Land on Colber Lane, Bishop Thornton, Harrogate Assessment In
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Land on Colber Lane, Bishop Thornton, Harrogate Assessment in Support of Residential Allocation Land on Colber Lane, Bishop Thornton, Harrogate Assessment in Support of Residential Allocation October 2015 Indigo Planning Indigo Planning Limited Toronto Square Leeds LS1 2HJ Tel: 0113 380 0270 Fax: 0113 380 0271 [email protected] indigoplanning.com Land on Colber Lane, Bishop Thornton, Harrogate Assessment in Support of Residential Allocation Contents Page 1. Introduction 1 Context 1 Site characteristics 1 Programme 1 Report structure 1 2. Site context 3 General location 3 Statutory or non-statutory designations 3 3. Supporting Evidence 5 Transport assessment 5 Ecology 5 Trees and landscaping 5 4. Current Planning Policy 7 National planning policy 7 Local planning policy 7 5. Site Assessment 11 Proposed site – land off Colber Lane 11 6. Conclusions 14 Land on Colber Lane, Bishop Thornton, Harrogate Assessment in Support of Residential Allocation Appendices Appendix 1 Site Location Plan Appendix 2 Transport Assessment, Curtins (August 2015) Appendix 3 Proposed Site Allocation Boundaries Appendix 4 Ecological Survey, Smeedon Foreman (August 2015) Appendix 5 Arboricultural Survey, Smeedon Foreman (August 2015) Appendix 6 Bishop Thornton Sites - Harrogate SHLAA (May 2013 Update) Appendix 7 Local Services within a 10 Minute Drive Time of Bishop Thornton (August 2015) Page 1 1. Introduction Context 1.1. This report has been commissioned by the Diocese of Leeds to assess the sustainability and suitability of land at Colber Lane, Bishop Thornton, in support of the allocation of the site for future residential development. 1.2. The site is within the ownership of the Diocese of Leeds. This report supplements representations submitted to Harrogate Borough Council in relation to the Harrogate Strategic Housing and Employment Land Availability Assessment (SHELAA) Call for Sites consultation in October 2014. Site characteristics 1.3. The site in its entirety covers approximately 1.2 hectares of grazed agricultural land, with existing site access obtained from Colber Lane. The site can be divided into two specific parcels. The first site (site 1) fronts onto Colber Lane, is circa 0.4ha in size and has the capacity to accommodate circa 12 dwellings (at a gross density of 30 dwellings per hectare). The second site (site 2) is a larger parcel of land located to the north of site 1, of circa 0.8ha in size, which has capacity to accommodate circa 24 dwellings, (at a gross density of 30 dwellings per hectare). Site 2 is more divorced from the existing settlement sitting further north than the current development limits but has the potential to be developed for housing in conjunction with site 1. Programme 1.4. The Council is currently reviewing all sites put forward at the Call for Sites consultation stage in October 2014. This report has been prepared, and is submitted to supplement the initial representations made by Indigo Planning in October 2014, and subsequent representations submitted in August 2015 prior to the final document being published in late 2015. Report structure 1.5. In assessing the site a review has been undertaken of the relevant Harrogate District Core Strategy (2009) and Local Plan (2001), the sites; location, historical context, proximity to retail and leisure services, transport credentials (including appropriate site access), ecological arboricultural value. The transport assessment has been undertaken by Curtins Consulting. The ecological assessment and arboricultural reports have been prepared by Smeedon Foreman. These reports are appended to this report for reference, and feed into the overall assessment undertaken by Indigo Planning. 1.6. The research confirms that the site has the potential to be developed to provide residential development and is suitable and available for housing, as explored further in the Site Assessment in Section 4. 1.7. The report is structured as follows: • Section 2 outlines the context of the site; • Section 3 outlines collated evidence in support of allocation; • Section 4 provides a brief commentary on the current relevant local and national planning policies; Land on Colber Lane, Bishop Thornton, Harrogate rpt.005...21560003 Indigo Planning on behalf of Diocese of Leeds Page 2 • Section 4 provides a site assessment considering land use planning policy, highways, trees and ecology; and • Section 5 sets out the overall conclusions of the assessment. Land on Colber Lane, Bishop Thornton, Harrogate rpt.005...21560003 Indigo Planning on behalf of Diocese of Leeds Page 3 2. Site context General location 2.1. The site is located within the village of Bishop Thornton, to the north west of Ripley village centre, with Ripon to the north and Harrogate to the south. The site is bounded to the south by agricultural outbuildings, to the south west and west by residential dwellings and to the north and east by agricultural land. 2.2. The site in its entirety covers approximately 1.2 hectares of grazed agricultural land, with existing site access obtained from Colber Lane located to the south and east of the site boundary. 2.3. The site can be divided into two distinct areas of land site1 (outlined in red) and site 2 (outlined in blue) as identified in the Site Location Plan below. Agricultural land across the entire of Bishop Thornton is classified as grade 4 (poor) by Natural England. Figure 2.1 Site location plan Site 1 Site 1 2.4. Site 1 (indicated in red) covers approximately 0.4 hectares of land, in an elongated rectangular form, directly behind the existing properties on Colber Lane. Existing access to the site is gained via site 2 and the existing entrance off Colber Lane. 2.5. Site 2 (indicated in blue) covers approximately 0.8 hectares and forms the large square area of land directly to the north of site 1. Access to the site is gained off Colber Lane on the eastern corner of this site (site 2). Site locations plans are provided at Appendix 1. Planning history 2.6. An online search of the relevant planning history from Harrogate Borough Council concludes that the site has no relevant planning history. Historical Ordinance Survey maps also indicate that the site has never been developed. Statutory or non-statutory designations 2.7. The site does not contain any environmental constraints (i.e. Tree Preservation Orders (TPO) or ecological designations). There are no heritage designations within or adjacent to the site that would preclude its potential for development. Land on Colber Lane, Bishop Thornton, Harrogate rpt.005...21560003 Indigo Planning on behalf of Diocese of Leeds Page 4 2.8. The site is located within Flood Zone 1 of the Environment Agency’s Flood Zone Map and therefore is the lowest possible risk for flooding. Land on Colber Lane, Bishop Thornton, Harrogate rpt.005...21560003 Indigo Planning on behalf of Diocese of Leeds Page 5 3. Supporting Evidence Transport assessment 3.1. Curtins Consulting has undertaken an appraisal of the site. This assessment considered highway safety, vehicle trips generated by the proposed development, and an assessment of access by sustainable modes of transport. This is attached at Appendix 2, but the key conclusions are summarised below. 3.2. The site is located within 60m of a bus stop and is approximately 2 miles from the nearest local convenience shops at Markington and Ripley. The nearest bus stops provide access to both Ripon town centre and Pateley Bridge, with a regular timetable running throughout the week. If further residential development was to be brought forward in Bishop Thornton there is potential for these services to be enhanced. 3.3. Access into both sites 1 and 2 is best taken through Site 2 due to visibility constraints posed by the positioning of Site 1 onto Colber Lane. This does not preclude the allocation of site 1 in isolation from site 2. Any allocation of site 1 in isolation can include land sufficient to provide vehicular access along the eastern boundary of the site utilising the existing access point from Colber Lane. This access is entirely deliverable given its singular ownership, location and physical characteristics. The proposed allocation boundaries to sites 1 and 2 are shown on Appendix 3. 3.4. It is anticipated that developing Site 1 for circa 12 dwellings and Site 2 for circa 20 dwellings (maximum figures) would generate an additional 10 vehicles on the local highway network in the morning peak and an additional 13 in the evening peak. This equates to a vehicle every 5 minutes accessing or egressing from the site which is considered low. Ecology 3.5. Smeedon Foreman has undertaken a Preliminary Ecological Appraisal of the site. This is attached at Appendix 4. 3.6. There are no statutorily designated sites within the site boundary or within 2km of the site. The site is within a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) Impact Risk Zone (IRZ). However data provided by the relevant Natural England GIS dataset indicates the proposed development is unlikely to pose a threat to this SSSI. 3.7. The ecological appraisal has focused on species such as great crested newts, bats, badgers, frogs, breeding birds and other species such as foxes. 3.8. Any development of the site is unlikely to have any impact upon great crested newts, badgers or breeding birds, albeit if any hedgerows are to be removed these will have to be undertaken outside of nesting periods. 3.9. There are four trees on site with potential for roosting bats. If these trees are to be affected by the proposals i.e. any tree surgery or felling works, further assessment through a climb and inspect survey is recommended. The installation of bat boxes upon new buildings and/or trees to be retained would aim to provide roosting opportunities for the local bat population.