Bulls Lane Welham Green Development Proposal
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BULLS LANE WELHAM GREEN DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL Prepared for by October 2013 CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION 2. PLANNING CONTEXT 3. ExiSTING SITE: WIDER CONTexT 4. ExiSTING SITE: IMMEDiaTE CONTexT 5. SITE SUITABILITY 6. HISTORIC PlaN 7. GReeN BelT BOUNDARieS ASSESSMENT 8. ExiSTING CONNECTIONS 9. ExiSTING PUbliC SERVICES AND AMENITieS 10. ExiSTING UTiliTieS 11. iNTegRATION PLAN 12. PReliMINARY MaSTERplaN 13. SUMMARY BULLS LANE, WELHAM GREEN - DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL PAGE 1 1. INTRODUCTION Introduction Landform Estates is promoting a 3.94 ha (10 The draft CS was published in November 2012 acre) site on the south side of Bulls Lane in and subject to public consultation until January Welham Green for new housing. Landform 2013. The next stage of the process will be considers that the site represents an excellent preparation of the draft Submission Plan opportunity for residential development that scheduled to be issued in summer 2014. Bulls Lane R can help meet the housing needs of Welham a i l Green. Technical assessments have confirmed Following a public examination the CS is w a y that the site is suitable, available and scheduled to be adopted in 2015. Site specific E allocations will be covered in a subsequent Site m deliverable, with a capacity for around 70 b a housing units, within the short-term. Allocations Development Plan. n k m e n The Site Green Belt t / R The site, which is currently grazed by horses, is With the exception of the tightly drawn urban a i l open pasture with small areas of dense scrub areas all of the land within the WHBC district is w a Station Road y located within the Green Belt. There is only a and a number of semi-mature to mature trees. L i small amount of previously developed land n A stream flows westwards along part of the e southern boundary, through a dense woodland within the urban areas therefore, whatever the area where there is a sports field, a community final level of housing numbers adopted, it is centre and church. recognised that the delivery of these houses will require land to be released from the Sports Field Residential properties form the northern side Green Belt. of Bulls Lane and the western boundary of the site. An existing residential property, which Once the objectively assessed housing needs does not form a part of the site, adjoins the for WHBC have been ascertained, then the North Mymms Youth northern boundary. There are some dilapidated land required to deliver these houses can be and Community Centre barns located on the eastern part of the site calculated and a merit based release carried and a railway line, on a high embankment, forms out. Based on the current CS evidence it is the eastern boundary. understood that WHBC can deliver the full amount of its housing needs from land within Planning Background the district. Saint Thomas More The Core Strategy (CS) for Welwyn Hatfield Catholic Church Borough Council (WHBC) for the period through to 2029 is currently being prepared. This sets out the spatial vision for WHBC and will establish the housing needs, employment, retail and leisure, community facilities, the environmental, travel and infrastructure requirements and identify the broad locations where this development will take place. Site (3.94 ha/10 acres) Site Location PAGE 2 BULLS LANE, WELHAM GREEN - DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL 2. PLANNING CONTEXT Welham Green has the second largest employment area in the district The Council’s proposed distribution of housing growth puts the village’s and is classified in the second tier of settlements, after Welwyn Garden vitality at risk. This is because household sizes everywhere are falling, City & Hatfield. It has a main line railway station with connections to two mainly due to the population getting older, and at this level of of London’s busiest stations and has local amenities offering a wide range development the population would fall, and the workforce would fall even of services. It has a population of approximately 2,800 people (2001 faster. Consequently local people looking to move house and set up Census) yet the current draft of the Core Strategy proposes that only 5 households may be forced out, and local shops and services will become new houses should be built there over the next 18 years. Over the past less viable and staff for the employment area will increasingly come from 10 years around 30 houses were built in the village, in what was a period outside the village. of development restraint. This plan for the village goes against national planning policy and While the village accounts for 2.98% of the district’s population, it is contradicts the wider vision and objectives of the Council’s own Core planned to receive just 0.07% of the district’s growth. If housing growth in Strategy. Welham Green were in proportion to the size of the village, its share of that growth would be more than 200 dwellings. A sustainable future for Welham Green would require significantly more housing development than is being proposed. To stabilise the population By way of comparison Woolmer Green and Little Heath, both much we estimate that around 60 additional dwellings are needed and to smaller settlements, are planned to take 10 and 15 new homes stabilise the working population, it would need to provide around 96 respectively. Similar sized settlements at Brookmans Park, Cuffley and additional dwellings1 . Welwyn have been allocated 30, 60 and 275 houses respectively. The Council’s current draft Core Strategy is therefore planning for the long-term decline of the village and this cannot be in the interests of Bulls Lane: view west to junction with Station Road anyone, even those who may feel that new development is not desirable. 1 See Roger Tym & Partners ‘Housing Targets For Welwyn Hatfield’, January 2013 View west over site to rear of properties on Station Road Existing community centre, immediately south of the site View north over site to front of properties on Bulls Lane BULLS LANE, WELHAM GREEN - DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL PAGE 3 3. EXISTING SITE: WIDER CONTEXT Welham Green is located in Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council area, Hatfield which contains large areas of open countryside. Nearly the entire borough Train Station is designated as Metropolitan Green Belt. The towns are the main sources of housing, shopping, leisure and employment in the borough. The borough’s proximity to London and the good transport network in and around Welwyn Hatfield mean that it has strong links to the capital and also links to Stevenage to the north and St Albans to the west in terms of commuting patterns and housing markets. Welwyn Garden City HATFIELD is a major town centre and serves as a sub-regional catchment area. However, it competes with other centres nearby such as Stevenage, St Albans and Hertford. Hatfield town centre is smaller and serves a smaller catchment area. Whilst Welham Green is a distinct settlement, it benefits from particularly Millwards Park high quality transport linkages and has a substantial employment area that might normally be associated with considerably larger towns. A1001 Railway Line Welham Green A1000 Train Station A1 (M) Welham Green BrooKmans PARK Brookmans Park Train Station 1KM Site Location: Wider Context PAGE 4 BULLS LANE, WELHAM GREEN - DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL 4. ExiSTING SITE: IMMEDiaTE CONTexT LEGEND Site boundary The site is located immediately to the south of Bulls Lane and is surrounded by existing built or natural form. It extends to approximately 3.94 hectares (10 acres) and comprises pasture, trees and buildings and is physically and visual enclosed by the following: • the mainline railway and embankment • housing and mature hedgerows along Bulls Lane Railway Embankment/Railway Line • housing along Station Road and Bulls Lane • a dense wooded area and tree belt following the southern stream The character of the site is strongly informed by the existing housing along Station Road, Bulls Lane and the railway embankment. The land is used for grazing horses. North Mymms Community Centre, a playing field, and church lie immediately to the south. The site vegetation comprises a mature hedge along Bulls Lane, which is in good condition. There is garden vegetation within the properties along Station Road and regenerating scrub within the site and along the railway line. The indigenous trees and scrub to the south, which form a strong visual enclosure and wildlife habitat, are the most significant vegetation. This vegetation is crossed by a footpath and various informal trails. Note: Aerial photography was flown 24/4/2010. Station Road DRAFT Sports Field L1 North Mymms Youth and Community Centre Saint Thomas More Catholic Church Key Imagery supplied by Bluesky International Limited © Geoperspectives Site boundary Site Location: Immediate Context WELHAM GREEN BULLS LANE, WELHAM GREEN - DEVELOPMENT PROPOSAL PAGE 5 THE SITE As Shown August 2013 TB JC JC Scale 2753/105 LANDSCAPE Imagery supplied by Bluesky International Limited © Geoperspectives TOWNSCAPE 0 50 100 150 200 250m ENVIRONMENT 5. SITE SUITABILITY Access and Transport Flooding and Drainage The site has excellent access to all forms of public transport connections. The majority of the site is located within Flood Zone 1 (less than 1 in There are two Grade II listed buildings on land adjoining the site at Bus stops are less than a two minute walk away, with many services 1000 year event). Part of the site area to the south, adjacent to Skimpans Farm and, with a suitable landscaped area it is considered that serving the village. Welham Green mainline railway station is less than 8 Skimpans Brook, falls within a flood zone and development will be the development of the site would not have any adverse impact upon the minutes walk from the centre of the site, as is the village commercial omitted from this area.