Horton and Character Assessment

June 2015

Horton and Wraysbury Parish Councils

Contents

1. Introduction 2. Landscape Setting 3. Townscape Character

Appendix 1: RBWM Landscape Character Assessment, 2004 - Extracts Relevant to

1 INTRODUCTION

About this document

This document, prepared by Horton and Wraysbury Parish Councils, provides an overview of the character and key qualities that define the built up areas of the parishes of Horton and Wraysbury. It has been produced as one part of a larger project – the Horton and Wraysbury Neighbourhood Development Plan.

Once adopted, the Neighbourhood Development Plan will be used by the Royal Borough of Windsor and when considering planning applications which are submitted within the designated area. This Character Assessment supports the design and character policies progressed within the Neighbourhood Development Plan, and will help to ensure that development proposals are designed in a manner which is complimentary to and reinforces the distinct and special character of Horton and Wraysbury.

2 LANDSCAPE SETTING

An aquatic landscape

The Parishes of Horton and Wraysbury lie in a landscape which is largely shaped and characterised by water features. These water features take a variety of forms, and include:

 The ;  Wraysbury and the Queen Mother Reservoir; and  ‘Man-made’ lakes formed from disused gravel pits.

The River Thames lies to west of Wraysbury, and in this area diverges into the New Cut, the and some unnamed tributaries.

Lakes of varying sizes, originating from former gravel workings are a particular feature (during the 1930’s, due to the presence of huge quantities of gravel in this area, farming started to give way to the minerals extraction industry). These waterbodies, formed from the abandoned gravel pits by a process of naturalisation, are often well wooded (providing a wooded horizon throughout the area) and have a strong and attractive naturalistic character with positive views. Many have developed or are in the process of developing valuable wildlife communities and the former gravel works at Hythe End are now classified as an SSSI due to their important wildfowl populations. Many lakes are also used for recreation, including boating.

Unique to the area is the presence of to supply 's water needs, both in and extending into the adjoining district of Spelthorne. The Queen Mother Reservoir and the neighbouring have a strong influence on the character of the area due to their angular grazed grass banks and associated concrete structures, which provide a hard edge, truncating views and intruding upon this flat landscape. Planting (currently immature) has been undertaken at the base of some of these reservoirs to soften their appearance. The water of the reservoirs is generally not visible; although where boats are present their rigs may be seen protruding above the grassy banks. The remaining farmed landscape is predominantly arable, comprising immense open fields, denuded of field boundaries and trees.

Figure 1: Aerial photo showing the network of lakes which characterise the wider landscape setting RBWM Landscape Character Assessment (2004)

Prepared by LDA Design on behalf of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, this document characterises and evaluates the Royal Borough’s landscapes. It identifies Horton and Wraysbury as falling within the ‘Settled Developed Floodplain’ landscape typology, the defining characteristics of which are:

 Wide slow moving river with natural, diverse river edge and wooded island habitats  Thames navigation channels, marinas, artificial cuts and canalised sections  Broad flat open floodplain with a fragmented landscape pattern  Expansive naturalised and restored man-made wetland landscapes of ecological importance Remnant hedgerows and hedgerow trees from former traditional landscape patterns, within new wetland landscapes  Degraded 'edge of town' landscapes with eclectic mix of modern landuses such as industrial estates, sewage works and horse paddocks with neglected boundaries and flytipping  Active gravel extraction works  Shelterbelts and linear woodlands  Varied and dispersed mix of small scale traditional and modern settlement  Waterbased active and passive recreation facilities  Network of minor roads and tracks  Busy, large scale transportation corridors  Frequent over head noise of aviation traffic  Wetland habitats of international and national nature conservation importance

Figure 2: 'Settled Developed Floodplain' landscape character - sub-areas map

The Landscape Character Assessment also identifies 3 sub-areas of the ‘Settled Developed Floodplain’ landscape type, one of which, 14c, relates specifically Horton & Wraysbury. These sub- areas have the generic characteristics of the ‘Settled Developed Floodplain’ landscape type but also have important locally distinctive variations. For 14c ‘Horton and Wraysbury’, the key characteristics (in addition to those outlined in the overarching landscape type) are:

 Artificial slopes of water storage reservoirs  Auxiliary buildings of reservoirs  Fly tipping  Fragmented network of Public Footpaths

Appendix 1 of this document contains the full descriptions of both the overarching ‘Settled Developed Floodplain’ landscape type and the 14c ‘Horton and Wraysbury’ sub-area, as described in the Landscape Character Assessment,

3 TOWNSCAPE CHARACTER

Character Areas

The Parishes of Horton and Wraysbury can be broadly divided into seven distinct areas of different character. The locations and extents of these character areas are shown in Figure 3 below.

Figure 3: Horton and Wraysbury Character Areas map

The character of each of these areas is reviewed in the following sections.

More Detailed Map

The map below defines the areas more specifically and is followed by a table which relates the character area numbers above to the names on the detailed map below

Character Area Detailed Map Names Number Name 1 Horton Horton West Horton Village Horton East 2 Coppermill Road Coppermill Road 3 Central Wraysbury Wraysbury Centre excluding North section River View 1 North Section Douglas Lane 4 Hythe End Hythe End 1 Hythe End 2 Hythe End 3 5 Welley Road Wraysbury Centre North Section 6 Ouseley Road Ouseley Road 7 Riverside River View 1 Excluding North Section River View 2 River View 3 River View 4 River View 5 Un-Numbered ? Staines Road ? Reservoirs, Gravel Pits, Farms, SSSIs etc.

Character Area 1 – Horton

Character Attractive village with historic buildings clustered around Overview small triangular green, and more modern houses on the roads to Wraysbury and as ribbon development.

Green Features Centrally located village green, lots of open green space, limited number of street trees, semi-rural feel on entry to village.

Building Layout, Two storey, brick in the main, different ages of properties, scale, much post war housing; various medium size residential appearance, developments of varying ages; terraced and semi-detached materials housing.

Land Uses Residential in the main, around the green very limited commercial, one pub and shop. One development of flats. Some 200-300 acres of arable farmland located behind the church. Kingsmead Lakes provide access for fishing and sailing.

Landmarks Village green. St Michael the Archangel church (listed) and associated church yard partially dating from the 12th century. Children’s park, large 3 storey block of flats opposite the green. Travellers’ cemetery located in area.

Open Space Village green, church yard, play area/park.

Layout Lack of off street parking to development parcel to the south of Stanwell road, larger properties on the main road benefit from small amount of parking provision, differing plot sizes, open frontage to flats, some larger buildings congregated around the green.

Character Area 1 – Horton Gallery of key buildings and features

Figure 4: St Michael the Archangel is a key local landmark Figure 5: The Five Bells public house sits at the eastern gateway into Horton INSERT IMAGE

Figure 6: The triangular central green, with its single mature elm tree and war memorial, lies at the heart of the village INSERT IMAGE INSERT IMAGE

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Character Area 2 – Coppermill Road

Character Long, linear route lined ribbon development, mostly in the Overview form of detached housing. Bounded to the west by Colne Brook and to the east by Wraysbury Reservoir.

Green Features Small grass verges, non-established street trees, occasional hedges and drainage ditch.

Building Layout, Uniform plot sizes, generous rear gardens, large off street scale, parking provision, predominantly detached houses, appearance, relatively wide plots, bungalows very common, generally materials with rooms in the roofspace, two storey dwellings of mixed design, mix of brick and render. Rear gardens larger on west side of street; smaller on east side near the reservoir.

Land Uses Residential, with social housing near the reservoir.

Landmarks High reservoir banking to the rear of houses to the east.

Layout Low front boundary treatment, mainly low walls with railings with some wooden fences, pavement to one side of road, linear long straight road.

Character Area 2 – Coppermill Road Gallery of key buildings and features

Figure 7: Residential properties line Coppermill Road Figure 8: The bankong of Wraysbury Reservoir forms a backdrop to the properties on the eastern side of the road

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Character Area 3 – Central Wraysbury

Character Wraysbury is an historic ‘leafy’ village, focussed around the Overview Church of St Andrew and village green, surrounded by a richly diverse landscape of gravel pits in the floodplain of the Thames.

Green Away from the centre small number of trees in the street Features scene becoming more frequent as you move away from the high street.

Building Historic core formed around the church, mill and the Layout, scale, Perseverance public house. Interspersed with buildings of appearance, different ages, Victorian and later. As you move away from the materials town centre various development parcels are prevalent, a number of post war developments on roads leading off the main road. Along High Street two-storey terraced shops and dwellings, mix of brick and white render, pitched roofs, gable ended. Development parcels of detached and semi-detached dwellings more common off the main street.

Land Uses Generally residential but with shopping parade towards the centre, mainly local convenience store and public house.

Landmarks The Church of St Andrew and the Baptist Church along the High Street are visually prominent landmarks. The Splash Mill and The George Inn public house are also seen as landmarks due to their historic importance and visual prominence.

Open Space Small amounts of public realm to the rear of the pub on the green, generally sporting provision provided rather than public open space, bowls club, tennis club, no informal space.

Layout Wraysbury’s settlement pattern is strongly influenced by the historic village core, comprising the Church of St Andrew, The George Inn (c. 16th Century) and a triangular village green. The historic village core is intact and The Green provides a key open space within the village. High street has uniform building line relatively close to the road, further set back as you move away from the centre, two way streets, plots size varies.

Character Area 3 – Central Wraysbury Gallery of key buildings and features

Figure 9: Ground floor shops with traditional facades along High Street Figure 10: The distinctive and attractive The George public house

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Character Area 4 – Hythe End

Character Largely residential area to south of Wraysbury, severed by Overview M25. Incoherent layout, with numerous residential areas of differing character and arrangement.

Green Features Some trees, semi-rural in places, mainly open fields.

Building Layout, Two storey in the main, small parcel of Travellers’ prefab scale, chalets and static caravans on Feather Lane; houses on the appearance, river similar to those in the riverside area, near Gloucester materials Drive houses on the main road are more uniform in appearance older, Victorian, houses to the rear are more modern, two storey varied design.

Land Uses Mainly residential, with several Travellers’ sites. Some light industrial, large water pumping station. Waste Transfer Site in old quarry.

Landmarks Water pumping station.

Layout Quite narrow roads leading off Wraysbury Road and Heathers Lane to a number of small residential area, each with their own distinct layout, including linear development along Hythe End Road and the Island, and cul-de-sac developments such as Sarsby Drive and Bell Weir Close. Wide variety of development layouts seen throughout area.

Character Area 4 – Hythe End Gallery of key buildings and features

Figure 11: Hythe End waterworks is a local landmark

Figure 12: Numerous residential areas, each with there own distinct character, form the most of the built-up area of Hythe End

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Character Area 5 – Welley Road

Character Long, linear route, lined by mostly residential development Overview and with numerous small residential areas branching off from it.

Green Features Significant amount of both street and private planting, much of which is mature and greatly enhances local character.

Building Layout, Linear development along main road, mix of residential and scale, commercial. Northern end mainly detached bungalows, appearance, with two storey, mix of semi-detached and detached materials houses, and small terraced developments to the south. Generally open frontages with housing well set back from the street, helping to maintain its open, semi-rural character.

Land Uses Residential in the main, with Wraysbury primary school being the main exception to this residential use.

Landmarks St Andrews Church (CoE) and Noble Palace Restaurant both represent local landmarks in this area.

Open Space Lakes allow fishing and the Kingsmead Sailing Club is based there.

Layout Properties along Welley Road are regularly spaced, and set slightly back from the road, with gardens to both the front and rear.

Character Area 5 – Welley Road Gallery of key buildings and features

Figure 13: Properties along Welley Road display a diversity of architectural styles and forms, but most are set back from the road and the building line is fairly consistent INSERT IMAGE INSERT IMAGE

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Character Area 6 – Ouseley Road

Character A leafy residential road characterised by large detached Overview dwellings, which display a variety of architectural styles and are regularly spaced on either side of the road.

Green Features Large amount of street trees/boundary screening to the northern end of the road becoming more open towards the river.

Building Layout, Mix of two storey and single storey (some with rooms in scale, the roof) detached dwellings of varying design. Building line appearance, is quite consistent, with dwelling set back from road with materials small front gardens.

Land Uses Residential – with grazing land behind the housing used for informal recreation by the public.

Layout Relatively uniform plot size (often quite wide) and strong, consistent building line, with this layout continuing along Wharf Road.

Character Area 6 – Ouseley Road Gallery of key buildings and features

Figure 14: An abundance of planting gives Ouseley Road a particularly green character

Figure 15: Houses display a variety of architectural styles, and roof forms and materials differ

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Character Area 7 – Riverside

Character Attractive riverside setting lined by residential properties. Overview Green Features Open frontages, grass verges and front garden with occasional green features.

Building Layout, Fairly uniform plot size, mix of two storey and bungalows ( scale, rooms in roof) all detached, strong front building line, appearance, houses on riverside set back in their plots, two storey vary materials significantly in design including some very modern.

Land Uses All residential.

Layout Narrow roads, uniform plot size, buildings set back from street, off street parking, strong building line particularly on the non-river side of the road, properties occupy a large proportion of their frontage, properties on riverside meandering following the contours of the river.

Character Area 7 – Riverside Gallery of key buildings and features

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APPENDIX 1

RBWM LANDSCAPE CHARACTER ASSESSMENT, 2004

EXTRACTS RELEVANT TO HORTON AND WRAYSBURY

‘Settled Development Floodplain’ typology description

Sub-area 14c ‘Horton and Wraysbury’ description