17/02344/FUL the Proposal This Planning Statement Has Been
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CASE OFFICER'S REPORT Application Reference: 17/02344/FUL The proposal This Planning Statement has been prepared on behalf of Dyson Technology Ltd by WYG. It supports an application to Wiltshire Council seeking planning permission for the use of hangars 85 and 86 for research & development facilities (Class B1), external alterations to the hangars, creation of a temporary car park and associated works at MoD Hullavington. Each hanger comprises some 4000m2 of floorspace. The proposals would create some 6,970m2 gross internal floorspace of B1(b) Research and Development (R&D) uses. The site The application site is located within the former Hullavington Airfield site, now known as MoD Hullavington. The main built up area of the airfield is known as Buckley Barracks at the southern extremity of the airfield, with its own main entrance and security fence. Buckley Barracks continues to be intensively operated by the Army’s 9 Regiment Royal Logistics Corps. All Listed Buildings at MoD Hullavington are located within the Buckley Barracks complex, although the entire MoD Hullavington site is a designated a Conservation Area. The application site is accessed indirectly from the A429, which runs to the east of the wider airfield site. The A429 runs from junction 17 of the M4 to the south, to Malmesbury and beyond to the north. The former airfield runway strips lie to the east of the application site and the village of Hullavington lies approximately 1km to the north. There are also former MOD dwellings located to the south east of Hullavington, approximately 750m north of the application site. The villages of Lower Stanton St Quinton and Stanton St Quinton lie approximately 1.2 km to the east and south east respectively. An area of woodland (Stock Wood) lies immediately to the north west of the application site with agricultural land lying to the west beyond the wooded area. Agricultural land also lies to the south of the application site, beyond the wider airfield boundary. A number of SFA residential units at Wellington Place are accessed from the airfields internal access track network. The majority of the remainder of MoD Hullavington, including the airfield itself as well as most of the dispersed hanger buildings, has now been disposed of by the MoD to Dyson Ltd. The land and buildings therein was, in effect, regarded as being redundant by the MoD. It is two of those hangers (Nos. 85 and 86) to which this application relates. Hangar 85 located in the northern section of the site and hangar 86 to the west. The remainder of the application site comprises existing hardstanding and a grassed area in the south-eastern section. History MoD Hullavington opened as a flying training station in 1937. It is one of 28 ‘key’ sites identified in the Historic England guidance on Military Aviation Sites as those which represent the best preserved airfield landscapes and the most historically significant groups of original buildings in England. The guidance notes that “It embodies, to a unique degree, the improved architectural quality associated with the post-1934 expansion of the RAF. Most of the original buildings survive and form a coherent and well-ordered ensemble. The flying field remains, with groups of hangars along its boundaries.” The design of the buildings, their layout and use of materials etc. are a key consideration in their understanding and special interest. The application itself relates to one of the pairs of hangars which are dispersed around the perimeter of the airfield and which were constructed in connection with the use of the site as an “Aircraft Storage Unit” (ASU). The Type D hangars are constructed in reinforced cast concrete blocks to imitate stone coursing with parabolic concrete roofs with bow string trusses. The only type D hangars on the airfield, they represent two of thirty four remaining examples constructed at ASUs. In 1940 the hangars accommodated the larger Stirling bombers. Increasing national concern through the 1930s, over rearmament and the pace of environmental change had led the government to involve the Royal Fine Arts Commission (including distinguished architects such as Sir Edwin Lutyens, Sir Reginald Blomfield and Giles Gilbert Scott) in the design of new air bases. It was Lutyens that advocated the study of local materials and traditions. The Hullavington site (particularly the Buckley Barracks area) shows a blend of Garden City planning for the married quarters, neo-georgian propriety for the barracks and other domestic buildings and a watered down Moderne style for the technical buildings. In contrast to other layouts which the RFAC considered too disorderly, as axial layout on Beaux Arts principles directed the overall concept at Hullavington. The facing of the buildings in Bath Stone was the probable result of consultation with the Wiltshire branch of the CPRE and is a very visual expression of the account which was felt to be due to local sensitivities at the time. In 1993 the RAF airbase was handed over to the army and re-named Buckley Barracks. It is occupied by a Regiment of the Royal Logistics Corps. The airfield was designated as a Conservation Area in 1992 by North Wiltshire District Council. Around 30 of the buildings on the site are included on the statutory National Heritage List. Background to the proposals As is referenced within the submission documents, Dyson will be bringing forward proposals for the wider MoD Hullavington site through a comprehensive masterplan approach. The current application relates only to a small part of the wider site and is being brought forward in advance of the wider masterplan as the buildings are required now by the applicant, given the growth at its Malmesbury HQ site. Planning permission is being sought now just for the use of hangars 85 and 86 for research & development facilities (Class B1), external alterations to the hangars, the creation of a temporary car park and associated works. As part of the wider masterplan, parking arrangements will be considered on a site wide basis and brought forward to serve the whole site, including the two hangars forming part of this current application. Therefore, the car park now proposed is temporary until the wider masterplan is brought forward. Dyson is understood to be fast outgrowing its existing Malmesbury Campus and has recently purchased the majority of the MoD Hullavington site with the intention of creating a global hub for its research and development work. Principle of development The hangars were constructed as part of the wider Hullavington military complex – originally for housing and protecting aircraft. It is acknowledged that, whilst not currently in use (the MoD regarding them as being beyond economic repair) the hangers were last used by the MoD for a range of Class B1, B2 and B8 type uses, precisely the type of uses now being applied for. In circumstances where the MoD disposes of its estate (in effect regarding it as being redundant), Policy CP37 of the Wiltshire Core Strategy supports the redevelopment, conversion or change of use of such land and buildings, provided they are well related to an existing settlement in terms of both location and scale. CP37 also confirms the need to focus on employment-led development. In this particular instance, the development would re-use existing buildings, would not create additional floorspace and would comprise employment uses. The characteristics of the development proposed are precisely that which CP37 seeks to support. Policy CP48 of the Wiltshire Core Strategy also confirms that the principle of the re-use of rural buildings for employment purposes will be supported. As is discussed later in this report, the hangers themselves are structurally sound and are capable or re-use without major rebuilding. Highways Access The application site is accessed indirectly from the A429, which runs to the east of the wider airfield site. The A429 runs from junction 17 of the M4 to the south, to Malmesbury and beyond to the north. Along with a number of existing Service family Accommodation (SFA) residential units at Wellington Place, the hangers are accessed by a series of internal tracks, which skirt the airfield landing strip, linking to the local road network. The access to MoD Hullavington sold to Dyson is separated from that to Buckley Barracks and is located to the North, operating as a simple priority T-junction arrangement with the C1 that links the village of Hullavington to the A429. The proposal does not alter this basic arrangement, albeit improvements to the junction visibility and conspicuity are proposed. In their comments of 16/10/17, the Council’s Highway Engineer raises no objection to the access arrangements onto the C1 (subject to the imposition of conditions in respect of the proposed visibility and conspicuity improvements), since the arrangement is already in place and already adequately accommodates all traffic associated with the military activites and those properties at Wellington Place Adequacy of highway network In terms of the vehicular movements likely to be associated with the new uses, the submitted Transport Statement (prepared by WYD, March 2017) confirms that the Dyson traffic would add to queues on both the A350 and A429 arms of the M4 junction (17) at the peak periods. The Council’s Highway Engineer notes that the junction is already at capacity with 2019 baseline plus 2026 development forecast traffic. This would normally lead to consideration of a recommendation for refusal unless mitigation was forthcoming. Notwithstanding the above, following the provision of updated traffic modelling outputs by Highways England (see section below), the Council’s Highway Engineer notes that the Tempro traffic growth applied to the modelled flows would include traffic associated with development in Malmesbury, although it can’t necessarily be said that it specifically provides for the Dyson permissions at their HQ, and the permission which they have agreed to lapse.