NORTHAMPTON BOROUGH COUNCIL

ST JAMES/ HARVEY REEVES ROAD DEVELOPMENT AREA PLANNING POLICY STATEMENT ______

1. Purpose of Statement

The Harvey Reeves Road/ St James area of , as shown on the attached plan, is expected to be subject to regeneration and redevelopment in the future. It is proposed that an Action Plan covering the area will be part of the new Local Development Framework for Northampton. This statement follows on from the Development Framework for Harvey Reeves Road prepared on behalf of the Borough Council and English Partnerships by Halcrow plc and approved by the Executive in September 2003.

The statement confirms the preferred type of development, which the Council wishes to see in the area prior to developing any Action Plan further. It provides guidance to developers and collects together the issues, which those submitting development applications will need to take into account.

2. Site evaluation

The site consists of the former waste tip at Harvey Reeves Road, land used for training pitches by Northampton Rugby Football Club, the public open space surrounding Sharman’s Lake and land currently occupied by various businesses within St James, principally the bus depot. The Halcrow Joint Initiative Stage 2 Masterplan and Development Framework issued in September 2003 on behalf of the Borough Council and English Partnerships proposes that the existing recreation and public open space be maintained and enhanced, the St James business sites be redeveloped for residential use, the former waste tip be used for employment and event parking purposes (in view of the proximity of the Football and Rugby stadia) and a road link from Harvey Reeves Road to and the A45 be created. The Executive of the Council approved this framework in September as a basis for regeneration of the area.

The former waste tip at Harvey Reeves Road has never been subject to a proper after use scheme and urgently requires remedial measures to deal with contamination. There is a need to properly manage traffic on matchdays, provide improved links between the river valley and St James for local residents and also deal with the need to provide location for businesses affected by other redevelopment proposals in the Borough

3. Preferred Development Option

General strategy

The Harvey Reeves Road/St James Development Area offers great scope for more efficient use of land and environmental upgrading through relocation of land uses, as proposed in the EP/NBC Joint Initiative Development Framework. The area should be used to accommodate match day parking and other temporary events, businesses involved in recycling and a relocated household recycling centre and provision for bus depot facilities (to include that required by the redevelopment of Greyfriars bus station). New residential development is supported on the frontage to St James Road and provision of new public access routes to enable improved use of the river valley for casual recreation . The development should seek to establish a improved screening and boundary treatment between the urban edge and the river valley.

More detailed guidance is proposed as follows:

Event parking facility

The proposed parking facility shall

• provide match day parking facilities for spectators to Northampton Town FC and Northampton RFC • be accompanied by area wide match day parking restrictions on surrounding roads • be able to be used for other temporary events - eg fairs, shows, markets etc with provision of appropriate service points • provide midweek park and ride facilities if needed and to serve businesses/employers in the St James area • be constructed with a permeable surface or similar to control surface water run off • avoid high security fencing in favour of ditches and other low impact boundary treatment.

Road link

The proposed road link shall

• connect Walter Tull Way, Ross Road and Harvey Reeves Road by a road of adoptable highway standard • provide for safe, segregated movement of large numbers of people • be aligned with regard to minimising the impact upon Stortons Pits Local Nature Reserve • provide appropriate parking facilities for visitors with disabilities to the Nature Reserve • provide for a designated east west cycle route from Upton to St James and the town centre

Recycling/Depot facilities

The development of employment uses at Harvey Reeves Road shall

• Be located alongside the existing St James Industrial Estate and

• provide for activities where a demonstrable need for relocation exists as a result of development proposals elsewhere in the Borough, in particular for relocated bus depot facilities currently at Greyfriars Bus Station and at St James , businesses at Ransome Road, Delapre and the household recycling centre at Weedon Road.

• promote the clustering recycling businesses and operations in the St James area to foster enhanced recycling levels in the Borough

Residential

Residential redevelopment of the First Bus Depot and surrounding parcels of commercial land is supported. Proposals shall:

• provide for a mix of house types and tenures to accord with local and regional assessments of housing need • provide homes built to an agreed environmental standard • provide high density development fronting St James Road , a high quality of urban design including mixed uses, creatively linking St James and the river valley; • provide for the relocation of the Bus Depot and other uses as needed.

Environment and Open space

Proposals for development shall

• Provide for an improved network of paths and bridges to link existing open space and the improvement of recreational facilities and surrounding residential areas • Safeguard the Stortons Pits nature reserve, enable the statutory declaration of the site as a Local Nature Reserve and provide compensatory measures where land is required for the road link. • Provide for improved access to the river valley including provision of a new bridge link to Mill Reservoir and a through pedestrian/cycle path to the river corridor and Upton development to include safe crossing facilities at Upton Way • Provide for compensatory measures to deal with flooding • Support Borough wide strategies for the management of open space

4. Required information to support planning application (s)

• Illustrative masterplan to show principal land uses and phasing of development • Environmental assessment • Flood risk assessment • Travel impact assessment • Urban design statement • Detailed development specific contamination risk assessment and remedial scheme

5. Section 106 planning obligations

These will be sought where necessary and will include:

• Off site highway improvements to include the upgrading of Ross Road, the Ross Road/Weedon Road junction and the St James Mill/Harvey Reeves Road junction. • Funding to enable declaration and future management of Stortons Pits as a Local Nature Reserve • Works necessary in relation to the re-alignment of the Nene Way long distance footpath • Appropriate security measures in relation to parking provision

Planning Policy and Conservation, Northampton Borough Council, December 2003