Hart District Council Local Plan Site Assessment: Stage 2 – High Level Site Assessment – SHL239 – Land at Vicarage Lane, Hound Green Confidential Draft - 1.1 – May 2015

High Level Site Assessment Proforma

Site Reference SHL239 Site Name Land at Vicarage Lane Parish Site Address Land at Vicarage Lane, Hound Green

Capacity Assessment and Categorisation Site Size (ha) 3.09ha Estimated Capacity 55 Comments on capacity The area was used to calculate the capacity using a dph figure of 18 (in accordance with gross-to-net ratio of 60%).

Housing Strategy Category(s) Category 6 - Other Land Supply Category Category D – Potential rural exception

Key to Site Assessments: No overriding constraint to development of the site

Constraint requiring further detailed assessment

Major constraint undermining suitability of site

Site Assessment Assessment Criteria Assessment comments Coloured assessment Accessibility to o Bus Stop: (B3011, Bus route No. 72) 3.5 km Employment and o Railway Station: (Hook) 6.3 km services o Employment Centre: (Hook Business Park) 6.5 km o Public Open Space: (Hartletts Park, Hook) 5.8 km o Health Facility: (Hook Surgery) 5.9 km o Primary School: (Whitewater C of E Primary School, ) 4.8 km. o Secondary school: (Robert Mayʼs school) 9.8 km. o Supermarket: (Tesco, Hook) 6.3 km.

Infrastructure • Schools: There is a projected (2018) surplus of 16% for the Infant/Junior schools in the Hook//Hartley provision Wintney area, including the planned expansion of Hook Infants by 1FE and Hook Junior School by 0.5FE. However, this surplus will not be sufficient to provide school places for any significant development at Hook, and the HDC Infrastructure Delivery Plan (IDP) indicates that additional provision within Hook is required. For secondary schools the projected (2018) surplus capacity across is 9%, although the HDC IDP indicates that capacity expansions for Robert Mayʼs School will be needed. However, access to Robert Mayʼs School from Hook is poor due to the need to cross both the motorway and railway line which prevents cycling being a reasonable alternative.

• Health: There is believed to be some available capacity at local doctor surgeries and dentists in the area.

Adams Hendry Consulting Ltd 1 Hart District Council Local Plan Site Assessment: Stage 2 – High Level Site Assessment – SHL239 – Land at Vicarage Lane, Hound Green Confidential Draft - 1.1 – May 2015

There are no planned expansions of health facilities in the Hook area, but it is likely that any significant level of development in the centre of the district will require additional provision.

• Retail: Hook is the most likely centre to service this site for convenience shopping with a large Tesco just outside the town, however like most of the larger supermarkets in Hart it is overtrading therefore any new development in the area will place demand on the region for more convenience floorspace. Consumers are more likely to travel further to Basingstoke for comparative shopping due to a wider variety of shops and entertainment venues.

• Transport (road): Due to the remote location of this site, there are few road schemes in the immediate vicinity of the site due for improvement; Traffic calming and a new 40MPH speed limit will be introduced to . Additionally there will be traffic calming introduced along the A30 in . Junction improvements to the B3349 in Hook to improve visibility

• Transport (other): The No. 72 bus service (Reading/Farnborough), which provides a regular service six days a week runs through the east of Mattingley Parish (on the B3011) but this is not easily accessible from Hound Green.

• Green Infrastructure: The Hart Infrastructure Delivery Schedule highlights the replacement Hart Leisure Centre at Hitches Lane as a strategic project, for which development could help to address the deficit. In addition the HDC IDP identifies a need for open space, SANGs and allotments provisions in the Hook area.

There is a lack of provision in certain types of infrastructure in the area and development on the site will only increase the pressure on existing services. It is unlikely that the site is of sufficient size to provide the supporting infrastructure onsite.

Current Use and The current use is as an arable agricultural field. No planning history was found. Relevant Planning History

Nature Conservation Site is within the 5km Thames Basin Heaths SPA Zone of Influence. It is unlikely that a development on a site of this scale would be within the capacity of the Hitches Lane SANG to mitigate its potential impact on the TBH SPA. Therefore any development at the site would require either on-site SANGs provision or contributions for the provision of appropriate off-site SANGs.

There are no nature conservation designations on or in close proximity to this site.

Adams Hendry Consulting Ltd 2 Hart District Council Local Plan Site Assessment: Stage 2 – High Level Site Assessment – SHL239 – Land at Vicarage Lane, Hound Green Confidential Draft - 1.1 – May 2015

Minerals Resources The Minerals and Waste Plan Policies Map indicates that the majority of the site may be subject to minerals safeguarding for sharp sand and gravel (Policy 15 of the Hampshire minerals and waste plan). The extent to which this represents a constraint to development would need to be assessed.

Landscape HCC Integrated LCA (2012) Landscape type: Lowland Mosaic small scale Landscape character: Loddon Valley and Forest of West

Hart District LCA 1997: Landscape type: mixed farmland and scattered blocks of woodland Landscape Character Area: Tylney

Main features of the Tylney LCA: A strong landscape structure of mixed farmland and numerous areas of woodland, now remnants of a once extensively wooded landscape. Enclosure of the landscape is also aided by the gently undulating landforms, which contain views. The LCA has a dispersed pattern of small settlements, north of Hook, which are linked by a sparse network of rural lanes, giving the LCA a remote and rural feel.

Summary Assessment: The site forms the north-eastern part of a large arable field. The area to the south and west of the site is very rural and undeveloped, with a gentle rolling landscape that is more open and with less woodland than in some areas within the LCA. Due to this openness of the landscape, clear views, including at long-distance, of any development on the site would be very likely and would be hard to mitigate. In particular views of new development would significantly alter the outlook and rural character of the public right of way that runs through the site from West End Farm to the South. Therefore, development of the site is likely to significantly harm the rural character of the LCA.

Agricultural Land This site is on an area of Grade 3 agricultural land that could include ʻbest and most versatileʼ land.

Heritage Assets There are no heritage assets on the site itself, however, there are a two Grade II Listed Buildings adjacent to the north of the site on Vicarage Lane, namely Glebe Cottage Barn, and Chasedon (Former Vicarage). In addition, the Mattingley, West End Conservation Area is in close proximity to the south west and clear views of any development at the site would be possible from the Conservation Area, which may serve to undermine its heritage value.

Water resources and There are no Groundwater Source Protection Zones or licensed water abstraction points in close proximity to the quality site.

Adams Hendry Consulting Ltd 3 Hart District Council Local Plan Site Assessment: Stage 2 – High Level Site Assessment – SHL239 – Land at Vicarage Lane, Hound Green Confidential Draft - 1.1 – May 2015

Air Quality There are no believed to be any Air Quality Management Aras in close proximity to the site. On the basis of the evidence seen, none of the surrounding land uses would be likely to cause any air quality issues for the site.

Flood risk The site is within Flood Zone 1 and most of it has limited risk of groundwater flooding. However, the south and west of the site have a higher risk of groundwater flooding to basements.

Location and scale of The site is greenfield land and is not within any designated local or strategic gap. The site is at the edge of the development small settlement of Hound Green in what is a very rural area. As Hound Green has no services or facilities, development at the site would be in an unsustainable location, effectively isolated within the countryside. If the site were to be developed to its estimated capacity, it would represent a doubling of the size of Hound Green and would significantly harm the rural character of the settlement.

Un-neighbourly Uses There are no un-neighbourly land uses evident on or in close proximity to this site.

Availability The site is believed to be available and this is supported by the fact that the site was submitted to HDC for Assessment inclusion in the SHLAA post November 2013. The landowner has indicated that the site would be available in the short term (0-5 years).

Site Access The site could be accessed onto Vicarage Lane, although this is a narrow single-tracked rural lane and it is not certain that the lane would have the capacity for a significant increase in vehicular traffic. In addition, there are no pavements on the lane and access for pedestrians could be unsafe considering the likely increase in vehicular usage of the road that would follow a development at this site.

Summary of • Accessibility to all services and facilities is very poor, which will encourage car dependency; Constraints • Infrastructure deficiencies have been identified which would need to be addressed; • Site is isolated within the countryside and in an unsustainable location; • Site is within the setting of two Listed Buildings and may affect the Mattingley West End Conservation Area; • Development will cause visual intrusion into the open rural landscape to the south and west and would be likely to harm the character of the landscape; • Significant development is likely to harm the rural character of Hound Green; • Vehicular and pedestrian access is not likely to be safe or appropriate for the scale of development possible.

Summary of This is a large site but given the various constraints, it is considered that the opportunity it presents would be for a small-scale Opportunities development, possibly fronting onto Vicarage Lane that includes appropriate mitigation of its potential impacts on the landscape character and heritage assets.

Adams Hendry Consulting Ltd 4 Hart District Council Local Plan Site Assessment: Stage 2 – High Level Site Assessment – SHL239 – Land at Vicarage Lane, Hound Green Confidential Draft - 1.1 – May 2015

Focus of further • The potential impact of development on the various heritage assets in the area needs to be considered and how possible assessment, should impacts could be avoided or mitigated. the site be shortlisted • An assessment is needed of the potential for development to cause visual intrusion and whether this could be avoided through by the Council mitigation. • The presence of ʻbest and most versatileʼ agricultural land needs to be ascertained. • An assessment of site capacity is needed in the context of the local rural character and the sites isolated location. • Consideration should be given to how safe pedestrian access to the site could be achieved.

Site Assessment Name: PH Completed by Date: 13/05/2015

HDC Conclusion and Shortlist the site: Do not shortlist the site: recommendation HDC Comments:

Adams Hendry Consulting Ltd 5 ± SHLAA Site 239 - Constraints

Key SHLAA Site 239 Listed Buildings ! TPO - Individual SSSI SINC National Nature Reserve Local Nature Reserve Parish Boundaries Historic Parks and Gardens Conservation Areas Thames Basin Heaths SPA (5km zone of influence) Thames Basin Heaths SPA (400m exclusion zone) Thames Basin Heaths SPA Settlement Boundaries TPO - Groups Scheduled Ancient Monuments Strategic Gaps

1:10,000 0 50 100 200 300 400

Meters Contains Ordnance Survey Data Crown copyright and database right 2015 ± SHLAA Site 239 - Flood Risk

Key SHLAA Site 239 Flood Zone 3 Flood Zone 2 Reservoir Flood Outlines Surface Water Flooding (1 in 30 year AEP) Surface Water Flooding (1 in 100 year AEP) Groundwater Flooding (Limited) Groundwater Flooding (Potential flooding to basements) Groundwater Flooding (Potential flooding at surface)

1:10,000 0 50 100 200 300 400

Meters Contains Ordnance Survey Data Crown copyright and database right 2015