NPPF requires that decisions ensure that “a site is suitable for its new use taking account of Ground Conditions and any risks arising from land instability and contamination. This includes risks arising from natural hazards or former activities such as mining and any proposals for mitigation including land remediation (as well as potential impacts on the natural environment arising from that remediation)”; and that “after remediation, as a minimum, land should not be capable of being determined as contaminated land under Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act 1990”.

The Environmental Statement (Chapter 11) includes an assessment of the proposed development on ground conditions and the likely constraints for the proposed development relating to land contamination and geotechnical issues. The site has been subject to a detailed desk study and an extensive initial phase of intrusive investigations, soil and groundwater testing and ground gas monitoring.

The investigations to date indicate that the site has a history mainly of agricultural usages since the late 19th century and contamination presence in soils or groundwater is likely to be associated with the specific target areas and therefore of limited extent and severity.

Further sampling, testing and monitoring will be required at specific target locations such as the farms, former landfill areas, former allotments and the sheep dip location in order to determine detailed mitigation measures such as remediation, provision of capping or enhanced gas protection.

The ES concludes that from the investigations to date there would appear to be no serious impediment to the development from a geotechnical or geo-environmental perspective and no requirement for inherent mitigation measures. Most potential impacts will be mitigated by standard measures and practices and the few actionable mitigation measures are not unusual – they are of a nature that is commonly undertaken on many sites in the region. With mitigation measures implemented, all effects of the propose development will be negligible.

Overall conclusion on the impact of the development upon ground levels within the site

Environmental Protection Officers are satisfied that the impacts identified can be suitably mitigated through planning conditions and therefore comply with the requirements of Saved Policy GN1 and Policies BN9 and BN10 of the JCS and the overarching intentions of the NPPF.

SUSTAINABILITY

Policy S10 of the JCS sets out 11 sustainable development principles that all new development should aim to achieve, which include measures such as making use of sustainably sourced materials, minimising resource demand and maximizing water efficiency.

Paragraph 8 of the NPPF emphasises that there are three dimensions to sustainable development; economic, social and environmental. The proposals for the development have been prepared to address each of three dimensions in order to deliver a new sustainable community.

Economic – The site is ideally located within links to existing and future employment area. New employment will also be provided within the site at the primary school and the new retail and community facilities. New jobs will be created during the construction phase and once occupied; spending by new residents will result in economic benefits to local businesses and their employees. Contributions by developers towards new highways infrastructure will also have a positive economic effect on the local area.

Social – The proposal will provide up to 1,750 new homes, with approximately 2,550 in the full SUE allocation. This will include a range of types and tenures and will help to meet identified private and affordable housing need in the local area.

Local services within the site such as the primary school and community facilities will avoid the potential for over capacity issues in nearby facilities. Contributions will be provided where necessary for capacity improvements to off-site facilities where these are not being provided on site.

The provision of on-site open space, leisure and recreation facilities including pedestrian and cycle links to existing neighbourhoods and the wider countryside, will provide opportunities for existing future residents to live a healthy lifestyle.

Environmental – The proposal includes the retention of existing landscape, biodiversity and historic features, as well as new landscape planting. The site location within a ‘bowl’ avoids potential views of the development and protects the setting of nearby villages.

New footpaths, cycleways and public transport will help to reduce the potential for private car use and its resultant effects on air quality and amenity. By locating facilities on-site in close proximity to each other, this also should reduce vehicle use as they will be accessible and not require subsequent trips.

A Flood Risk Assessment and Surface Water Drainage System have been prepared which take into account the risks of climate change so that the proposals can mitigate and adapt to these risks. The proposals include sustainable measures for dealing with both on-site drainage and to avoid increasing the risk of flooding elsewhere.

The new homes will be built in accordance with the prevailing building regulations to ensure that their performance and method for achieving Zero Carbon Homes is achieved. The approach and technologies that have been proven and that the applicant is rolling out includes;

1. Improved building fabric efficiency – still the most important element ‘built-into’ the units 2. Technologies from:  Photovoltaic Panel (PV);  Flue Gas Heat Recovery Systems (FGHR);  Mechanical Ventilation and Heat Recovery (MVHR) 3. Water efficiency measures to achieve reduced targets in water-stress areas.

Overall conclusion on the proposed development and its sustainability

Given that Building Regulations are now in line with practical and viable modern technologies, it is not considered necessary to impose conditions as this is covered by separate legislation.

PHASING

The developer seeks to deliver the proposals over an 11 year period. The time scale would depend on speed on construction and sale of properties which is very much dependent on the general economic situation. The phasing of development will influence when infrastructure such as schools are required and highway improvements need to be carried out.

There are no definitive time scales for each phase and more than one phase can be under construction at a single time. The applicants have proposed a very broad phasing strategy based on 5 phases;

Phase 1 includes for up to 600 residential units, a 3 form entry primary school, local centre and new main access off New Sandy Lane, as well as the primary access to Port Road. The built elements of Phase 1 are being applied for under both Application A and Application B. The north eastern part of Phase 1 is on land controlled by other and does nor form part of the current applications.

Phases 2 and 3 include new residential units, sport pitches and open space, along with the new primary access to Roman Road.

Phases 4 and 5 are part of the Northampton West SUE but include land controlled by others that are not part of the current applications.

There is a further area of land to the south east of the application site which forms part of the allocated Northampton West SUE but is included in separate planning applications being brought forward by others (Northampton Norwood Farm/Upton Lodge SUE – Policy N9A of the JCS). There is also an area to the north east of the application which again forms part of the allocated Northampton West SUE (Planning approval DA/2016/0840 – construction of 52 dwelling including public open space, balancing ponds and associated infrastructure – approved 30.10.2017).

Each phase will provide areas of landscaping, public open space and attenuation as necessary. Conditions are proposed to ensure the delivery of these issues.

Officers consider that the submitted phasing strategy is vague and does not provide an adequate basis for the effective and properly coordinated delivery of the SUE. Therefore a condition is recommended requiring the submission of a detailed phasing plan that demonstrates how the development of new homes, highways and other kinds of infrastructure will be coordinated to achieve a satisfactory and sustainable development for the existing and future residents of Northampton West.

The standard conditions for the submission of reserved matters and duration of any permission would not be appropriate in view of the projected construction period and therefore a condition granting an 11 year implementation period is proposed.

SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACTS

Chapter 8 of the NPPF contains guidance relating to “promoting healthy and safe communities”. It directs that planning policies should aim to achieve healthy, inclusive and safe places that promote social interaction, are safe and accessible and support healthy lifestyles. Chapter 5 contains guidance relating to “delivering a sufficient supply of homes”, ensuring that a sufficient amount and variety of land is available in areas in which it is needed, that the housing needs of specific groups are addressed and to ensure that land with planning permission is developed without unnecessary delay. Chapter 6 contains guidance seeking to encourage “building a strong, competitive economy.” It directs that there should be a strong focus on encouraging economic growth and productivity, accounting for both local business needs and wider opportunities for development.

The proposed development would bring a number of socio-economic benefits. The total population when the development is complete will be around 4,600 residents (1,380 within Phase 1). Direct investment is most keenly felt in the employment market and has been estimated based on total construction costs for the built development and localised infrastructure of approximately £230 million. The significant scale and duration of the proposed development ensure the potential impact will be sustained and based on an even phasing of the construction activity across the 18 year period support for the equivalent of up to 149 full time equivalent (FTE) jobs will be provided.

Following completion, the 1750 new households could support, directly and indirectly, 202 FTE jobs. The nature of the proposed employment uses means there will be opportunities across the employment hierarchy with some professional jobs, mangers, sales staff and skilled and semi-skilled manual jobs.

For the reasons summarised above, it is considered that the socio-economic impacts of the development will on balance, be positive and where they are considered to have an impact, will be suitably mitigated either through on-site provision or by off-site contributions via A106 and/or CIL.

Overall conclusion on the proposed development and its socio-economic impact

For the reasons outlined above, Officers consider the socio-economic impacts of the development will largely be positive and where they are considered to have an impact, will be suitably mitigated through onsite provision or by offsite contributions via S106 and/or CIL

ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENT

Prior to the submission of the application, the applicants sought the opinion from this authority as to the scope of the ES that needed to be submitted with the application under the requirements of the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations. This opinion was duly provided, following consultation with the required statutory bodies. The content of the ES and its conclusions are set out above, including the addendum to the ES that was necessitated primarily by the requirements of the Highway Authority. Overall, it is considered that, having regard to the Regulations, the ES demonstrates that an appropriate assessment of all of the known likely environmental impacts of the proposed development, taking account of the cumulative impact of the development with other known development in the locality, has been undertaken. Each of the topic areas with the ES has, variously, been considered by the appropriate statutory, and other, consultees. Their responses are reported above, under “Consultations” and, where appropriate, have been commenced on in this section of the report, particularly where adverse comments were received.

INFRASTRUCTURE AND DEVELOPER CONTRIBUTIONS

All large scale development, with the resulting increase in population, would put pressure on existing facilities. Some facilities may have spare capacity but others will require expansion, improvement or new provision to enable them to accommodate the increase in population from the proposed developments. Work has been undertaken to identify the necessary community infrastructure to support the application proposals and mitigate their impact. This has identified a mixture of on site and off site provision, direct provision of facilities and financial payments.

Section 106 of the Town & Country Planning Act allows for planning obligations to be entered into in connection with development. Specific regulations (linked to the introduction of Community Infrastructure Levy) introduced in 2010 & 2011 make it unlawful for a planning obligation to be taken into account when determining a planning application if the obligation does not meet the following tests;

(a) Necessary to make the development acceptable in planning terms

(b) Directly related to the development

The community infrastructure identified as necessary, (meeting the tests set out above), covers a wide range of items, some the development could not go ahead without, for example the need to provide safe highway access, whilst others are necessary to meet National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and Local Plan requirements, for example the measures to achieve biodiversity mitigation. A long list of mitigation items have been identified by the District, County Council and other external bodies including the NHS.

Extensive discussions have been held with the applicant regarding the nature of the planning obligations that would be necessary to be included in a Section 106 Agreement. These items are still in the final stages of negotiation (in terms of the timing of their provision), but will cover the following areas;

Daventry District Council

 Affordable housing  Community Building – not less than 600sqm internal floor area (based on Sport England specification) Commuted sum for maintenance

 General green space – 14.94ha proposed Commuted sum for maintenance

 Play areas 2 x LAP (400sqm min + 100sqm buffer

2 x LEAP/LAP combined (4000sqm x 2 =80000sqm)

1 x NEAP (85000sqm)

Plus commuted sum

 Allotments – 1.45ha plus commuted sum  Outdoor Sports – 9.31 ha 2 x senior football pitches

2 x junior football pitches

Car park

Maintenance for senior pitch

Maintenance for junior pitch

Pavilion (6 team changing room and club room). Maintenance for pavilion

 Highways Contribution towards NWRR of £2,800 per dwelling

NGMS contribution of £426.63 per dwelling

Off-site mitigation works £143,770.37 towards St James’s Corridor Scheme

 Public Transport £1000 per dwelling towards extended bus service (plus enhanced bus service once development exceeds 430 occupations including a ‘half hourly’ service on occupation of the 875th dwelling and a ‘twenty minute’ service on occupation of 1,400th dwelling – capped at £1,750,000

Provision of 1 No. 28 day bus ‘taster’ pass per dwelling

 NHS primary healthcare - £779.14 per dwelling  Monitoring fee

Northamptonshire County Council

 Early Years Education cost per dwelling  Primary Education 2.5 form entry primary school (3.11ha land and contribution of £7,500,000)  Cost towards libraries cost per dwelling

LOCAL FINANCE CONSIDERATIONS

Section 70(2) of the Town & Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended) provides that a local planning authority must have regard to a local finance consideration as far as it is material.

Section 70(4) of the 1990 Act (as amended) defines a local finance consideration as a grant or other financial assistance that has been, that will or that could be provided to a relevant authority by a Minister of the Crown (such as New Homes Bonus payments), or sums that a relevant authority has received, or will or could receive, in payment of the Community Infrastructure Levy.

Whether or not a ‘local finance consideration’ is material to a particular decision will depend on whether it could help to make the development acceptable in planning terms. It would not be appropriate to make a decision based on the potential for the development to raise money for a local authority or other Government body.

In deciding an application for planning permission or appeal where a local financial consideration is material, decision takers need to ensure that the reasons supporting the decision clearly state how the consideration has been taken into account and its connection to the development.

New Homes Bonus payments recognise the efforts made by authorities to bring residential development forward. Even where anticipated Bonus payments are not a material consideration in making planning decisions, they can be noted for information in committee reports on applications for housing. Where this is done, care will be required not to imply that

Bonus payments are relevant to the decision before the committee.

The receipt of New Homes Bonus payments in this application is not necessary to make the application acceptable in planning terms and as such limited weight should be afforded to such receipts in determination of this application.

The accommodation proposed within the application will attract CIL payments. The Council brought the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) into force in the District on 1st September 2015. The effect of this is that certain items which may have been sought to be provided by planning obligations (s106) in accordance with the SPD can no longer be. These items are set out in the Regulation 123 List.

Due to the outline nature of the development the CIL figure is currently unknown. The CIL charge will be calculated fully upon the submission of a detailed reserved matters application. Certain reliefs and exemptions are available and if claimed could result in a zero charge, unless disqualifying events occur. (For further information relating to CIL please visit https://www.daventrydc.gov.uk/living/planning-policy/cil/

PLANNING BALANCE AND CONCLUSION

Legislation dictates that planning applications be determined in accordance with the provisions of the development plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise. The NPPF, at paragraph 11, states that:

Plans and decision should apply a presumption in favour of sustainable development. For decision taking this means:

c) approving development proposal that accord with an up-to-date development plan without delay; or

d) where there are no relevant development plan policies, or the policies which are most important for determining the application are out-of-date, granting permission unless:

The application of policies in this Framework that protect areas or assets of particular importance provides a clear reason for refusing the development proposed; or

Any adverse impacts of doing so would significantly and demonstrable outweigh the benefits, when assessed against the policies in this Framework taken as a whole.

With reference to out of date policies, this includes, for applications involving the provision of housing, situations where the Local Planning Authority cannot demonstrate a five year supply of deliverable housing sites (with the appropriate buffer, as set out in paragraph 73); or where the Housing Delivery Test indicates that the delivery of housing was substantially below (less than 75% of) the housing requirement over the previous three years.

i. In the context of this application, a view has to be taken as to whether or not there are any adverse impacts that would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits of granting consent when assessed against the policies in the Framework as a whole. ii. The Council accepts that it cannot currently demonstrate that it has a five year housing land supply (insofar as it relates to the NRDA) and recognises the contribution towards affordable housing provision and substantial contribution towards meeting the housing needs associated with the NRDA as a material consideration in favour of the proposal.

RECOMMENDATION

Application A

a)The execution of an Agreement under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and Section 111 of the Local Government Act 1972 towards the provision of the following:  Affordable housing  Provision of public open space  Commuted sum towards the maintenance of public open space  Provision of sports pitches, LAP’s, LEAP’s and NEAP’s  Provision of a community building within the local centre with associated commuted sums  Payment of public transport contribution  Payment of contribution/provision of off-site highway mitigation junction improvements  Payment of financial contribution/on site delivery of a primary school  Payment of financial contribution towards library improvements  Payment of financial contribution towards primary health care provision  Payment of the Council’s monitoring costs.

necessary to mitigate and manage the impact of the proposed development in accordance with relevant policies and having regards to those matters that would be covered by the Community Infrastructure Levy.

b) Conditions relating to the following matters

 Time limits and approval of Reserved Matters  Phasing  Masterplanning and Design (including open space strategy, landscaping)  Highways and Movement  Affordable Housing  Environmental Sustainability (including construction environmental management plan, contaminated land, noise)  Heritage and Archaeology (including a programme of archaeological works, a written scheme of investigation)  Environmental management and protection (including protection of bats, provision of bird boxes, protection of trees, installation of sensitive lighting  Sustainable drainage and infrastructure (including foul water strategy, electric car charging points, fire hydrants)  Local centre (including a scheme for CCTV)  Play and open space provision

Detailed conditions will be provided as late representations at the committee meeting.

c) That in the event that the required Section 106 Agreement is completed satisfactorily, that the Executive Director (Community) be given delegated authority to issue the planning permission, but in the even that it is not possible to conclude negotiations satisfactorily, or that any outstanding technical issue is not resolved satisfactorily, that the application be brought back to this Committee for further consideration and determination. d) The Statutory determination period for this application expires on 10th October 2019. If the Section 106 Agreement is not completed and the permission is not able to be issued by this date and no extension of time has been agreed between the parties, it is further recommended that the Executive Director (Community) is given delegated authority to refuse the application for the following reason:

In the absence of a satisfactory unilateral undertaking or any other form of Section 106 legal agreement the Local Planning Authority is not satisfied that the proposed development makes sufficient provision to mitigate the off-site impacts on existing communities services and infrastructure serving the development necessary to make the impacts of the development acceptable in planning terms, to the detriment of both existing and proposed residents and contrary to Policies N4, INF1 and INF2 of the West Northamptonshire Joint Core Strategy

Application B

The Executive Director (Community) be granted delegated powers to finalise matters associated with the completion of the S106 agreement and the range, scope and drafting of all conditions attached to this permission and issue outline consent subject to: a) The execution of an Agreement under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and Section 111 of the Local Government Act 1972 towards the provision of the following:

 Affordable housing  Provision of public open space  Commuted sum towards the maintenance of public open space  Provision of sports pitches, LAP’s, LEAP’s and NEAP’s  Provision of a community building within the local centre with associated commuted sums  Payment of public transport contribution  Payment of contribution/provision of off-site highway mitigation junction improvements  Payment of financial contribution/on site delivery of a primary school  Payment of financial contribution towards library improvements  Payment of financial contribution towards primary health care provision  Payment of the Council’s monitoring costs.

b) Conditions relating to the following matters

Detailed conditions will be provided as late representations at the committee meeting.