South Northamptonshire Part 2 Local Plan 2011-2029 South Northamptonshire Local Plan (Part 2) Foreword South Northants is a great place to live, work and invest, with its two successful market towns, of Brackley and Towcester, the dynamic Silverstone circuit supporting the High Performance Technology and Motorsport Engineering sector, a wonderful landscape and villages, many of which contain conservation areas, reflecting the history and heritage that is the foundation of the District. The Local Plan embraces that backdrop and seeks to ensure any new development is good development in the right locations to support growth. This Local Plan for South Northants builds on the West Northamptonshire Joint Core Strategy, by adding local detail including looking at the sustainability of our villages and providing a settlement hierarchy. The plan also reviews and reinstates confines for all the main villages across the District, to ensure they can grow in an appropriate way and proper scale. The Plan contains a series of new policies to guide the construction of all types of housing, such as starter homes, self-build and homes for older people to ensure greater housing choice is provided for all local residents. We want to support small scale appropriate local housing growth in accordance with the NPPF, in addition to the large housing sites that are under construction at Radstone Fields, Brackley, Towcester South and the edge of Northampton, This Plan sets out how. As a council we recognise that a strong economy is at the heart of our quality of life and the policies in the plan seek to retain the employment land we have as well as to increase the supply of new employment sites. We aim to meet the demand for small and medium sized units by suitable land allocation. The Plan also contains policies that will ensure future growth ambitions can be met, through for example protecting land to consider future infrastructure needs of the A5 relief road in the future. In short, this is a plan which looks forward by embracing growth and guiding it to the right locations. It seeks to maintain the economic strengths of the District while meeting the needs of a growing population and ensuring that what makes the District special is at the heart of our planning. Councillor Ian McCord Leader South Northamptonshire Council. 1 South Northamptonshire Local Plan (Part 2) Contents Foreword 1 List of Appendices: 4 List of Policies 5 Introduction 7 1.1 Local Plan Context 7 2 Spatial Portrait, Vision and Objectives 14 2.1 Spatial Portrait of South Northamptonshire 14 2.2 Vision and Objectives 19 3 The Spatial Strategy for South Northamptonshire District 22 3.1 Relationship with the West Northamptonshire Joint Core Strategy: 22 3.2 Settlement Hierarchy 24 3.3 General Site Development Principles 27 4 Delivering Housing 35 4.1 Scale and Distribution of Housing 35 4.2 Development within Town and Village confines 36 4.3 Dwellings in the Open Countryside and Starter Homes 38 4.4 Entry Level Exception Sites 39 4.5 Single Dwellings in the Countryside 41 4.6 Self-Build/Custom Build Development 42 4.7 Specialist Housing and Accommodation Needs: 44 4.8 Residential/Nursing Care 47 4.9 Affordable housing 48 4.10 Build to Rent 50 4.11 Housing Mix, standards and accessibility 51 4.12 Gypsies, Travellers and Travelling Show People 54 5 The Economy 56 5.1 Context 56 5.2 Supporting skills 57 5.3 Existing Commercial Sites 58 5.4 New Employment Development 60 5.5 The Visitor Economy 62 5.6 Whittlebury Park Hotel, Spa, Golf & Country Club 64 5.7 Farm Diversification 66 6 Retail and the Town Centres 68 6.1 Brackley and Towcester town centres 68 6.2 Primary Shopping Frontages and Secondary Shopping areas 70 7 Well Designed Places and Sustainable Communities 73 2 South Northamptonshire Local Plan (Part 2) 7.1 Context 73 7.2 Achieving well designed places: 74 7.3 Residential Extensions: 75 7.4 Health and Wellbeing: 76 8 Infrastructure Funding and Delivery: 80 8.1 Context 80 8.2 Funding and delivering Infrastructure: 81 8.3 Infrastructure and Community Facilities 83 8.4 Community Facilities: 83 8.5 Meeting Education Needs 84 8.6 Electric and Low Emission Vehicles and Associated Infrastructure 86 9 Green Space, Sport and Recreation: 88 9.1 Context 88 9.2 Open Space Standards: 88 9.3 Playing Pitches: 89 9.4 Local Green Spaces 91 9.5 Private and Amenity Green Space: 93 9.6 Backland Development 94 10 Heritage: 96 10.1 Context 96 10.2 Scheduled Ancient Monuments and Archaeology 98 10.3 Historic Parks and Gardens 100 10.4 Registered Battlefields 101 10.5 Listed buildings 101 10.6 Conservation Areas 102 10.7 Non-designated heritage assets 104 11 The Natural Environment 106 11.1 Context 106 11.2 Upper Nene Valley Gravel Pits Special Protection Area: 106 11.3 Special Landscape Areas 108 11.4 Green Infrastructure 110 11.5 Trees, Woodland and Hedgerows 111 11.6 Biodiversity 113 11.7 Sites of Special Scientific Interest and Protected Species 114 12 Connections 117 12.1 Towcester Safeguarding 117 12.2 Protecting and enhancing the Canal Network 118 13 Employment Allocations 121 13.1 Context 121 3 South Northamptonshire Local Plan (Part 2) 13.2 Towcester Employment Allocations 122 13.3 Rural Employment Allocations: 131 List of Appendices: Appendix 1: Proposals Maps Appendix 2: Policies Replaced by this Local Plan Appendix 3: Monitoring Framework Appendix 4: Evidence Base Appendix 5: Glossary 4 South Northamptonshire Local Plan (Part 2) List of Policies The Spatial Strategy: POLICY SS1: THE SETTLEMENT HIERARCHY 25 POLICY SS2: GENERAL DEVELOPMENT AND DESIGN PRINCIPLES 33 Delivering Housing POLICY LH1: RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT INSIDE AND OUTSIDE 37 SETTLEMENT CONFINES POLICY LH2: STARTER HOMES OUTSIDE SETTLEMENT CONFINES 39 POLICY LH3: ENTRY LEVEL EXCEPTION SITES 40 POLICY LH4: SINGLE DWELLINGS IN THE OPEN COUNTRYSIDE 41 POLICY LH5: SELF AND CUSTOM BUILT HOMES 43 POLICY LH6: SPECIALIST HOUSING AND ACCOMMODATION NEEDS 46 POLICY LH7: RESIDENTIAL/NURSING CARE 47 POLICY LH8: AFFORDABLE HOUSING 49 POLICY LH9: BUILD TO RENT 50 POLICY LH10: HOUSING MIX AND TYPE 53 POLICY LH11 GYPSY, TRAVELLERS AND TRAVELLING SHOW PEOPLE 55 The Economy POLICY EMP1: SUPPORTING SKILLS 58 POLICY EMP2: EXISTING COMMERCIAL SITES 60 POLICY EMP3: NEW EMPLOYMENT DEVELOPMENT 61 POLICY EMP4: THE VISITOR ECONOMY 63 POLICY EMP5: LEISURE AND TOURISM AND WHITTLEBURY HALL 65 POLICY EMP6: FARM DIVERSIFICATION 67 Retail and the Town Centres POLICY RET1: BRACKLEY AND TOWCESTER TOWN CENTRES 69 POLICY RET 2: PRIMARY SHOPPING FRONTAGE 72 Well-designed places and Sustainable Communities POLICY SDP1: RESIDENTIAL EXTENSIONS AND UPWARD EXTENSIONS 75 POLICY SDP2: HEALTH FACILITIES AND WELLBEING 79 Infrastructure and Funding POLICY INF1: INFRASTRUCTURE DELIVERY AND FUNDING 82 POLICY INF2: COMMUNITY FACILITIES 84 POLICY INF3: EDUCATION FACILITIES 85 POLICY INF4: ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING POINTS 87 Green Space, Sport and Recreation POLICY GS1: OPEN SPACE, SPORT AND RECREATION 91 POLICY GS2: LOCAL GREEN SPACES 93 POLICY GS3: RESIDENTIAL GARDEN EXTENSIONS 94 POLICY GS4: BACKLAND DEVELOPMENT 95 Heritage: POLICY HE1: SIGNIFICANCE OF HERITAGE ASSETS 98 5 South Northamptonshire Local Plan (Part 2) POLICY HE2: SCHEDULED ANCIENT MONUMENTS & ARCHAEOLOGY 99 POLICY HE3: HISTORIC PARKS AND GARDENS 100 POLICY HE4: REGISTERED BATTLEFIELDS 101 POLICY HE5: LISTED BUILDINGS 102 POLICY HE6: CONSERVATION AREAS 103 POLICY HE7: NON-DESIGNATED HERITAGE ASSETS 104 The Natural Environment: POLICY NE1: UPPER NENE GRAVEL PITS SPECIAL PROTECTION 107 AREA POLICY NE2: SPECIAL LANDSCAPE AREAS 109 POLICY NE3: GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE CORRIDORS 111 POLICY NE4: TREES, WOODLANDS AND HEDGEROWS 112 POLICY NE5: BIODIVERSITY AND GEODIVERSITY 115 POLICY NE6: SITES OF SPECIAL SCIENTIFIC INTEREST AND 116 PROTECTED SPECIES POLICY NE7: DEVELOPMENT IN THE NATURE IMPROVEMENT AREA 116 Connections: POLICY CON1: A5 TOWCESTER SAFEGUARDING 117 POLICY CON2: CANAL MOORING PROVISION 119 POLICY CON3: CANAL FACILITIES AND NEW MARINAS 120 Employment Allocations: POLICY AL1: LAND AT BELL PLANTATION, TOWCESTER 127 POLICY AL2: LAND AT WOOLGROWERS FIELD, TOWCESTER 128 POLICY AL3: LAND AT TIFFIELD LANE, TOWCESTER 130 POLICY AL4: EMPLOYMENT LAND, SHACKS BARN, WHITTLEBURY 132 POLICY AL5: LAND AT FORMER FURTHO PIT, OLD STRATFORD/ COSGROVE 135 IMPORTANT NOTE The development plan should be read as a whole This includes both the Part 2 Local Plan, the West Northamptonshire Joint Core Strategy, ‘made’ Neighbourhood Plans together with material considerations. Any planning applications should have regard to all relevant policies. The policies in this Plan are strategic policies for the purpose of providing context for Neighbourhood Plans. 6 South Northamptonshire Local Plan (Part 2) Introduction 1.1 Local Plan Context 1.1.1 This Plan, the South Northamptonshire Local Plan (Part 2), was adopted at a meeting of South Northamptonshire’s full Council on 22 July 2020. 1.1.2 The Part 2 Settlements and Countryside Local Plan for South Northamptonshire (Part 2 Plan) builds on the policies of the adopted West Northamptonshire Joint Core Strategy (“WNJCS”) (2014) and will cover the whole of the administrative area of South Northamptonshire, including areas identified within the WNJCS as being required to meet Northampton’s needs. It is being prepared to further guide planning decisions in the area and, once adopted will form part of the Development Plan for the district with the WNJCS and ‘made’ Neighbourhood Plans. The Plan also provides a policy for Gypsies, Travellers and Travelling Show People which had previously been identified as a separate Part 2b Plan for preparation along with Daventry District and Northampton Borough Council. 1.1.3 Once adopted, this plan will replace the remaining ‘saved’ policies of the 1997 South Northamptonshire Local Plan and WNJCS Policy H6: Gypsy, Traveller and Travelling Show People and Policy H2: Affordable Housing.