Land to the East of the A1301, South of the A505 Near Hinxton and West of the A1301, North of the A505 Near Whittlesford, Hinxton Application Ref: S/4099/17/Ol
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Our ref: APP/W0530/W/18/3210008 Paul Rogers Your ref: S/4099/17/OL Terence O’Rourke [email protected] 9 April 2020 Dear Sir TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING ACT 1990 – SECTION 78 APPEAL MADE BY SMITHSONHILL LIMITED LAND TO THE EAST OF THE A1301, SOUTH OF THE A505 NEAR HINXTON AND WEST OF THE A1301, NORTH OF THE A505 NEAR WHITTLESFORD, HINXTON APPLICATION REF: S/4099/17/OL 1. I am directed by the Secretary of State to say that consideration has been given to the report of John Woolcock BNatRes(Hons) MURP DipLaw MRTPI who held a public local inquiry on 11-13, 18-21 June and 2-5 July into your client’s appeal against the decision of South Cambridgeshire District Council to refuse your client’s application for planning permission for an AgriTech technology park comprising up to 112,000 m² (gross) employment floorspace, supporting infrastructure, amenities and landscape works including publicly accessible informal open space, enhancements to parkland, vehicle and cycle parking, service areas, bus/cycle interchange on land west of the A1301/ north of A505, and infrastructure works including new vehicular accesses, highway improvement works, pedestrian and cycle links with bridge crossings over A1301/A505 and River Cam, site re-profiling, drainage works, foul and water pumping stations and primary electricity sub station, telecommunications infrastructure and other associated works in accordance with application ref: S/4099/17/OL, dated 20 November 2017. 2. On 23 October 2018, this appeal was recovered for the Secretary of State's determination, in pursuance of section 79 of, and paragraph 3 of Schedule 6 to, the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. Inspector’s recommendation and summary of the decision 3. The Inspector recommended that the appeal be dismissed. 4. For the reasons given below, the Secretary of State agrees with the Inspector’s conclusions, except where stated, and agrees with his recommendation. He has decided to dismiss the appeal. A copy of the Inspector’s report (IR) is enclosed. All references to paragraph numbers, unless otherwise stated, are to that report. Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government Tel: 0303 444 2853 Phil Barber, Decision Officer Email: [email protected] Planning Casework Unit 3rd Floor Fry Building 2 Marsham Street London SW1P 4DF Environmental Statement 5. In reaching this position, the Secretary of State has taken into account the Environmental Statement which was submitted under the Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2011. Having taken account of the Inspector’s comments at IR311, the Secretary of State is satisfied that the Environmental Statement complies with the above Regulations and that sufficient information has been provided for him to assess the environmental impact of the proposal. Matters arising since the close of the inquiry 6. On 19 December 2019, the Secretary of State wrote to the main parties to afford them an opportunity to comment on the decision by South Cambridgeshire District Council to resolve to approve planning application S/4329/18/OL on 24 October 2019. These representations were then circulated to the main parties. 7. The Secretary of State is satisfied that the issues raised do not affect his decision, and no other new issues were raised in this correspondence to warrant further investigation or necessitate additional referrals back to parties. A list of these representations is at Annex B. Copies of these letters may be obtained on written request to the address at the foot of the first page of this letter. Policy and statutory considerations 8. In reaching his decision, the Secretary of State has had regard to section 38(6) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 which requires that proposals be determined in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. 9. In this case the development plan consists of the South Cambridgeshire Local Plan 2018, which was adopted in September 2018. The application was originally determined by the Council in the context of the South Cambridgeshire Development Control Policies DPD 2007, the South Cambridgeshire Core Strategy DPD 2007 and the draft South Cambridgeshire Local Plan 2014.The Secretary of State considers that relevant development plan policies include those set out at Annex B of the IR. 10. Other material considerations which the Secretary of State has taken into account include the National Planning Policy Framework (‘the Framework’) and associated planning guidance (‘the Guidance’). The revised National Planning Policy Framework was published on 24 July 2018 and further revised in February 2019. Unless otherwise specified, any references to the Framework in this letter are to the 2019 Framework. 11. In accordance with section 66(1) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (the LBCA Act), the Secretary of State has paid special regard to the desirability of preserving those listed buildings potentially affected by the proposals, or their settings or any features of special architectural or historic interest which they may possess. 12. In accordance with section 72(1) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (the LBCA Act), the Secretary of State has paid special attention to the desirability of preserving or enhancing the character or appearance of conservation areas. 2 Main issues Green Belt 13. The part of the proposal to take place in the Green Belt includes the bus/cycle interchange and pedestrian/cycle connections along with part of the proposed bridge. The Secretary of State has carefully considered the Inspector’s assessment of the proposals impact on the Green Belt at IR320-331 and he considers that the transport infrastructure would provide useful connections for general public use. He further agrees with the Inspector at IR326 that if would be very difficult to achieve the transport infrastructure works without using Green Belt land. The Secretary of State agrees with the Inspector (IR326) that the interchange works are local transport infrastructure that would require a Green Belt location. 14. The Secretary of State agrees with the Inspector at IR327 that the transport infrastructure would erode the open feel of this part of the Green Belt in special and visual terms and would harm openness. He further agrees with the Inspector at IR328 that the works would have an urbanising influence on this part of the open countryside and that the proposal would, to some extent, conflict with the purpose of the Green Belt to assist in safeguarding the countryside from encroachment. However, he agrees with the Inspector (IR329) that the local transport infrastructure proposed in the Green Belt would not by reason of its nature and scale be sufficient to exceed the threshold set out at paragraph 146 of the Framework. As such he concludes that the exception for local transport infrastructure would apply, and that the proposed development would therefore not be inappropriate development in the Green Belt. As such the Secretary of State concludes that the proposal would not result in harm to the Green Belt, and there would be no conflict with local or national Green Belt policy. Impact on character and appearance 15. The Secretary of State has considered the impact of the proposals on character and appearance as set out in IR332-342. He notes that the site is not a designated landscape and is identified in the Local Plan as Landscape Character Area B – Chalklands. The Secretary of State agrees with the Inspector’s view at IR335 that a development of this scale in this location would have an adverse effect on the landscape character of the area of substantial significance. He also agrees with the Inspector that mitigation measures would never completely screen the built form within the AgriTech park, but would transform the open landscape by closing off distant views and by increasing the sense of enclosure. The Secretary of State agrees with the Inspector that this would result in a major landscape change that would not be mitigated over time. 16. In terms of visual effects, the Secretary of State agrees with the Inspector at IR337 that the scheme would have an enduring adverse effect of moderate to substantial significance on the visual amenity of the area. Overall, the Secretary of State agrees with the Inspector at IR342 that the proposed development would have an adverse effect on the character and appearance of an area of substantial significance. He agrees with the Inspector that due to the impacts of the proposal on local character and distinctiveness, 3 the proposal would conflict with SCLP Policy NH/2 and would also conflict with the design principles set out in SCLP Policy HQ/1. Impact on the setting and appearance of designated heritage assets 17. There are six heritage assets in the locality of the proposed development, four of which are designated, including the Grade II listed Hinxton Grange, the Grade II* listed Hinxton Church of St Mary and St John the Evangelist and Hinxton conservation area. The Secretary of State has consider the Inspector’s consideration of the heritage impacts at IR343-349. He agrees with the Inspector that the loss of open land adjacent to designated park land at Hinxton Grange would result in harm to the listed buildings at the Grange. He further agrees that this harm would be less than substantial. He also agrees that the proposal would also result in an adverse change to the setting to the Hinxton conservation area and the Church of St Mary and St John the Evangelist. He agrees with the Inspector (IR346-347) that this harm would be less that substantial, that there would not be an impact on Pampisford Hall, and that there would be moderate harm caused to the significance of a non-designated WWII pillbox.