LAND AT CRESLOW WAY STONE
SITE SUITABILITY STATEMENT - DECEMBER 2019
1 1. INTRODUCTION
PURPOSE THE SITE THE OPPORTUNITY
This Site Suitability Statement summarises the evidence The site is located immediately adjacent to the south The site is identified as a suitable location for residential base prepared on behalf of Bovis Homes Limited that western edge of the village of Stone, approximately 3km development to support the housing needs of the District supports the proposed allocation of Land at Creslow Way, west of the strategic settlement of Aylesbury and within the and the managed growth of Stone. It offers the opportunity Stone within the Vale of Aylesbury Local Plan (VALP) for the southern part of Aylesbury Vale District. for the development of up to 65 dwellings, with significant residential development of up to 65 dwellings. Public Open Space and the incorporation of sustainable The site adjoins existing residential areas immediately to drainage. Thus, the site can provide significant housing The statement reflects Bovis Homes’ proposal that the the north and east, with a sports ground and club house, supply towards AVDC’s housing requirement in a strategic appropriate area of land to be allocated should extend to and playround to the north west. location. the natural boundaries that exist around the perimeter of the site, which are beyond the site boundary and development A large farmstead, Stonethorpe Farm, adjoins the south capacity currently indicated within the VALP Modifications. eastern corner of the site and extends south eastwards to Bishopstone Road. Founded in the 1800’s, Stonethorpe In doing so, this statement summarises the physical and now provides specialised equine, tree care and ground environmental context for development, providing evidence maintenance services. to demonstrate that the site is relatively unconstrained and is suitable for residential use. It also illustrates how a high Arable farmland extends to the south and west of the site. quality development can be achieved that appropriately addresses the surrounding context and makes appropriate The site is currently unmanaged and comprises a mix of and efficient use of the site, whilst maximising the provision scrubland and grassland, with extensive areas of tree of natural open space. planting, including significant specimen trees and a large orchard that forms the western section of the site. The statement supports representations submitted on behalf of Bovis Homes in response to the proposed VALP Modifications relevant to this site and proposed allocation, notably allocated site reference D-STO008.
2 FIGURE 1 Site Location
LEGEND
Site Location
Significant vegetation
STONE
Bishopstone Road
Creslow Way
Oxford Road (A418)
UPTON
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3 2. SITE ASSESSMENT
LANDSCAPE CHARACTER • Predominantly arable fields but with smaller paddocks These topographical variations of the landscape are around settlements; and reflective of the two local landscape characters that site to the north and south of the ridge, of Thame Valley and A Landscape Appraisal has been carried out to assess the • Long distance views to the north and south. landscape and visual sensitivity of the site, to understand Haddenham Vale respectively. the capacity for development and inform the emerging The Landscape Appraisal concludes that the proposed proposals. development could be accommodated within the site, and VISUAL AMENITY would be sensitive to the local landscape character and The landscape character of the site and surrounding area is visual amenity of the surrounding area, if development is As part of the Landscape Appraisal an assessment of the illustrated in Figure 2, which shows the site in the context of kept away from the more exposed southern and eastern Zone of Theoretical Visibility has been prepared, showing defined national and district level landscape character areas. edges of the site and the existing mature trees are retained the impact that the underlying topography has on the At a district level, the site is located within ‘LCT 09 Low Hills and reinforced. This is despite being greater in extent and general visibility of the site (Figure 4). and Ridges’ and within the more localised subdivision ‘9.9 density than the allocated site within the submission version. A418 Ridge’. The key characteristics include: With the removal of vegetation and buildings, development TOPOGRAPHY is shown to be theoretically visible from locations to the • Locally prominent shallow, asymmetric ridge with immediate west and east, and flat vale landscape to the contrasting sides in terms of settlement, tree cover and south. Development is not visible from the north. topography; Stone is located at the eastern end of the A418 ridge at an elevation of approximately 110m AOD. As illustrated in • Narrow shelter belts that run down the valley sides in Figure 3, this falls away gently westwards and more steeply However, the extent of existing built development to the harmony with the field position; southwards. site’s north and east and intervening vegetation to the site’s south frequently limits the theoretical visibility of the site. • Settlement dispersed along the ridge often on the The screening provided by surrounding vegetation and the southern face; The site is located on the south-facing part of this ridge, adjacent settlement, therefore, means that views are mainly • A418 follows top of ridge; with the highest point of the site located at the northern restricted to the site itself and parts of St John’s Drive. boundary, adjacent to Creslow Way, at a height of 106m However, given their low sensitivity to changes on site, the • Distinctive transition from a more mature, wooded AOD. The lowest part of the site is to the south-west at a likely effects are considered to be slight. landscape with settlement in the east towards an open height of 93m AOD, creating average gradients across the intensively arable landscape with well trimmed hedges site of 1:15. in the west;
4 FIGURE 2 Landscape Character FIGURE 3 Topography FIGURE 4 Zone of Theoretical Visibility
3 km 3 km s tu dy 65 70m a r Legend ea 70 75m 75 0m 5 0 5m Site Boundary 5 0m 0 5m Most Visible 2 km 5 100m 2 km 100 105m 105 110m 110 115m 115 120m Least Visible 120 125m 125 130m Light Source 130 135m 1 km 135 1 0m 1 0 1 5m
1 A k 5 m 1 5 150m
A
N SCALE 1:25,000 100100 300300
0m0m 200200 500500 10001000
Rev Figure 10 Drg No Bovis Homes Ltd Client Stone Project Zone of Theoretical Visibility (ZTV) Title 1:25,000 @ A3 Scale Base information © Crown copyright and database rights 2015. Ordnance Survey 0100031673 LEGEND LEGEND LEGEND 2.1.8 The local area consists of a low ridge that stretches from the LEGEND 3km stu Hartwell estate to the west of Aylesbury to Scotsgrove estate to dy Site Location ar 65-70m Site Location ea Site Boundary the north of Thame. Stone is located at the eastern end of this 70-75m ridge at an elevation of approximately 110m AOD. From this point, 65-70m 75-80m Light Source National Character Area the level of the ridge falls gently in a westward direction to a level 70-75m 80-85m of approximately 90m AOD just north of Haddenham. The ridge 75-80m 85-90m Boundary between NCAis asymmetrical 108 and in 109form with a steep northern face to the valley of Most Visible 90-95m the River Thame and a much gentler and less perceptible fall in 80-85m 2 95-100m gradient into the Vale landscape to the south. Locally the top of 85-90m km Aylesbury Vale Landscape Character Assessment 2008 100-105m the ridge is very narrow. 90-95m 105-110m 95-100m 110-115m 2.1.9 The Site is located on the south-facing part of the A418 ridge. The River Thame Area of Attractive Landscape (AAL) 115-120m highest point of the Site is located to the north, alongside Creslow 100-105m Least Visible 120-125m Way at 106m AOD. The lowest part of the Site is located to the 105-110m 125-130m LCT 05 Shallow Valleyssouthwest at a height of 93m AOD. Average gradients across the 110-115m 130-135m Site are 1:15. 115-120m 135-140m LCT 08 Vale 1 140-145m 2.1.10 Within the study area, land falls to its lowest >1.5km to the north 120-125m km 145-150m following the River Thame at a height of 70m AOD. The highest 125-130m LCT 09 Low Hills andpoint Ridges is located 4km to the northwest of the Site, at Waddesdon 130-135m Hill, up to a height of 147m AOD. 135-140m 2.1.11 The plan (at Figure 5) illustrates the topographical variations of 140-145m the landscape, which is reflective of the two local landscape 145-150m characters, of the A418 ridge, the Haddenham Vale landscape to the south, and the Thame Valley to the north. N 2.2 LAND USE & VEGETATION
5
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SCALE 1:25,000 100100 300300
0m0m 200200 500500 10001000 FIGURE 5: TOPOGRAPHY
12 3. SITE ASSESSMENT
HERITAGE ASSETS ECOLOGY TREES
As illustrated in Figure 5, there are no designated or A Tree Preservation Order was placed on a significant An ecological assessment has confirmed that there recorded heritage assets within the site itself, but there are number of trees present within the site in March 2019. are no statutory designated sites within or immediately a number of listed buildings within the wider study area, the Notably this includes the existing orchard and the adjacent adjacent to the site. Whilst Stone SSSI lies approximately majority of which are located within the settlements of Stone tree belt to its east, plus a group of trees towards the north 560m to the north of the site and Bugle Quarry SSSI lies and Upton. of the site. TPOs are also present for a hedgerow at the approximately 1.3km to the east, residential development of site’s north and southern boundary, and covering trees the site is not considered to pose a potential impact risk The closest of these are the Grade II listed chapel adjacent present at the site’s western boundary. It is proposed that all on these designations. Furthermore, no indirect impacts are to the A418 to the north of the site and the Grade II listed TPO trees will be retained. cottage (Apple Tree Cottage) to the east, which forms part considered likely to affect the designations. of the Stonethorpe Farm estate. However, the Landscape Two hedgerows are present on site, and are considered The western part of the site is mapped on the MAGIC website Appraisal confirms there is no visibility between the site to be of low and moderate conservation value. Whilst the as ‘Traditional Orchard Habitat of Principle Importance’, but and the listed chapel, and that it is also unlikley that the west of the site is designated as a Traditional Orchard, it its habitat condition has not been assessed and recorded. site is visible from the cottage, thus there is unlikely to be a is proposed that this area will be retained and managed, relationship between the two. Habitat and species surveys have confirmed there are no which represents a significant benefit of the development, reptiles or suitable breeding habitat for Great Crested Newts as this feature would otherwise remain unmanaged. present within the site. Whilst the site provides a foraging ACCESS AND TRANSPORT resource for badgers, no setts were found. FLOOD RISK & DRAINAGE
A Transport Appraisal of the site and surrounding highway The site is considered to be of Local level value to breeding Environment Agency Flood Mapping shows that the site and network has been carried out, taking into account the birds and bat populations, particularly within the orchard, surrounding area lie within Flood Zone 1 and thus are at low anticipated scale of development originally identified for hedgerows, scrub, mature trees and boundary features. risk of flooding. the site of up to 70 dwellings. The appraisal includes an assessment of the future travel demands of the proposed However, the Breeding Bird Survey confirmed that, given A flood risk and drainage review has confirmed that the site development and the potential impact on the local the retention of the Traditional Orchard and the provision is at low risk of fluvial, groundwater, surface water and sewer highway network. It also considers feedback received from of new habitats, residential gardens and nest boxes, the flooding, and negligible risk from other flooding sources Buckinghamshire County Council, as the Highway Authority, loss of suitable breeding and foraging habitats will be (reservoir, canals, culverts), with the nearest river (the River as part of a formal pre-application consultation exercise. compensated for. Thame) lying approximately 1.3km to the north of the site. No This feedback has been used to further inform the emerging watercourses are identified on the site itself. Furthermore, the Ecological Appraisal concluded that, concept and development parameters for the site in terms subject to the retention of the Orchard and implementation A surface water sewer enters the site via Creslow Way and St of access, site layout, servicing and parking. of the suggested mitigation, no significant adverse impact John’s Drive and flows in a south-westerly direction across The appraisal highlights that the site is in a sustainable is anticipated relating to bat habitats and that a minor the middle of the site, flowing to an outfall and attenuation location and has good access to footways and cycleways, enhancement to roost site availability is expected. basin to the south-west. Consultation with Thames Water and to bus stops along the A418 that offer a good level of has confirmed that this provides surface water attenuation Retention of features of ecological value, notably service between Aylesbury and Oxford. It proposes the site for the residential development north of the site. hedgerows, mature trees and orchard, would be maximised. is accessed via a priority junction on Creslow Way, providing The loss of an area of semi-improved grassland would Similarly, a foul water sewer flows into the site via Creslow suitable intervisibility and traffic speed management. The be mitigated as part of a landscape scheme through the Way and St John’s Road, flowing southwards out of the site. Transport Appraisal concludes that an initial assessment of creation of a community orchard via the restoration of the junction capacity does not highlight concerns. existing orchard and incorporation of more species-diverse native grassland within it.
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