Proposed Changes to the Green Belt in the Pre-Submission Local Plan Response to Inspectors Initial Questions - Q16
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Proposed changes to the Green Belt in the Pre-submission Local Plan Response to Inspectors Initial Questions - Q16 January 2021 Update 1 Contents Consequential changes as a result of strategic allocations .................................................................... 6 PGB-1 - Hadleigh Fire Station and Essex Auto Group, Hadleigh ......................................................... 7 PGB-2 - Arthur Stevens’ Playing Field, South Benfleet ..................................................................... 10 PGB-3 – Land adjacent to policy HO11 ............................................................................................. 13 PGB-4 – Land adjacent to policy HO24 ............................................................................................. 16 PGB-5 – Land adjacent to policy HO13 ............................................................................................. 19 PGB-6 - Kent’s Hill Infants and Junior School & Holy Family Catholic School, Benfleet ................... 22 PGB-7 - Thundersley Primary School, Cedar Hall School and land surrounding site HO20 .............. 25 Educational Uses ................................................................................................................................... 28 PGB-8 - Land at USP Canvey College Campus and the former Castle View School, Canvey Island .. 29 PGB-9 - Deanes School and Virgin Active, Hadleigh ......................................................................... 33 PGB-10 - Glenwood School, Benfleet ................................................................................................ 37 PGB-11 - King John School, Benfleet ................................................................................................. 40 PGB-12- Cornelius Vermuyden School .............................................................................................. 43 Previously Developed Sites ................................................................................................................... 46 PGB-13 - Land at Crescent Road, South Benfleet ............................................................................. 47 PGB-14 - Solby Wood Farm ............................................................................................................... 50 Additional land in the Green Belt ......................................................................................................... 54 PGB-15 - Land South of Northwick Road and east of Roscommon Way, Canvey Island .................. 55 Other Minor Changes to the Green Belt ............................................................................................... 59 PGB-16 – Land adjacent 37 The Dale and consequential changes, Thundersley ............................. 60 2 Introduction This report updates the previous ‘Proposed changes to the Green Belt in the Pre-submission Local Plan 2020’ [GB-005] in response to the initial questions posed by the Inspector examining the Castle Point Local Plan in the letter dated 6 January 2020, the following question was asked: The Green Belt 16. Document GB-005 Proposed changes to the Green Belt in the Pre-submission Local Plan details a number of ‘additional’ changes to the boundaries of the Green Belt. What are the exceptional circumstances for these proposed changes to the Green Belt boundaries? In response to this question this report sets out where changes to the Green Belt as defined in the Pre-submission Local Plan 2019 have been made. This report also took the opportunity to ensure all proposed changes to the Green Belt in the Pre-submission Local Plan 2019, have been captured and assessed. The methodology used in the Green Belt Review Part 2 2018 (GB-002) was used for each site in defining the impact that could occur if it was released from the Green Belt. There are instances on the maps below where GIS layers have been prepared at different scales and do not align entirely, for the purpose of the report these are not considered additional changes to the Green Belt. Once the Plan is adopted, the Council will only amend Green Belt boundaries that have been consulted on and approved by the Council. The report is set out in five sections and justify how exceptional circumstances exist for the release or addition of sites to the Green Belt, these sections include: • Consequential changes to the Green Belt as a result of strategic allocations • Educational uses • Previously developed sites • Additional land in the Green Belt • Other minor changes to the Green Belt 3 Figure 1 highlights the differences between the existing Green Belt boundary and the proposed new boundary. The residential and employment allocations within the Plan have been assessed within the Castle Point Borough Green Belt Review - Part 2 2019 update [GB-004] and this report highlights where changes have been made in addition to this. Figure 1: Differences from the existing Green belt and the proposed Green Belt 4 Figure 2 highlights where the proposed strategic allocations, from the Pre-submission Local Plan are in relation to the additional proposed changes as set out in this report. Figure 2: Strategic allocations and additional proposed changes to the Green Belt 5 Consequential changes as a result of strategic allocations The Green Belt Topic Paper 2018 (GB-003) critically examines whether exceptional circumstances exist in Castle Point to release land from the Green Belt for development. It found that in relation to development needs for housing and economic development exceptional circumstances exist to justify the release of the land from the current extent of the Green Belt for development purposes. It concluded that there is a clear, acute need for development, which is affected by inherent constraints on land supply. This in turn is affecting the ability of the Council to achieve more sustainable patterns of development that support economic growth and social outcomes. The Green Belt Topic Paper 2018 (GB-003) found that there would be harm to the Green Belt arising from development, however this could be limited as there are opportunities to minimise this harm through careful site selection and mitigation including the use of appropriate development densities, the provision of open space at the edge of development, and through high quality design and landscaping. It was considered that it was possible to pass the tests in relation to exceptional circumstances identified in the judgement of Calverton Parish Council v Greater Nottingham Councils [2015] within Castle Point Borough and provide land to deliver the levels of development that meet assessed development needs. As a result of this assessment a number of potential housing sites were assessed within the Green Belt Review Part 2 2018 (GB-002) and the 2019 update (GB-004) to determine the resultant harm to the Green Belt that would arise as a consequence of development on these sites. These site level assessments informed the allocations identified in the Castle Point Local Plan 2019. Due to the allocation of sites for housing development purposes within the current extent of the Green Belt, there are a number of pieces of land which are not proposed to form part of the housing allocations, but which will become isolated from the wider Green Belt due to the housing allocations proposed. Being isolated from the remainder of the Green Belt, these pieces of land will no longer fulfil the purposes of the Green Belt as set out in paragraph 134 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). This part of the assessment looks into the exceptional circumstances that exist for these pieces of land to be removed from the Green Belt consequential to the development of the adjacent land as identified in the Part 2 Green Belt Reviews. 6 PGB-1 - Hadleigh Fire Station and Essex Auto Group, Hadleigh Size 1.7 hectares Action Removed from Green Belt Reason Site has been built out as a fire station and car dealership and is a consequential loss from Green Belt. It is proposed this is released alongside housing allocation HO13 to the south and east. PGB-1 Area removed from Green Belt as a consequence of the allocation HO13 Use The proposed allocation is for out of centre retail, to reflect the existing use in part. Description of Site The site is currently occupied by Rayleigh Weir Fire Station, a car dealership and a car park, the eastern boundary of the site is a sparsely wooded area. Relationship to Surrounding Area 7 The site is adjacent to the existing urban area with the A129/Rayleigh Road adjacent to the site along the western boundary, residential and commercial buildings lie on the other side of that road. Stadium Way runs along the northern boundary with a Sainsburys supermarket and related car parking on the other side. To the south and east of the site is the strategic allocation policy HO13 – land east of Rayleigh Road, currently these are open green fields, however policy HO13 has been allocated for 455 new homes. Performance of Relevant Parcel(s) under Part 1 Methodology The site falls within Parcel 4. A summary of the Green Belt Review 2018 Part 1 assessment as it relates to Parcel 4 follows below: Purpose 1 – Check Purpose 2 – Prevent Towns Purpose 3 – Safeguard Unrestricted Sprawl from Merging Countryside The Green Belt parcel is The parcel represents the full The topography is rolling with adjacent to New Thundersley, extent of the strategic gap small valleys. It contains areas Daws Heath and Hadleigh. between Thundersley to the of pasture, woodland