Hart District Council Local Plan Site Assessment: Stage 2 – High Level Site Assessment – SHL259 – Land North of Cemetary, Heckfield Confidential Draft - 1.1 – May 2015 High Level Site Assessment Proforma Site Reference SHL259 Site Name Land North of Cemetery Parish Heckfield Site Address Land North of Cemetery, Heckfield Capacity Assessment and Categorisation Site Size (ha) 3.5ha Estimated Capacity 63 Comments on capacity The area was used to calculate the capacity using a dph figure of 18 (in accordance with gross-to-net ratio of 60%). Housing Strategy Category(s) 6 - Other (isolated site) Land Supply Category Category D: Sites not adjoining existing urban areas Key to Site Assessments: No overriding constraint to development of the site Constraint requiring further detailed assessment Major constraint undermining suitability of site Site Assessment Assessment Criteria Assessment comments Coloured assessment Accessibility to o Bus Stop – (Heckfield Place) 0.73km Employment and o Railway Station – (Hook) 7.98km services o Employment Centre – (Riseley Business Park) 2.83km o Public Open Space – (Riseley Recreation Ground) 2.34km o Health Facility – (Hook Surgery) 7.33km o Primary School – (Whitewater Primary School) 6.37km o Secondary School – (Yateley School) 10.55km o Supermarket – (Tesco, Hook) 7.98km Infrastructure • Schools: There is a projected (2018) surplus of primary years intake for both the Hook/Odiham (16%), and provision Yateley/Frogmore (8%) areas. There are planned expansions to four of the primary schools in the Hook area giving a total of 3.5FE between the schools, however there are no planned expansions in the Yateley area. • Health: There is believed to be some available capacity at local doctor surgeries and dentists in the area. There are no planned expansions of health facilities in the Hook area, but it is likely that any significant level of development in the centre of the district will require additional provision. • Retail: Hook is the closest town to service this site with convenience shops, the Hart Retail Infrastructure report shows that many of the supermarkets in the area are overtrading, and any further development will put Adams Hendry Consulting Ltd 1 Hart District Council Local Plan Site Assessment: Stage 2 – High Level Site Assessment – SHL259 – Land North of Cemetary, Heckfield Confidential Draft - 1.1 – May 2015 pressure on increasing retailer floorspace. It is unlikely that consumers would travel into any of the Hart areas for comparative shops as Reading is in close proximity to the site and offers a wider variety of shops and entertainment. • Transport (road): Due to the remote location of this site, there are few road schemes in the immediate vicinity of the site due for improvement; Traffic calming and a new 40MPH speed limit will be introduced to Bramshill. Additionally there will be traffic calming introduced along the A30 in Hartley Wintney. Junction improvements to the B3349 in Hook to improve visibility • Transport (other): The No. 72 bus service (Reading/Farnborough) provides a regular service six days a week runs through the Heckfield Parish (on the Odiham Road). • Green Infrastructure: The Hart Infrastructure Delivery Schedule highlights the need for open space, SANGs and allotments provisions in the areas north of Hook I order to reduce the pressure on the Hitches Lane SANG. There is a lack of provision in certain types of infrastructure in the area and development on the site will only increase the pressure on existing services. It is unlikely that the site is of sufficient size to provide the supporting infrastructure onsite. Current Use and This land is currently used for agriculture. There is no relevant planning history relating to this site. Relevant Planning History Nature Conservation Site is within the 5km Thames Basin Heaths SPA Zone of Influence. It is unlikely that a development on a site of this scale would be within the capacity of the Hitches Lane SANG to mitigate its potential impact on the TBH SPA. Therefore any development at the site would require either on-site SANGs provision or contributions for the provision of appropriate off-site SANGs. There are no nature conservation designations on the site. However, there is a large woodland north of the site which has an area-based TPO covering the wood. Minerals Resources The Hampshire Minerals and Waste Plan Policies Map indicates that the whole site may be subject to minerals safeguarding for sharp sand and gravel (Policy 15 of the Hampshire minerals and waste plan). The extent to which this represents a constraint to development would need to be assessed. Landscape HCC Integrated LCA (2012) Landscape type: Woodland and plantation on heath Landscape character: Northeast Hampshire Plantations and Heath Adams Hendry Consulting Ltd 2 Hart District Council Local Plan Site Assessment: Stage 2 – High Level Site Assessment – SHL259 – Land North of Cemetary, Heckfield Confidential Draft - 1.1 – May 2015 Hart District LCA 1997: Landscape type: historic parkland and well-managed estate Landscape Character Area: Wellington Main features of the Wellington LCA: A well-wooded character, with extensive broadleaved and mixed woodlands and a patchwork of fields also within a woodland structure. There is a distinctively heathy character to the vegetation within the woods, hedges and roadside verges including pine, oak, birch, gorse, bracken and broom with former heathland and underlying acidic soils. Dispersed and sparse settlement patterns of individual farm buildings and houses occupy this subtle landform which gently falls to the east and west valleys of Whitewater and Lyde rivers. Summary Assessment: The site comprises the westernmost portion of a large open arable field between the B3349 and Laundry Lane. Whilst the field is screened effectively to the north by the woodland of Heckfield Heath, it is very open on in all other directions. Any development of the site would be highly visible at long distances, particularly to the south and east. The south of the site abuts onto a public right of way, which is entirely open to the site. Visual impacts would also be significant to the west where the existing dwellings on Church Lane overlook the site. Given the sites size, relative to existing development in this area, it would be expected that its development would cause significant harm to landscape character. Agricultural Land This site is on Grade 4 agricultural land. Heritage Assets There are no heritage assets on the site itself, however there are a number of designations surrounding the site. Heckfield Conservation Area is adjacent to the west of the site, including the locally listed parkland of Highfield House, which is also an area of significant archaeological. The site is within the setting of several Grade II Listed Buildings, including those on Church Lane (20 and 22 Church Lane and the East Block of the Village Hall) and Laundry Cottage to the southeast. Water resources and There are no Groundwater Source Protection Zones or licensed water abstraction points in close proximity to the quality site. Air Quality There are no believed to be any Air Quality Management Aras in close proximity to the site. On the basis of the evidence seen, none of the surrounding land uses would be likely to cause any air quality issues for the site. Flood risk This site is fully located within Flood Zone 1, and has a Limited risk of groundwater flooding. Adams Hendry Consulting Ltd 3 Hart District Council Local Plan Site Assessment: Stage 2 – High Level Site Assessment – SHL259 – Land North of Cemetary, Heckfield Confidential Draft - 1.1 – May 2015 Location and scale of This site is on greenfield land but is not located within a local or strategic gap. Heckfield is in close proximity to the development site, however it is outside of the settlement area, and does not adjoin to the boundary of Heckfield, although the west of the sit is in close proximity to it. The site is therefore isolated within the countryside and is not considered to be a sustainable location. The vast majority of the surrounding area is made up of fields, with patches of woodland, and Highfield Park west of the site. The handful of dwellings on Church Lane is also close to the west of the site. The site is very large in comparison to Heckfield, and there are few natural landscape features to screen views straight across the site. Therefore, any development on this site would be highly visible. Heckfield is a small historic rural hamlet with the Highfield House Parkland and St Michaelʼs Church at its centre. Any significant modern development within the area would be incongruous to the distinctive historic and rural character of the area. Un-neighbourly Uses There are no un-neighbourly land uses evident on or in close proximity to this site. Availability The site is believed to be available and this is supported by the fact that the site was submitted to HDC for Assessment inclusion in the SHLAA post November 2013. The landowner has indicated that the site would be available in the short term (0-5 years). Site Access There is potential for a vehicular access to be opened up on the western boundary of the site directly onto the B3349, subject to a detailed highways assessment. Access to this area for pedestrians and cyclists however is poor. There are no footways in the area and considerable upgrading on the pedestrian infrastructure in the area would be required if a significant development were to be taken forward. Summary of • Accessibility to all services and facilities is very poor, which will encourage car dependency; Constraints • Infrastructure deficiencies have been identified which would need to be addressed; • Site is isolated within the countryside and in an unsustainable location; • Development is likely to cause visual intrusion to existing properties to the west, to the public right of way to the south, and may harm the overall character of the landscape; • Site is adjacent to a variety of significant heritage assets and is within the setting of at least three Grade II Listed Buildings; • Significant development is likely to harm the rural character of Heckfield; • The entire site is subject to minerals safeguarding.