Northampton Longer Term Growth Options Study

FINAL REPORT MARCH 2007 PREPARED BY EDAW WITH ATKINS AND GVA GRIMLEY

2 | NORTHAMPTON LONGER TERM GROWTH OPTIONS STUDY

Contents Page

1. Introduction 4

2. Approach 10

3. The Land Use Budget 14

4. Components of a Long Term Spatial Vision 28

5. Sustainable Planning and Design Principles 42

6. Thematic Scenarios 52

7. Land Suitability Assessment 62

8. Potential Options for Growth 96

9. Implementation 126

10. Conclusions and Next Steps 140

Appendices 146

Appendix A – Sustainability Appraisal 148

Appendix B – Key Stakeholder Feedback 162

Appendix C – Referenced Transport Documents 186

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1. Introduction

1.1 DEVELOPING A GROWTH STRATEGY FOR NORTHAMPTON

Northampton has been identified by the Government as a major town suitable for accommodating significant growth in new dwellings and jobs over the next 20 to 25 years. Growing Northampton is likely to bring many benefits for local communities, for example increased economic investment, new and improved infrastructure, and access to a diversity of housing. These benefits may only be realised, however, if growth occurs in a sustainable way. Infrastructure provision needs to occur ahead of or in step with the development of new housing and provision of employment opportunities. It is also important to ensure that future development respects the local environs of Northampton; ensuring its natural features and cultural identity, and those of surrounding settlements, are not lost. This therefore warrants a holistic and integrated approach to determining how and where Northampton should grow.

Daventry District, Northampton Borough and South Northamptonshire (the Councils) are working together with Northamptonshire County Council to prepare a joint Core Strategy for West Northamptonshire. The Core Strategy is being prepared in accordance with national policy, the Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS 8) for the East Midlands (Review 2006) and the Milton Keynes and South Midlands (MKSM) Sub-Regional Strategy (2005). The aim is effectively to integrate the Core Strategy into each Council’s Local Development Framework (LDF).

EDAW, WS Atkins and GVA Grimley were commissioned by the Councils in August 2006 to undertake a study to identify the longer term growth options for Northampton. The first stage of this study has involved determining the ‘baseline position’. Through analysing and reviewing existing policies and best practice guidance (in relation to population, housing, environment, economy and employment, transport, utilities and community infrastructure) the principles for how growth may take place were established.

1.2 PURPOSE OF THIS REPORT

The purpose of this report is twofold. First, it is to explain the methodology for identifying the most sustainable directions for growth. Secondly, it is to provide the strategic rationale for growing Northampton through building an evidence base for the Joint Core Strategy. It is intended that the outcomes of this report will inform potential growth options for public consultation in 2007.

1.3 STUDY OBJECTIVES

The study’s objectives are: x To review the housing baseline position as set out in the Northampton Housing Background Paper in order to verify the residual housing requirement for the period to 2021 and to 2026. x To obtain agreement to the housing baseline position with the members of the Study Steering Group. x To collect baseline information on the factors which could influence the location and form of development. x To undertake an assessment of the study area against sustainability criteria. x To identify the implementation implications of growth options, including availability and need for strategic infrastructure.

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x To evaluate the options for the most sustainable direction or directions of longer-term growth in relation to the town of Northampton. x To recommend an appropriate boundary for the Northampton Implementation Area. x To demonstrate how the specific requirements for growth in the NIA as set out in RSS8 can be met.

1.4 KEY FINDINGS FROM THE BASELINE REVIEW

The key findings from the review of baseline information are summarised below. More detailed findings are set out in the Long Term Growth Options for Northampton Baseline Report (November 2006).

1.4.1 Housing

The MKSM Sub-Regional Strategy sets a target of 169,800 new homes to be for delivered between 2001 - 2021. Of the 169,800 new homes, 30,000 of them were targeted for the NIA with an annual build rate of 1,500 new dwellings, which is variable over 5 year periods. It must be noted however that since the publication of the Sub-Regional Strategy the figure of 30,000 has been quashed by a successful High Court Challenge to the Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS8). The High Court Challenge did not affect the longer-term planning assumption in the SRS which identifies a further 17,500 dwellings in the decade 2021-2031 as an uncommitted planning assumption subject to future review.

Following technical work undertaken by Baker Associates (November 2006) on behalf of the Regional Assembly and Northamptonshire County Council, replacement figures were issued for public consultation in December 2006. The proposals endorse the MKSM Panel’s recommended figure of 31,500 new dwellings between 2001 and 2021 for the NIA, and add a further 8,875 for the period 2021 to 2026.

In line with Government policy, a sequential approach should be taken to identifying the appropriate location for new dwellings. This means that the growth of Northampton will most likely be accommodated through more efficient use of land within the urban area. Northampton Borough Council’s Urban Housing Capacity report highlights that there are a number of sites that may potentially be developed, reflecting the special circumstances found in Northampton associated with former industrial uses. However, it is unlikely that the majority of growth required to be delivered in the longer term can be accommodated within the existing urban area and thus there will be a requirement for outward growth. This outward growth must be delivered sensitively and the selection of land must be soundly based on sustainability principles and the key values of the community.

1.4.2 Environment – Natural, Built and Human

In order to plan for future services provision and to better understand housing needs it is important to be aware of the current population profile and how it could change in the future. Planning for a diversity of needs both through the provision of a range of affordable housing choices and services will be crucial to Northampton’s success as an attractive place to live, work and visit.

The area in and around Northampton has a rich variety of natural and built environmental assets. It has an abundance of parkland and open spaces of recreational and biodiversity value, important areas of woodland and landscapes, sites of historical importance – all of which are a major contributor to people’s good quality of life. The rural character setting and the valley of the River Nene are distinct environmental features that will need careful examination through the growth option process. The development of new communities should therefore seek to preserve and enhance quality open space, natural and built assets, areas of environmental significance and Northampton’s special landscape.

From a high-level analysis of both natural and built environments it may be concluded that the main constraints and opportunities for development in the Northampton area include:

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x The flood risk areas associated with the River Nene and its tributaries. These areas are also valued for their high quality landscape, biodiversity and potential for mineral extraction (although it is acknowledged that the continuation of this use is not necessarily encouraged). x The designated wildlife areas to the south east and the north of Northampton urban area, along with other smaller wildlife areas sprinkled around and within the urban area. x Within the urban area, the open spaces and green corridor networks that are of recreational as well as biodiversity value. Although, it is also acknowledged that some spaces could be better maintained and used. x The large tracts of high quality agricultural land to the west, south east and north of Northampton. x The available landfill sites need to be safeguarded from development of non-waste uses. x The need to adequately safeguard and enhance archaeological sites and their monuments and their settings. x The potentially contaminated brownfield land that could be costly to clean up for development. x The opportunity to review the function and identity of the settlement structure with a view to improving the role of Northampton within the Region.

1.4.3 Economy and Employment

West Northamptonshire has a relatively healthy economic and employment base with above average labour market participation, both in terms of economic activity and actual employment rates. The greatest proportion of employment is seen in public administration, education and health in Northampton and South Northamptonshire and in distribution in Daventry. In order to become regionally and globally competitive several areas for action have been recognised by policy makers including attracting knowledge intensive, high value added industries. There will also need to be significant growth in other sectors such as creative industries; food and drink; freight and logistics; aviation; health and social care, and tourism to support the primary industries.

A range of measures and infrastructure will need to be put in place to attract the desired businesses. For instance, the creation and marketing of an attractive environment for businesses will be paramount. Knowledge-based industries are typically attracted to places that have highly sophisticated telecommunications infrastructure, an outstanding transport system, a well educated and skilled labour force, first-rate community and leisure services and an image of being an enjoyable place to live, work and visit. In light of growth in knowledge-intensive sectors, as well as the necessary increase in services and retail to accompany an increase in population, there will be greater demand for more office sites. There is also expected to be continued demand for distribution sites, which have a larger land take than offices.

Economic performance, employment growth, labour supply and learning and skills are inextricably linked. Without high-value added, knowledge-intensive businesses located in the area a highly skilled workforce is not going to be attracted or retained, while without the correct labour supply the area is not so attractive as a business location. A shift in market share from manufacturing to business services means that office employment will increase at the expense of industrial positions. Appropriately skilled individuals will be required as a result. Further and higher education, lifelong learning and workforce training will need to be encouraged.

1.4.4 Community infrastructure

In order to deliver the growth of Northampton in a sustainable way there must be the comprehensive and timely provision of the appropriate community infrastructure including health, education, community facilities and emergency services. The level of social infrastructure provision that needs to be provided is dependent on the size and demographics of the new population coming to the area. The scale of social infrastructure required for the development planned over the next 20 years is substantial. In

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summary, the demand would require the equivalent of approximately 3 new secondary schools; up to 11 new primary schools; 1 to 2 large Primary Care Centres; up to 5 new sports halls; substantial library and community spaces; a new fire facility; and significant police space. There would also be a need for a significant level of new open space provision of between approximately 85 and 207 ha.

The additional demand, however, will be generated across the implementation area and would require a range of facilities in a number of locations. In some areas the additional demand may be met by investing in boosting the capacity of existing facilities whereas, in areas of larger scale development, significant new provision will be necessary. In order to meet the aim of creating sustainable communities, therefore, it is essential that the social infrastructure is of the appropriate type and size and in the right location to ensure the needs of all communities can be met.

1.4.5 Access and Movement

In considering the largely rural hinterland of the sub-region, it is acknowledged that there is long established culture and behaviour relating to movement in and around the settlements by car. The key challenge from a transport perspective with the introduction of new development is to achieve a modal shift from predominant use of the motor car to using public transport, walking and cycling. Assumptions have been made that a balanced package of measures can be utilised to address such issues, including improving pedestrian and cycle linkages, bus routes and services such as radial routes, real time bus information and a new bus station. New park and ride sites are also being considered on the eastern and western sides of the town.

Movement within Northampton and between the town and the surrounding settlements is predominantly undertaken by car. This is largely as a result of land use planning decisions over the last 40 years and the general trend towards decentralising jobs, services, retail and housing reducing the predominance of trips directed toward the town centre. The challenge from a transport perspective is to induce a modal shift from car based trips to walking, cycling and bus trips. Whilst changes to the infrastructure such as pedestrian and cycle links, improved bus services and facilities will have an impact, the key influence will be the change in land use patterns both in the town centre and in how the centre interacts with the less central developments

As a result of the planned growth in the sub-region, Northampton will experience a substantial increase in both car based and public transport journeys over the next 20 years. The increased demand from the growth area will place further pressures on the existing transport network that already suffers from localised congestion and will highlight the inadequate provision of infrastructure for key strategic movements. It also recognises that significant infrastructure investment will be required across all modes if growth targets for employment and residential development are to be met.

Northampton currently has a relatively ‘self balancing’ road network, as such there is a lot of route choice mainly due to the many origins and destinations in both the central area and the outskirts of the town. If more development were to take place in the town centre, without appropriate consideration to the traffic generated, then there is a danger that congestion could become a problem as more traffic enters the central area and interrupts the balance. There will therefore be a need to manage the balance between the attractiveness of the centre, against the time, cost and effort that it takes to travel to the centre. The infrastructure to achieve this will need to be planned, and be in place before the completion of development.

The suburban road infrastructure and particularly the outer ring road are likely to be under as much if not more pressure as the town centre as there is substantially less scope for any dramatic modal shift. Infrastructure improvements will need to be implemented to ensure that future delays not have a negative impact on future growth. This will be especially important when considering the trunk road elements of the network particularly the A45 and M1 because of their wider strategic importance to the national economy.

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The County Council has developed a Northamptonshire framework, including a transport vision for Northampton. The framework identifies schemes and interventions to enable the transport network to both cope with the additional trips and to promote the planned growth. For Northampton this does include a substantial number of new roads, but the vision is very much centred on a public transport solution and particularly buses. A copy of the papers associated with the framework and vision are included as Appendix C.

Within the vision there is a significant emphasis on improvements to the rail network and infrastructure in relation to access to the town station, but no reference to the potential for a second station on the loop south of Northampton. A second station is identified within the framework and is included as a scheme that will require further investigation. The reason for the station not being included in the vision is that in transport planning terms, it is far less important than the other elements such as ensuring congestion free bus movements or completing the outer ring road to the north of the town.

Within this report, the significance of an additional station is much higher due to the significant local impact such a station would have on potential development south of the urban area, such as at Brackmills. It has been reasoned that a second station here will help mitigate against the potential car based commuting directed toward Milton Keynes, and has the potential to provide the central focus for a community if development were to happen south of the M1.

1.4.6 Utilities

Whilst it appears that the provision of utilities facilities is not singularly prohibitive, it is essential that the Core Strategy be developed to ensure the capacity of the associated utilities is sufficient. There are known shortages of water supply in the area and a strategy is in place to extend the water supply works at Wing. Northampton also has no spare electricity capacity therefore the position with future growth is critical. The majority of the power supply limitations are likely to be with the distribution network, however, transmission capacity will also need to be reviewed in light of development proposals.

Central to all utilities is the fact that their investment plans are regulated. The investment required to upgrade their assets are largely funded by customer bills, although contributions for capital improvements can be requested from developers. It is strongly recommended that the utility companies, particularly water suppliers, are consulted as early as possible to confirm the phasing, quantity and location of the proposed development areas. This will enable proposals to be put in place to increase the required capacity and to plan investment accordingly.

1.5 STRUCTURE OF THIS REPORT

The remainder of this report is structured as follows:

Section 2 sets out the methodology for establishing the potential growth options.

Sections 3 to 7 explain the results of analysing the various components of the methodology including the dwelling and jobs baseline and land use budget; spatial vision and strategic objectives; sustainable development and design principles; thematic scenarios and land suitability analysis.

Section 8 takes account of the outcomes of the previous sections and sets out the potential growth options for informing the consultation on the Joint Core Strategy.

Section 9 identifies the key issues to be addressed in establishing an implementation strategy for growing Northampton.

Section 10 concludes this report by summarising the main findings of this study.

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A sustainability appraisal is appended to this report setting how social, economic and environmental objectives have been assessed throughout the growth option establishment process. The outcomes of consultation with key stakeholders are also appended to this report with the key findings described within Section 6.

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2. Approach

2.1 INTRODUCTION

A holistic approach to determining the most suitable directions for growth has occurred from the outset of this study. This has meant gaining an understanding of the impact of significant new development on the settlement structure and function of Northampton in the region, rather than taking an isolated view of potential new areas for investment. The MKSM Sub-Regional Strategy recommends that the growth of Northampton should occur through a combination of brownfield development and sustainable urban extension/s and it is therefore the role of this study to demonstrate how this can be achieved on the ground, bringing benefits for the wider community.

With the aim of this study being to achieve a robust evidence base for the Joint Core Strategy for West Northamptonshire, it is particularly important that a clear and sound process is followed in accordance with statutory plan-making requirements as far as possible, given the four month period for undertaking this study. Before describing the outcomes of the various strands of the analysis undertaken to prepare the growth options, it is useful to describe the methodology used. This is set out in Figure 2.1 below and is effectively the ‘road map’ for this report.

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2.2 KEY STAGES OF THE METHODOLOGY

Following the flowchart shown in Figure 2.1, the methodology for preparing the growth options comprised the following eight key stages. Some of these stages have occurred in tandem rather than sequentially in order to maximise the timely integration of the different technical inputs to the study. Central to the methodology is the Government’s policy driver of seeking to ensure the long term growth of Northampton occurs in a sustainable way with the result of new thriving and successful communities. At each stage the need to balance social, economic and environmental factors to achieve the best outcome has thus been considered. The sustainability appraisal underpinning this study is set out in Appendix A.

The general approach and purpose for undertaking each stage is set out below with the detailed methodology and outcomes of analysis contained within the relevant sections of this report. Workshops were held with key technical stakeholders during stages 1 and 5 of the study. The workshop findings are set out in Appendix B and have also been integrated into this report as well as the Long Term Growth Options for Northampton Baseline Report (November 2006). Additionally, information was sought from land owners and developers to gain an understanding of land development interest within the area.

Stage 1: Establishing the Baseline Position

As indicated in the introduction to this report, the first stage of the study involved reviewing the relevant policy context and best practice guidance and analysing key local data sets. The results of this stage were most useful in distilling the opportunities and challenges associated with growing Northampton to a substantial size and providing a sound basis for moving the development of the Core Strategy forward. It included addressing issues such as:

x Confirming the housing baseline position to 2021 and then to 2026. x Appreciating the natural and built environment of Northampton. x Understanding Northampton’s existing and projected community profile. x Taking account of social inclusion issues with a view to ensuring an adequate level of community infrastructure provision along with growth. x Understanding the economic make-up of Northampton (including employment and skills) and the drivers for change within a competitive market environment. x Identifying capacity issues for utilities provision. x Understanding the overall impact on the transportation system with a view to improving accessibility and encouraging more sustainable modes of transport.

Stage 2: Establishing the Land Use Budget

This stage involved confirming the dwelling and job targets to be achieved within the NIA between 2006 and 2026 and understanding the proportion of development that could potentially be achieved within the existing urban area on brownfield land. By understanding the requirements for social and physical infrastructure that would be needed alongside residential and commercial development, the study team could thus determine the extent of greenfield land that would need to be investigated as part of the land suitability analysis.

Stage 3: Developing the Spatial Vision and Objectives for Growth

Although an agreed spatial vision is yet to be determined for the NIA, the study team felt it was important to distil the key themes from regional and local strategies of the three Councils to ensure cross-boundary issues could be adequately addressed and to set the ‘big picture’ for establishing the

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options. It is important that the options are derived from community aspirations along with assessing land suitability and deliverability issues.

Stage 4: Considering sustainable planning and design principles

A key part of this study was to realise how the Government’s sustainable communities agenda could be achieved for the NIA. The purpose of this stage was to build on the community’s values and aspirations by applying best practice urban design and planning principles to Northampton and its surrounds to show how its key assets and features could be enhanced and the structure of the town could work as a whole through future development.

Stage 5: Developing the thematic scenarios

From identifying the components of a spatial vision and strategic objectives and appreciating how these could be achieved on the ground by following best practice guidance, the study team put together three thematic scenarios to demonstrate the type of urban development that could be achieved when greater weight is given to particular objectives and principles. As the options are meant to be sustainable and achieve all objectives, these scenarios were used as a basis for discussion with technical experts to determine the elements that could be used to create the growth options.

Stage 6: Undertaking the land suitability analysis

In parallel to developing the vision, objectives, principles and thematic scenarios, the study team undertook to determine the most suitable land for development. The approach taken built on the high level environmental constraints identified through stage 1, by establishing growth sectors for assessment against a sustainability based criteria. These criteria took into account the viability of land for development against environmental, social and economic factors and included a broad assessment of transport and delivery issues. The outcomes of analysing the growth sectors were categorised according to their potential developability.

Stage 7: Establishing the growth options

From analysing the suitability of growth sectors for development, the study team were able to establish the potential growth options that could achieve the ‘working’ spatial vision. The scope of the Study is to identify longer term growth options to 2026 with an indication of the requirements for delivering sustainable growth to 2031. The establishment of options was underpinned by a sustainability appraisal as set out in Appendix A.

Stage 8: Identifying the approach to implementation

Bringing forward the preferred growth option through the statutory planning system will be dependent on the outcomes of the issues and options consultation on the Joint Core Strategy. At this stage, it was necessary to point out the delivery implications of each option in order to provide stakeholders and decision-makers with a sound understanding of the priorities and choices that may need to be made.

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3. The Land Use Budget

3.1 INTRODUCTION

From understanding the baseline position, the land use budget requirements for growing Northampton were determined. The land use budget is the amount of land that will be needed to accommodate the new dwellings and employment uses, associated community facilities and open space. The purpose of establishing an overall budget at this stage was to define the extent of greenfield land take that would be needed to generate the growth options after brownfield land take. As indicated in the Baseline Report, this study takes a sequential approach to the allocation of future development, whereby a proportion of it will occur on brownfield sites.

3.2 METHODOLOGY

Stage 2 involved the following three steps:

1. Determining the dwelling and jobs baseline from 2006 to 2026. 2. Calculating the proportion of development that could potentially be accommodated within the existing urban area and on greenfield land. 3. Identifying the land use and space requirements for outward expansion.

Beyond 2026, a general view regarding the quantum of growth that can be expected to 2031 is described later in the study in Section 10. The rationale for choosing 2026 as the effective horizon of this study is explained below.

3.2.1 Determining the dwelling and jobs baseline from 2006 to 2026

First, because the growth of Northampton is housing and employment led, it involved determining the dwelling and jobs targets that would need to be achieved from 2001 to 2026 and then identifying the shortfall from 2006 to 2026, by taking account of dwelling and job growth that has occurred since 2001. Although the MKSM SRS targets are to 2021 with a broad steer to 2031 in terms of proposed annual rates of completion, the 2026 target date is important for ensuring the Joint Core Strategy adequately ties with the infrastructure investment priorities identified in the emerging Regional Spatial Strategy that identifies the requirements up to 2026.

This calculation is clearly the basis of the job target of 37,200 for West Northamptonshire set out in the MKSM SRS. For the purposes of this study, a working assumption on the scale of housing provision for the NIA of 31,500 dwellings for the period 2001-2021 was applied in the first instance, which uses the MKSM SRS housing provision prior to the High Court judgement plus 1,500 dwellings as its starting point, and then extrapolates it to 2026. Due to the uncertainties surrounding this working assumption and the inherent uncertainties about the timing of development coming forward, this study considered a range of dwelling target figures 10% above and below the working assumption. In relation to employment, the MKSM SRS includes a reference value for the increase in employment in Northampton Borough, Daventry and South Northamptonshire Districts as a whole in the period 2001-2021 of 37,200 jobs. Again, a job creation figure was calculated for 2006 to 2026. The assumptions behind the dwelling and job targets are described in more detail below.

Dwelling Baseline

To determine the number of dwellings for which land will need to be allocated to meet the growth agenda for the NIA, it was necessary to first calculate the MKSM SRS target for the study timeframe of

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2006 – 2026. As mentioned above, 31,500 dwellings was established as the target from 2001 – 2021. As the study timeframe is to 2026, it was necessary to extend this target by five years’ anticipated growth. The MKSM SRS estimates that 17,500 dwellings should be able to be completed in the period 2021 – 2031, which equates to 1,750 dwelling completions per year. Five years’ growth at this average rate (totalling 8,750 units) would indicate a new target for 2001 - 2026 of 40,250 dwellings. This is roughly parallel to the calculations described in the Consultation Draft NIA Housing Provision, resulting in a figure of 40,275 dwellings for the period 2001 – 2026.

Information provided by Northampton Borough Council on past completions, outstanding permissions and approvals in principle from 2001 to April 2006 was used to determine the amount of residential development which would be needed in the post April 2006 period. In all, a total of 6,550 dwellings were built from 2001 – 2006, while a further 1,574 units were under construction as of April 2006. It has been assumed that those sites that had an outstanding planning permission (2,982 units) or were approved in principle (3,001) will be developed and so have been treated as commitments as of 1 April 2006. In total, 14,107 units were determined to represent residential growth which took place between 2001 and 2006.

Figure 3.1: The calculation of dwellings delivered and/or committed between 2001 and 2006 BASELINE DWELLINGS REQUIRED (AS OF APRIL 2006) Northampton Housing Background Paper (2006) Completions Northampton 5,176 Grange Park (S Northants) 1,374 6,550 Outstanding Permissions - Under Construction as of April 2006 Northampton 1,515 Grange Park 59 1,574 Outstanding Permissions - Not Started as of April 2006 Northampton 2,982 Approvals in Principle as of April 2006 British Timken 480 Nunn Mills 1,200 Harvey Reeves Road 100 Ransome Road 900 East of Upton Way 90 Spencer Street 23 Bective Works & Jebez House, Bective Road 152 St Gregorys RC Lower School, Grange Road 25 Industrial Estate, Newport Pagnell Road 31 3,001

Total 14,107

These completions and accounted sites were subtracted from the 2001 – 2026 target of 40,250 to yield a new target of 26,143 units for the study period of 2006 - 2026. Because the status of the dwelling targets established in the MKSM SRS was unclear at the start of the study, it was determined that alternative targets which assumed the completion of 10% more and less units than the 31,500 target (yielding 44,275 and 36,225 respectively) should be explored as well. If these targets are used as a base, the shortfall would be 30,168 units if 10% above 31,500, or 22,118 if 10% less than 31,500 units is taken.

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These three shortfall figures described as Scenario A (22,118 dwellings), Scenario B (26,143 dwellings) and Scenario C (30,168 dwellings) represent the potential baseline dwelling requirements. The land take required to support housing provision for each of these scenarios is described later in this section.

Figure 3.2: The calculation of the shortfall dwelling target to be delivered by 2026 Baseline Shortfall - as of April 2006 *Targets assumed 10% above and below 31,500 dwellings in Scenarios A & C; Scenario B takes the target of 31,500. Completions etc as per above then subtracted. To 2026, MKSM target 2021 - 2031 (17,500) was pro-rated (1,750 each year) for five years , yielding e.g. 40,250 units total in Scenario B.

Scenario A: TARGET 36,225 DWELLINGS Shortfall 22,118

Scenario B: TARGET 40,250 DWELLINGS Shortfall 26,143

Scenario C: TARGET 44,275 DWELLINGS Shortfall 30,168

Although Local Plan Allocations could also be subtracted from the target number at this point to yield future requirements, a strategic unbiased approach was taken in considering greenfield areas earmarked for potential development, including those without formal planning status and those already allocated in the Daventry District, Northampton Borough and South Northamptonshire Local Plans. The study’s comprehensive review of the NIA offered an opportunity to re-evaluate the dwelling capacity of each site, however, to gauge the potential appropriateness for additional intensification. The land area correlating to the schemes listed in the table below, then, was evaluated with other greenfield land parcels in the land suitability analysis. The land take considered appropriate for the development of the 7,789 proposed units (including land for community, employment and leisure uses) is described further in Section 8.

Figure 3.3: The calculation of greenfield area allocations 2006 to 2026 Local Plan Housing Sites - Greenfield Site Allocations - 2006-2026 †Although identified in the Daventry District, Northampton Borough and South Northamptonshire Local Plans, these areas are being assessed as part of this study as possible areas for further development.

*Maximum allocation for Kings Heath considered more likely due to density increase from 1997 Local Plan, and based on types of applications received by the Borough. Minimum Maximum South West District† 3,040 3,040 North of Kings Heath† 2,000 3,500 Talavera Way (remainder) 40 40 West of Ludlow Close (remainder) 9 9 Whitehills† 1,000 1,000 East of Wootton Fields (WFH1, South Northants Local Plan) 200 200 6,289 7,789

Jobs Baseline

To ensure the growth of sustainable employment alongside residential development, job targets were established in the MKSM SRS for monitoring purposes. The report indicates that a minimum of 37,200 new jobs should be generated within West Northamptonshire from 2001 - 2021. However, because job growth in the NIA will likely centre around the Northampton urban area (and similarly job growth in

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Daventry and South Northants will centre around their respective urban cores), it was considered reasonable to assume that the job target for the NIA is roughly parallel to that for Northampton alone.

To calculate Northampton’s apportionment of job growth, Growth Area Assessments (GAAs) were examined. The GAAs, undertaken for the whole of the MKSM area to inform assumptions in the SRS, assumed growth would occur at the rate of 30% in 2001 – 2011, 30% in 2011 – 2021 and 40% in 2021 – 2031 (paragraph 6.2, GAA Final Stage 1 strategy). If these proportions are applied to the jobs totals for the period 2001 – 2031 for each district set out in the Milton Keynes and South Midlands Study, Final Report by Roger Tym et al (September 2002), the individual job targets for the period 2001 – 2021 are as follows:

x Daventry: 6,000 jobs x Northampton: 27,600 jobs x South Northamptonshire: 3,600 jobs x Total: 37,200 jobs

This calculation is clearly the basis of the job target of 37,200 for West Northamptonshire set out in the MKSM SRS. Based on this calculation, therefore, it was assumed that the job target for the NIA should be 27,600 jobs for the 2001 – 2021 period. The land budget must include estimates of how much employment land will be needed to 2026, however. Like the dwelling target, the job target needed to be rolled forward from 2021 to 2026, and past completions calculated.

Past job growth in the 2001 – 2006 period is estimated to be 11,667 jobs, based on information provided to Northampton Borough Council by NOMIS1. Additionally, the Milton Keynes and South Midlands Study, Final Report by Roger Tym et al (September 2002) indicates that an average 1,380 jobs should be delivered each year. Although the figures contained in this report were superseded by MKSM SRS, it provides insight into job growth beyond 2021. Using this figure, it can be estimated that approximately 18,400 jobs could be created between 2021 – 2031. On an average basis, this equates to 1,840 per year, or 9,200 jobs for five years. Similarly, when the MKSM SRS job growth is extrapolated five years on a per annum basis (equivalent to 1,860 jobs per year), the result is 9,300 jobs. This appears to indicate that although the Roger Tym report underestimates the degree of job creation required for the NIA to 2021, it is roughly on par with the MKSM SRS predictions of job growth in the post-2021 period. Because the MKSM SRS is a policy document, however, the view is that the extrapolation of the target therein represents the soundest projection.

The refined job target, taking into account the estimated past job growth as indicated by NOMIS and projections as extrapolated from the MKSM SRS, then, is the creation of 25,233 new jobs during the 2006 – 2026 period.

Figure 3.4: Calculation of the job target for Northampton 2006 to 2026 Job Target Calculation, 2006 - 2026 A) Northampton Job Target 2001 - 2021 (GAA; MKSM SRS) 27,600 B) Average job growth per year (2001 - 2006) (NOMIS) 2,333 C) Estimated job growth 2001 - 2006 11,667 D) A - C 15,933 E) Average job growth per year, West Northants (MKSM SRS) 1,860 F) Extrapolated job growth 2021 - 2026 9,300 G) Assumed Job Target 2006 - 2026 (D + F) 25,233

1 NOMIS reported that 7,000 jobs were created in Northampton during 2001 – 2004. Extrapolated on a yearly basis, this equates to 2,333 jobs per year; multiplied by five years yields 11,687 jobs created from 2001 – 2006.

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3.2.2 Calculating the brownfield / greenfield split

Once dwelling and job baseline figures were calculated, the second step in determining the land budget was to consider the proportion of the dwelling shortfall that could potentially occur on brownfield sites by taking into account the delivery of dwellings on sites identified in Northampton Borough Council’s Urban Housing Capacity Study (October 2003, including updated figures 2006). The Urban Housing Capacity Study identifies the amount of growth that could occur by taking a pessimistic and optimistic approach to discounting brownfield site opportunities between 2002 and 2022. Intensification of existing residential areas; the redevelopment of readily developable sites such as car parks, allotments and school sites2; and future planning permissions were among the many locations surveyed. A review of the study indicates that a minimum and maximum of 4,920 and 11,717 dwellings could be delivered respectively between 2006 and 2022.

Taking into consideration the policy driver that is to use land more efficiently and the potential difficulties associated with delivering the maximum figure due to variable market demand, the current study adopted the median figure of 8,319 as a working assumption. From this assumption the number of dwellings that could potentially be allocated to greenfield sites was calculated. It is important to point out that the outcomes of this study will be limited to some degree due to the Urban Housing Study ending at 2022. Further work is needed to ascertain the number of dwellings expected to come forward on brownfield sites between 2022 and 2026. Similarly, in allocating sites and considering planning applications, consideration will need to be given to whether the existing infrastructure is likely to have sufficient capacity to cope with the extra demand of brownfield development.

Figure 3.5: Identification of the outstanding range of urban capacity that may be achieved in Northampton 2006 to 2022 Urban Capacity Study Update 2006-2022 *Minimum and maximum figures of potential dwelling cacpacity are given due to varying discount rates applied to pessimistic and optimistic projections. A median figure has been calculated to provide an approximate 'market average' projection. Minimum (Median) Maximum Urban Capacity Allocations 4,920 8,319 11,717

With completions, outstanding planning permissions (OPPs), approvals in principle (AIPs) and urban capacity sites established, the future shortfall to be located on greenfield land can be calculated. Subtracting the urban capacity figures shown above from the dwellings baseline yields the future shortfall which will need to be examined. As shown in the table below, several different options for future dwelling requirements actually exist, depending on the position taken in regards to urban capacity, and also depending on which baseline figure is used.

As described above, this study assumes the median urban capacity is a reasonable ‘market average’ approach. For the dwellings baseline, new information has come to light since the start of the study to inform decision-making regarding this figure. The East Midlands Regional Assembly and Northamptonshire County Council have produced further technical work and have essentially endorsed the MKSM Panel’s recommended figure of 31,500 new dwellings between 2001 and 2021 in the NIA. Though the 31,500 figure is currently out to public consultation (until March 2007), it has greater status and more weight in policy terms now than at the beginning of the study as it has undergone the scrutiny of the Regional Assembly. It is therefore assumed that this ‘median’ figure (in study terms) can serve as a reasonable baseline.

The range of possible land take associated with future dwelling requirements is described below, however, in 3.2.3. The three scenarios described represent the maximum, minimum and ‘median’ amount of greenfield land which would be required, depending on the baseline dwelling figure utilised

2 As a result of Northampton schools changing from a three-tier system to a two-tier system, a review of school sites in June 2002 showed that some of these sites will become surplus to educational requirements, while others may be rationalised, resulting in land developable for other purposes.

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and the assumptions made regarding the likely number of urban capacity allocations to come forward. Three potential scenarios are described below: x Scenario 1: Maximum Greenfield Land Take, calculated by subtracting the minimum number of urban capacity allocations from the baseline target which is 10% more than 31,500 dwellings, yielding a future requirement of 25,248 dwellings x Scenario 2: Median Greenfield Land Take, calculated by subtracting the median urban capacity allocation from the median baseline target of 31,500 dwellings, yielding a future requirement of 17,825 dwellings x Scenario 3: Minimum Greenfield Land Take, calculated by subtracting the maximum number of urban capacity allocations from the baseline target which is 10% less than 31,500 dwellings, yielding a future requirement of 10,401 dwellings It is important to bear in mind, however, that as Local Plan allocations have not been subtracted from the baseline figure, it is assumed that the unit numbers associated with these schemes (i.e. 7,789 units) are included as part of the future dwelling requirement figures.

Figure 3.6: Future Dwelling Requirements, with Three Scenarios to be Tested Circled

Future Dwelling Requirement 2006-2026 Scenario A - Target: 22,118 Maximum Median Minimum Urban Capacity 4,920 8,319 11,717 Future Requirement - Greenfield / Extension 17,198 13,800 10,401

Scenario B - Target: 26,143 Maximum Median Minimum Urban Capacity 4,920 8,319 11,717 Future Requirement - Greenfield / Extension 21,223 17,825 14,426

Scenario C - Target: 30,168 Maximum Median Minimum Urban Capacity 4,920 8,319 11,717 Future Requirement - Greenfield / Extension 25,248 21,850 18,451

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Figure 3.7: Overview of the calculation of future dwelling requirements BASELINE DWELLINGS REQUIRED (AS OF APRIL 2006) Northampton Housing Background Paper - 2001-2006 Completions Northampton 5,176 Grange Park (S Northants) 1,374 6,550 Outstanding Permissions - Under Construction as of April 2006 Northampton 1,515 Grange Park 59 1,574 Outstanding Permissions - Not Started as of April 2006 Northampton 2,982 Approvals in Principle as of April 2006 British Timken 480 Nunn Mills 1,200 Harvey Reeves Road 100 Ransome Road 900 East of Upton Way 90 Spencer Street 23 Bective Works & Jebez House, Bective Road 152 St Gregorys RC Lower School, Grange Road 25 Industrial Estate, Newport Pagnell Road 31 3,001 Total 14,107 Baseline Shortfall - as of April 2006 *Targets assumed 10% above and below 31,500 dwellings; completions etc as per above then subtracted. To 2026, an average 1,575 per year for 5 years beyond 2021 (31,500 / 20 years) was assumed, yielding a 39,375 dwelling target to 2026. Scenario A: TARGET 36,225 DWELLINGS Shortfall 22,118 Scenario B: TARGET 40,250 DWELLINGS Shortfall 26,143 Scenario C: TARGET 44,275 DWELLINGS Shortfall 30,168 FUTURE REQUIREMENT (2006-2022) Local Plan Housing Sites - Greenfield Site Allocations - 2006-2026 †Although identified in the Daventry District, Northampton Borough and South Northamptonshire Local Plans, these areas are being assessed as part of this study as possible areas for further development.

*Maximum allocation for Kings Heath considered more likely due to density increase from 1997 Local Plan, and based on types of applications received by the Borough. Minimum Maximum South West District† 3,040 3,040 North of Kings Heath† 2,000 3,500 Talavera Way (remainder) 40 40 West of Ludlow Close (remainder) 9 9 Whitehills† 1,000 1,000 East of Wootton Fields (WFH1, South Northants Local Plan) 200 200 6,289 7,789 Urban Capacity Study Update - Urban Capacity Allocations - 2006-2022 *Minimum and maximum allocations are given due to varying discount rates applied to pessimistic and optimistic projections. A median figure has been calculated to provide an approximate 'market average' projection. Minimum (Median) Maximum Urban Capacity Allocations 4,920 8,319 11,717 Future Dwelling Requirement 2006-2026 Scenario A - Target: 22,118 Maximum Median Minimum Urban Capacity 4,920 8,319 11,717 Future Requirement - Greenfield / Extension 17,198 13,800 10,401

Scenario B - Target: 26,143 Maximum Median Minimum Urban Capacity 4,920 8,319 11,717 Future Requirement - Greenfield / Extension 21,223 17,825 14,426

Scenario C - Target: 30,168 Maximum Median Minimum Urban Capacity 4,920 8,319 11,717 Future Requirement - Greenfield / Extension 25,248 21,850 18,451

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3.2.3 Identifying the land use space requirements

Based on the dwelling and job growth assumptions for greenfield land, the third step was to estimate the land use budget requirements that would be needed in step with dwelling and employment growth for the three ‘scenarios’ described above. This includes factoring in land space requirements for both social and physical infrastructure.

From the baseline work completed in Stage 1, local standards were input into a specialised Excel-based model developed by EDAW to quantify the level and type of social infrastructure required to serve incoming residents to the new housing development. Extrapolating Northampton Census 2001 demographic information to yield characteristics of the incoming population associated with the three future dwelling requirement scenarios, a set of standards and ratios (localised when available, regional or national otherwise) was factored into the model to generate a list of core social infrastructure requirements. These standards were based on a number of sources including National, Regional and Local Government policy guidance (and best practice guidance notes where local standards were not available) to ensure it was applicable to Northampton’s context. Service providers were also consulted in the form of workshops, telephone conversations and meetings regarding the approach, and subsequent advice also played a significant role in shaping the outputs described below.

The core requirements generated by the model included: x Education needs: childcare places, primary school pupils (form entries), secondary school places (form entries); x Health needs: primary health care floor space, GPs, acute & other bed requirements; x Leisure & Open space needs: sports halls, swimming pool, open space; x Emergency / essential services needs: police officers, police floorspace, fire stations; and x Community: community centres and libraries.

Specific methodology and source information follows in the paragraphs contained within 3.2.4.

Additionally, employment land required to accommodate the job numbers (as established above) was calculated in the overall land budget. Taking into account the total number of housing units and jobs to be generated between 2006 – 2026, it was estimated that the following amount of greenfield land would be required to support growth, depending on numbers of baseline dwellings and urban capacity allocations assumed:

Figure 3.8: Land budget requirements Scenario 1 Scenario 2 Scenario 3 MAXIMUM Land Take (ha) MEDIAN Land Take (ha) MINIMUM Land Take (ha) 25,248 dwellings 17,825 dwellings 10,401 dwellings Residential 631.2 445.6 260.0 Community 186.2 131.2 76.7 Industry 62.6 62.6 62.6 Warehouse/Distribution 21.2 21.2 21.2 Office 38.1 38.1 38.1 Retail 17.6 17.6 17.6 Leisure and Visitor Attractions 11.1 11.1 11.1 Open Space 207.0 146.2 85.3

Total Land Required 1,175.2 873.7 572.7

Below is a synopsis of the components of the land budget and the underlying assumptions upon which it is based.

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3.2.4 Calculating land use requirements – methodology and assumptions

A synopsis of the methodology and assumptions used to calculate land use requirements is given below.

Residential Land

The amount of residential land required was based on a simple calculation of dividing the number of anticipated housing units required to 2026 (i.e. 25,248 in Scenario 1, 17,825 in Scenario 2 and 10,401 in Scenario 3) by an average density of 40 dwellings per hectare, which is consistent with Government policy. PPG 3 encourages more efficient use of land than developed on average in the past (typically between 20 and 30 dwellings per hectare), and advises to plan development at 30 to 50 dwellings per hectare. For the purposes of calculating land take, this study assumes an average net density of 40 dwellings per hectare (or the mid-point in this range). At this rate, the following amount of land would be needed for residential use: x Scenario 1 (Maximum Land Take): 631.2 ha x Scenario 2 (Median Land Take): 445.6 ha x Scenario 3 (Minimum Land Take): 260.0 ha

Community Land

Education, health, leisure, emergency services and community services space is considered ‘community’ land. This is defined below:

Education space is comprised of area needed for 2 form entry primary schools (including nursery places to be accommodated) and 6 form entry secondary schools. Through conversations with the Education Officer at Northamptonshire County Council, it was determined that each primary school form entry could be assumed to consist of 120 pupils and each secondary school form entry would consist of 180 pupils. Standard formulae employed by the local education authority (LEA) using projected dwelling numbers as an indicator were used, yielding the need for 10 primary schools and 3 secondary schools. It was assumed that each primary school would accommodate 52 nursery school-aged pupils and the remainder of early years places would be absorbed by alternative arrangements, such as in-home childcare.

A standard rule used by the LEA to predict land take of the schools / associated nursery places was applied to yield the total hectarage required for education purposes. Nursery school land was estimated to be required at 0.1 hectare per addition (one for each primary school required). Two hectares per primary school and 10 hectares per secondary school were allocated. Using these standards, a total of 57.8 hectares of education space is required.

Figure 3.9: Education space requirements Scenario 1 Scenario 2 Scenario 3 Education Space Required MAXIMUM Land Take (ha) MEDIAN Land Take (ha) MINIMUM Land Take (ha) 25,248 dwellings 17,825 dwellings 10,401 dwellings Nursery places to be accommodated 750.2 529.6 309.1 2 form entry primary schools 14.4 10.2 5.9 6 form entry secondary schools 4.8 3.4 2.0 Nursery School Land (as additions) 5.0 3.6 2.1 Primary School Land 28.9 20.4 11.9 Secondary School Land 47.9 33.8 19.7 Education Land required 81.8 57.8 33.7

Health services space is comprised of additional elective beds, non-elective beds, day case beds, mental health beds and GPs required. Housing trajectories from the Northampton Borough Council’s Annual Monitoring Report 2004/05 and the most current local health-related data regarding admission rates, length of stay and spatial requirements for each bed type / GP space available (2005 / 2006 data,

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provided by the Northamptonshire PCT) were fed into the health planning model developed by the NHS’s London Healthy Urban Development Unit (HUDU). The HUDU Model was created to help NHS Trusts, PCTs and local planning authorities adequately plan for the health element of planning contributions arising from development proposals. Based on population trends generated by dwelling projections input by the user, the model helps take account of the need for requirements for future health provision and associated capital costs. Infrastructure and recommended contributions levels can be calculated for any given housing proposal; however, the model is limited in that it provides information regarding health needs for only up to a 10 year period. Also, the model does not take account of current health facility capacity. While the model provides insight into spatial requirements for additional bed space required for the incoming population, it does not give any indication of actual facility expansion or construction. The PCT is currently endeavouring to refine the model to more accurately predict future need.

As the model only provides projections for up to 10 years, projections up to 2014 / 2015 were extrapolated to 2026 to fit the study timeframe. Due to this, and the fact that the NHS is rapidly changing as acute hospital bed spaces are being shifted to smaller community hospitals (or intermediate care), it must be emphasised that the numbers detailed below are indicative and should be revisited as new information becomes available and when changes to the system are made.

In total, the HUDU model predicts that the NIA will need the following hectarage to support health services in the future as follows:

Figure 3.10: Health services space requirements Scenario 1 Scenario 2 Scenario 3 Health Services Space required MAXIMUM Land Take (ha) MEDIAN Land Take (ha) MINIMUM Land Take (ha) 25,248 dwellings 17,825 dwellings 10,401 dwellings Additional elective beds 36.1 18.0 11.6 Additional non-elective beds 131.8 65.9 44.9 Additional day case beds 64.9 32.5 18.6 Mental health beds 15.0 7.5 5.3 Intermediate care beds 0.0 0.0 0.0 GPs required 50.4 25.2 16.1 Elective beds space 0.2 0.1 0.1 Non-elective beds space 0.7 0.3 0.2 Day case beds space 0.3 0.2 0.1 Mental health beds space 0.1 0.0 0.0 Intermediate care beds space 0.0 0.0 0.0 Additional GP space 0.4 0.2 0.1 Health Services Land required 1.6 0.8 0.5

Leisure and recreation space includes requirements for medium-sized sports facilities (with four courts per facility), four-lane pools, indoor bowls rinks and outdoor sports facilities. Standards contained in the Northampton Borough Council’s Open Space, Sport and Recreation (OSSR) Audit and Needs Assessment Report (September 2006) were used to calculate land take to 2026 based on population projections generated from future dwelling units required. Typically, spatial requirements for each facility type were given as square metres or hectarage needed per 1,000 population. In all, it was calculated that the following hectarage of leisure and recreation land would be required to accommodate the new housing growth – the majority of which would be allocated for outdoor sports facilities:

Figure 3.11: Leisure and recreation space requirements Scenario 1 Scenario 2 Scenario 3 Leisure & Recreation Space required MAXIMUM Land Take (ha) MEDIAN Land Take (ha) MINIMUM Land Take (ha) 25,248 dwellings 17,825 dwellings 10,401 dwellings Medium sized sports facilities 3.9 2.8 1.6 4-lane pool 2.7 1.9 1.1 Indoor Bowls rink 0.5 0.3 0.2 Sports facilities land 0.3 0.2 0.1 Swimming Pool land 0.3 0.3 0.3 Indoor Bowls rink land 0.0 0.0 0.0 Outdoor Sports Facilities 101.6 71.7 41.9 Leisure & Recreation Land required 102.2 72.2 42.2

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It is more difficult to find standards associated with emergency services space, which includes police officer floorspace and fire station floorspace; no Northamptonshire information was found to be readily available. Standards known for the South East (sourced from the Metropolitan Police and the report Costing Infrastructure Needs of the South East Counties by Roger Tym & Partners, 2003), however, were employed to give a rough estimation of space that will be required. It is estimated that the following hectare of floorspace will be required for these emergency services:

Figure 3.12: Emergency services space requirements Scenario 1 Scenario 2 Scenario 3 Emergency Services Space required MAXIMUM Land Take (ha) MEDIAN Land Take (ha) MINIMUM Land Take (ha) 25,248 dwellings 17,825 dwellings 10,401 dwellings Police Officers 106.8 75.4 44.0 Fire Stations 0.8 0.6 0.3 Police Officer floorspace 0.2 0.2 0.1 Fire Station floorspace 0.1 0.1 0.0 Emergency Services Land required 0.3 0.2 0.1

Community services space encompasses land needed for libraries and community halls. Based on the new housing to be developed and the associated incoming population, it was determined that one medium-sized library and one large community hall will be needed. Again, local specifications for Northamptonshire proved difficult to locate. Using national DCMS standards for libraries, then, it was estimated that a 700 square metre library of one story would be necessary to accommodate the incoming population when the maximum number of dwellings is constructed. However, for smaller incoming populations, only fractions of a library were found to be required. The potential to expand existing facilities should be investigated in these situations.

More localised standards obtained from the Milton Keynes Draft Supplementary Planning Guidance on Social Infrastructure Planning Obligations were used to inform the need for community halls. Based on this guidance, it was determined that one large community hall (accommodating two badminton courts) would satisfy requirements for the largest and second to largest incoming populations, where only a fraction of a community hall (or potentially smaller facility) would be needed for the smallest incoming population. Land take for each of these uses was provided by the respective sources listed above as well.

Figure 3.13: Community services space requirements Scenario 1 Scenario 2 Scenario 3 Community Services Space required MAXIMUM Land Take (ha) MEDIAN Land Take (ha) MINIMUM Land Take (ha) 25,248 dwellings 17,825 dwellings 10,401 dwellings Medium-sized town library 0.9 0.6 0.4 Large community hall 1.2 0.9 0.5 Community Space land 0.2 0.1 0.1 Library land 0.2 0.1 0.1 Community Services land required 0.4 0.3 0.1

In sum, community facilities land requirements, combining space needs for education, health, leisure, emergency services and community services uses, totals from 186.2 hectares in the maximum land take scenario to 76.7 hectares in the minimum land take scenario.

Figure 3.14: Summary of community infrastructure land budget

Scenario 1 Scenario 2 Scenario 3 Community MAXIMUM Land Take (ha) MEDIAN Land Take (ha) MINIMUM Land Take (ha) 25,248 dwellings 17,825 dwellings 10,401 dwellings Education Land required 81.8 57.8 33.7 Health Services Land required 1.6 0.8 0.5 Leisure & Recreation Land required 102.2 72.2 42.2 Emergency Services Land required 0.3 0.2 0.1 Community Services land required 0.4 0.3 0.1 Total Community Space land 186.2 131.2 76.7

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Employment Land Calculations

Future land take for employment uses was calculated by establishing the jobs baseline (as described above) and predicting future employment changes to determine the likely sector and job share split amongst industry, warehouse / distribution, office, retail and leisure and visitor attractions in the future. A standard space per employee was then applied to the associated number of jobs per sector to yield land takes per employment use. The process undertaken can be outlined in the following steps:

x Understanding the current business base: Annual Business Inquiry (2004) data for Northampton was obtained to provide the existing number of business units by Standard Industrial Classification3. This was then re-categorised into the five sector land use types used within the study (i.e. industry, warehouse / distribution, office, retail, leisure and visitor attractions). The proportion of business units by each use type was then calculated as a percentage of the total number of business units.

x Asserting change in business use types by 2021: Predicted percentage change in employment and business units by use type were sourced from strategic documents4. Where percentage predictions were not provided, best judgement was applied based on the assumptions made within the document concerning increases and decreases of the use types.

x Applying assumptions: The predicted percentage change was applied to each use type to give the predicted number of business units, by use type and overall, for 2021. The percentage of total business units by each use type in 2021 was then calculated.

x Calculating employee equivalent: The 2021 job target was divided proportionally by use type according to their predicted percentage share of the total business base in 2021. This provided employee figures by use type.

The following table shows how the calculation to this point was performed:

Figure 3.15: Employment Land Calculation – Future Business Share

Predicted % Current Current % Predicted % Predicted Business Predicted Business Use Type Business Units Prediction Source Business Units Share Increase 2026 Unit Increase 2026 Units 2026 Share 2026 RSS Evidence Base:Future Employment Prospects for the East Midlands (EMDA; EMRA, Industry 1,393 18% -15% -209 1,184 14% 2006) Growth Area Assessments - Northampton and Warehouse / Corby/Kettering/Wellingborough, final stage 2 Distribution 397 5% 10% 60 457 5% report (May 2003) RSS Evidence Base:Future Employment Prospects for the East Midlands (EMDA; EMRA, Office 3,632 47% 30% 1,091 4,723 54% 2006) Northamptonshire Commerical Property and Employment Land Assessemnt (Roger Tyms for Northamptonshire County Council, December Retail 1,756 23% 10% 176 1,932 22% 2003) Growth Area Assessments - Northampton and Leisure / Visitor Corby/Kettering/Wellingborough, final stage 2 Attractions 478 6% -5% -24 454 5% report (May 2003) Total 7,656 100% 1,093 8,749 100%

3 Standard Industrial Classifications - A : Agriculture, hunting and forestry; B : Fishing; C : Mining and quarrying; D : Manufacturing; E : Electricity, gas and water supply; F : Construction; G : Wholesale and retail trade; H : Hotels and restaurants; I : Transport, storage and communication; J : Financial intermediation; K : Real estate, renting and business activities; L : Public administration and defence; M : Education; N : Health and social work; O : Other community, social & personal service

4 RSS Evidence Base: Future Employment Prospects for the East Midlands (EMDA; EMRA, 2006); Growth Area Assessments – Northampton and Corby/Kettering/Wellingborough, final stage 2 report (May 2003); Northamptonshire Commercial Property and Employment Land Assessment (Roger Tym for Northamptonshire County Council, December 2003)

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x Converting into workspace requirement: Predicted percentages for each industry sector to 2026 were then applied to the target job number to yield employee equivalents per sector. Employee numbers were then multiplied by the area associated with each sector’s typical workspace amount. Though COPELA employment density assumptions were utilised to calculate densities in the Industrial & Commercial Employment Land and Development in Northampton Monitoring Report, 2005-2006, they did not cover the breadth of uses explored in this study. Rather, employee density assumptions calculated by UK consultants Arup for English Partnerships (Employment Densities: A Full Guide, Final Report, July 2001) were applied to each use type employee figure to give a total workspace requirement in gross internal square metres as they are roughly comparable and provide guidance across the sectors examined. This was then converted to gross hectarage to represent complete land take per sector for the purpose of the report.

The following table describes the process of converting employee numbers to employment land take.

Figure 3.16: Converting Employee Numbers to Equivalent Land Take

% Industry Gross internal Workspace Workspace Workspace Employee Plot Sector sqm per Requirement Requirement Gross to Net No. Storeys Requirement Equivalent Coverage 2026 workspace (gross internal sqm) (gross internal ha) (gross ha) Industry 14% 3,533 34 120,111 12.0 40% 85% 1 62.6 Warehouse/Distribution 5% 1,262 50 63,083 6.3 35% 85% 1 21.2 Office 54% 13,626 19 258,894 25.9 40% 85% 2 38.1 Retail 22% 5,551 20 111,027 11.1 70% 90% 1 17.6 Leisure/Visitor 5% 1,262 30 37,850 3.8 40% 85% 1 11.1 25,233 590,965 150.7

It should be noted that committed land take has not been subtracted from the gross employment land figure. Depending on the likelihood these committed schemes coming forward, the hectarage associated with the developments should be subtracted from the gross land take above.

Because the job target supplied in the MKSM SRS, however, is related to the provision of 30,000 (or revised 31,500) dwellings, the quantum of land calculated only relates to the median land take figure. As the consultant work which underpins the MKSM SRS (such as in the Growth Area Assessments) was unavailable to the study team, it was considered too spurious to assign a rough ratio to derive parallel job targets for the maximum and minimum greenfield land take. Therefore, the employment land take represents that associated with the median potential land take figure.

A summary of the total land take per employment sector is provided below. While these figures have been applied to each of the three land take scenarios (i.e. maximum, median and minimum), it will likely be necessary to add more employment land to the maximum land take scenario and subtract land from the minimum land take scenario to yield a more accurate picture of these options if further investigation is desired.

Figure 3.17: Summary land budget for employment uses Scenario 2 MEDIAN Land Take (ha) 17,825 dwellings Industry 62.6 Warehouse/Distribution 21.2 Office 38.1 Retail 17.6 Leisure/Visitor 11.1 Total Employment Land 150.7

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Open Space

Land requirements for open space provision were sourced from the Borough Council’s Open Space, Sport and Recreation (OSSR) Audit and Needs Assessment Report (September 2006). Natural / semi- natural open space, parks and gardens, children’s provision, young people’s provision and allotments were all considered under this heading. Standards for each kind of open space were given as hectarage per 1,000 population. The largest land take of the open space types was the natural / semi- natural open space. Though the standard for town centre provision is relatively low (0.64 hectare per 1,000 population), the borough-wide standard represents significant land take (2.68 hectares per 1,000 population). Due to the imprecision of the location of growth at this time, given that exact boundaries have not yet been determined regarding urban capacity and urban extension development, it was believed that a ‘compromise’ position between the town centre and borough-wide standard would provide a rough estimation of land needed in this case. At 1.75 hectares per 1,000 population, this ‘average’ stance will need to be reviewed when more refined development options come forward. Open space standards otherwise were directly applied, with no locational differentiation given. In all, the following hectares of open space will need to be developed / protected for the NIA’s growth to 2026:

Figure 3.18: Open space requirements Scenario 1 Scenario 2 Scenario 3 Open Space MAXIMUM Land Take (ha) MEDIAN Land Take (ha) MINIMUM Land Take (ha) 25,248 dwellings 17,825 dwellings 10,401 dwellings Natural / Semi-natural Open Space 94.6 66.8 39.0 Parks and Gardens 88.7 62.6 36.5 Children's Provision 6.5 4.6 2.7 Young People's Provision 6.5 4.6 2.7 Allotments 10.8 7.6 4.5 Total Open Space 207.0 146.2 85.3

3.3 SUMMARY

In total, an average of 873.7 hectares will be required to enable the residential and employment growth anticipated for the NIA to 2026 to come forward. In all scenarios, an average employment land take of 150.7 hectares to accommodate 25,223 jobs was assumed. The remaining land take, representing community facilities, open space and land required to accommodate additional dwelling units, equals 723.0 hectares for the median land take scenario, and 1,024.5 hectares and 422.0 hectares for the maximum and minimum land take scenarios respectively. Combining the tables described above yields the following total land takes for each use across the three development scenarios:

Figure 3.19: Summary land budget Scenario 1 Scenario 2 Scenario 3 MAXIMUM Land Take (ha) MEDIAN Land Take (ha) MINIMUM Land Take (ha) 25,248 dwellings 17,825 dwellings 10,401 dwellings Residential 631.2 445.6 260.0 Community 186.2 131.2 76.7 Industry 62.6 62.6 62.6 Warehouse/Distribution 21.2 21.2 21.2 Office 38.1 38.1 38.1 Retail 17.6 17.6 17.6 Leisure and Visitor Attractions 11.1 11.1 11.1 Open Space 207.0 146.2 85.3

Total Land Required 1,175.2 873.7 572.7

Through this process it has been possible to begin to determine how much space will be required for different land uses. During the land suitability stage, a high level assessment is given of social infrastructure in order to determine the most viable locations for development. Given the potential growth options established in Section 7, further investigation will be needed to identify ‘hotspots’ of demand and areas that are likely to experience a deficit in supply in order to inform proposals for the location and size of future facilities.

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4. Components of a Long Term Spatial Vision

4.1 INTRODUCTION

As part of the Joint Core Strategy a spatial vision for Northampton will need to be developed. Drawing on existing visions for Northampton and wider regional and sub-regional objectives, the Councils will be seeking views on this matter as part of the Joint Core Strategy Issues and Options consultation in February 2007.

While there is no agreed long term spatial vision for the Northampton Implementation Area (NIA), the opportunity exists through this study to identify the main components that could guide the future growth of the town. The policy review provided the study team with an appreciation of the key values and aspirations of the local communities and it is important to understand how they can be spatially interpreted. The purpose of a vision is therefore to describe: x The kind of place Northampton is to become; x How much change is needed, or what type and over what time; x Spatial objectives for future development; and x What is needed physically, economically and socially in the area.

4.2 METHODOLOGY

The proposed vision for the NIA up to 2026 must take into account the regional and local spatial framework set out in the Regional Spatial Strategy. In establishing a ‘working vision’, the study team analysed the regional vision statements that are applicable to Northampton including the Regional Spatial Strategy for the East Midlands (March 2005); Milton Keynes and South Midlands Sub-Regional Strategy, and the Northamptonshire County Structure Plan 1996-2002 (March 2001). The existing community strategies of Daventry District (March 2006), Northampton Borough (June 2002, 2004 and emerging 2006) and South Northamptonshire Councils were also analysed along with the emerging local development frameworks of three Councils to ensure a joined up approach to addressing cross- boundary issues.

4.2.1 Outcomes of NIA Issues and Options Consultation

The Issues and Options consultation undertaken in June 2005 for the Joint Core Strategy for the NIA included a draft vision statement for West Northamptonshire prepared by the three Local Strategic Partnerships for each district, which is set out in Box 4.1. Consultees were asked:

1. Is this the right kind of vision for the Northampton Implementation Area? 2. Does it adequately describe what the town might look like in 10 or 20 years time? 3. Is this the vision which should underpin all future planning and development in Northampton?

The findings of the consultation revealed that the vision was broadly supported but respondents were concerned that the vision was too long, too idealistic or not specific enough to Northampton. The outcomes of analysis are indicated overleaf.

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Box 4.1 – Issues and Options Consultation Vision (June 2005) A Vision for West Northamptonshire

“Our vision is that West Northamptonshire will become a model of sustainable community planning and development. The opportunity now exists for the network of three growing towns - Northampton, Daventry and Towcester - to have revitalised town centres with substantial investment in shops, housing, community and cultural facilities in a quality environment. The towns will be connected by improved public transport and interurban road systems. Development in the rural areas and market towns will be targeted at places where local people have been seeking further investment and growth. There will be a major programme of green infrastructure development and enhancement. In line with the principles of sustainability, development in towns or urban extensions will meet strict design and sustainability criteria ensuring that new building is backed up by jobs, transport, affordable housing and community facilities.

Northampton The principal town of Northampton will be a dynamic, regional commercial, cultural and tourist centre with high quality residential accommodation which meets the needs of the existing and future population. There will be high performing academic and vocational education and training to enable those who live and/ or work there to lead fulfilling lives. There will be a locally vibrant economy, supported by a well-educated and trained populace, and it will be noted for its excellent transport infrastructure. It will be a healthy town, with higher than average life expectancy, contributed to by an energetic and integrated community in which poverty is eliminated.”

WNDC suggested that the vision should recognise Northampton’s distinctive qualities: location at the heart of England; cultural pre-eminence over Milton Keynes; potential to exploit opportunities presented by River Nene; historic role at the heart of the boot and shoe industry; new University’s key strengths – especially the fashion school; its architectural heritage – especially the Market Square; and its relationship with its rural hinterland. There were also some comments that without leadership and local authority commitment a vision would be useless.

A number of changes or additions to the vision were proposed. These are summarised below: x aspiration to secure investment in the high technology and higher sector employment provision in the town; x need for affordable housing and the opportunity for everyone to have a decent home; x need for high quality development of all types; x reference to a town that values its existing natural and cultural assets; x reference to transport infrastructure should include all modes; x include “healthy town”; x reference to revitalising the town centre and linking the town centre to surrounding developments; x reference to integrated social and physical infrastructure to support needs and growth of Northampton; x vital part of high quality of life would be for the town to offer access to green infrastructure including natural greenspaces and to surrounding countryside; x develop skills and necessary training; x include “retail” centre; x demonstrate how Northampton will integrate with neighbouring towns including those in neighbouring growth areas; x add after “excellent transport infrastructure”, “that is used by the majority of the population”;

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x specifically refer to high quality public transport infrastructure; x include importance and role of district centres; x include “sport”; and x include “increased employment opportunities will be created close to where people live”.

The majority of respondents were unconvinced that the vision should underpin all future planning and development in Northampton. Some respondents were concerned that the vision may not have widespread community support. Whilst others thought the vision does not hold everyday relevance for the consideration of planning and development decisions and that circumstances may change. The overwhelming concern was that the vision should be supported by a clear set of integrated measurable and specific objectives. There was also some concern that the vision appears not to be supported by an analysis of the existing area and the types of problems and opportunities that need to be addressed. There were also issues raised regarding the deliverability of the vision within the 10-20 year time frame, particularly with regard to the elimination of poverty and so there was a desire for greater realism.

The study team have aimed to build on these outcomes of previous consultation through analysing a range of regional and local vision statements and by also applying best practice principles of planning and design as indicated in the next section.

4.3 OUTCOMES OF ANALYSIS

The findings of the analysis are set out in Table 4.2. Central to all vision statements is the concept of ‘sustainability’ that the social, economic and environmental needs of communities can be carefully balanced for future generations to come. The Strategic Environmental Assessment/Sustainability Appraisal (SEA/SA) Scoping Report that was undertaken by Jaquelin Fisher Associates Ltd for the NIA Joint Core Strategy (June 2005), and the SEA/SA Scoping Report undertaken by Environ for the three Councils for the West Northamptonshire Joint Core Strategy (November 2006), also provide a sound basis for identifying the key components of a spatial vision. The Scoping Reports inform the sustainability appraisal of the growth options (see Appendix A), and provide a useful steer on the values and aspirations that need to be embedded in establishing the overarching foundation for growth.

4.3.1 Spatial Vision Themes

The proposed themes for underpinning a spatial vision for the NIA are identified as follows:

x High quality of life and provision for lifestyle choice x Urban renaissance x Sustainable movement x Protection and enhancement of the environment x Thriving economy x Provision for more learning opportunities x Balancing the delivery of infrastructure with development x Quality designed development

4.3.2 Strategic Planning Objectives

From these themes a set of strategic planning objectives were identified that could potentially help define the parameters for delivering the vision. These objectives draw upon Government guidance on the creation of sustainable communities and in particular the outcomes of key stakeholder consultation and wider baseline analysis. The proposed strategic planning objectives to guide the development of growth options are set out as follows:

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x To improve the quality of life of people living in rural and urban settlements through making places attractive, cleaner and safe with opportunities for using green infrastructure. x To ensure any development that takes place is sensitively designed to minimise impact on the countryside and/or other natural and cultural assets; particularly to avoid harming the region’s biodiversity, landscape character and built heritage. x To make Northampton an appealing offer for visitors, workers and businesses, particularly knowledge-based industries. x To encourage lifelong learning and skills development across all communities to encourage local labour market participation. x To encourage low carbon environments by requiring high standards of design and sustainable construction to reduce the scale and impacts of climate change such as flooding. x To encourage people to choose more sustainable transport options to using the private car, such as by walking, cycling and/or catching public transport. x To use land efficiently and maximise opportunities for re-using brownfield land, wherever possible. x To ensure that both social and physical infrastructure are adequately provided to meet people’s needs in time with new development.

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Table 4.2 Source Key objectives / priorities High Quality of Life / Lifestyle Choice

RSS 8 To be recognised as a region with a high quality of life and sustainable communities that thrive because of its…rich cultural…diversity and the way it creatively addresses social inequalities, manages its resources, and contributes to a safer more inclusive society. MKSM SRS To achieve a major increase in the number of new homes provided in the area, meeting needs for affordable housing and a range of types and sizes of market housing. County Structure Plan (Ensure) a scale of development that meets local needs and those arising from immigration. Northampton In 2012 Northampton will be a safe, clean and healthy town with an excellent environment, facilities and services…All will enjoy a high quality of life Community Strategy and decent home within a diverse and inclusive community. South Improve quality of life and social inclusion and improve access to services. Northamptonshire Community Strategy Sustain and enhance sustainable communities, promoting healthy lifestyles and ensure access to decent housing.

Reduce crime and disorder and the fear of crime. Daventry Emerging (Sustain) a high quality of life for all. LDF Emerging NBC Vision People will use the town centre and move around all of Northampton at night without fear.

Communities will be developed and built upon respect and understanding of people of all ages, status and ethnicity. We will invest in, support and promote the family in all the forms that it takes so that there is the opportunity and desire to stay together, learn from and support each other.

Our green spaces, the streetscape and urban design will help to make the healthiest environment so that people have good physical and mental health and live longer.

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Daventry Community Healthy, strong and safe communities and individuals: Strategy x Tackle obesity by giving overweight youngsters help in adopting a healthy lifestyle

x Encourage organisations to promote a no smoking policy to employees and customers

x Encourage physical activity in young people by arranging for schools to refer young people for activities

x Give awards to local employers and organisations that provide healthy menus and healthy food choices

x Develop a strategy so that different organisations working on prevention, detection, catching and convicting work together to rehabilitate offenders

x Use mediation, enforcement and diversionary tactics to reduce anti-social behaviour

x Provide a single assessment form used by all agencies in order to support unpaid carers and make access easier to the services available

x Promote the 2012 Olympics to inspire and engage children and encourage healthy lifestyles

x Promote a social responsibility programme for local organisations and businesses to undertake community and environmental improvement work and sponsor schools

x Support more adults in living at home safely and independently by tackling unfit homes and promoting more efficient energy use Northampton To improve health and welfare and reduce inequality between communities thorough better access to services, promoting healthier lifestyles and Community Strategy addressing the causes of ill health.

To improve on Northampton’s position as the 17th most deprived of the 40 districts in the East Midlands Region.

To increase the supply and range of housing in the town and help to develop and provide care and support to meet the needs and choices of all sectors of the community.

To increase the well-being of Northampton communities through leisure and cultural opportunities.

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SA/SEA Scoping To plan and promote preventative health care practice. Report To protect and enhance human health & amenity through safe, crime-free, clean, pleasant environments.

To ensure access to housing, wholesome food, water, amenity and fuel at reasonable cost. To improve the quantity and quality of publicly accessible open space.

To enable all sections of the community to participate in decision-making & social enterprise so to help encourage a sense of community identity.

To provide for a range of homes, jobs and training opportunities, social, cultural and other facilities to: x meet the future needs of Northampton’s residents, businesses and visitors; x accommodate sub-regional growth requirements. MKSM SRS To located development in the main urban areas to support urban renaissance, regeneration of deprived areas, recycling of land and sustainable patterns of travel. County Structure Plan (Optimise) the use of brownfield land.

(Implement) a development strategy that focuses development within the urban areas. West The opportunity now exists for the network of three growing towns - Northampton, Daventry and Towcester - to have revitalised town centres with Northamptonshire LSP substantial investment in shops, housing, community and cultural facilities in a quality environment. SA/SEA Scoping To deliver an urban renaissance through creating places which: Report x provide a more diverse mix of uses and choices of house types; x use land efficiently; x achieve high quality development; x are integrated with public transport; x are designed around a connected pattern of streets and public spaces; and x are adaptable to change.

To foster and encourage opportunities for physical, economic and social regeneration by: x utilising previously developed land; x refurbishing and bringing new uses to old buildings; creating safe and attractive environments; x providing transport and social infrastructure; and x increasing the opportunity of access to facilities and jobs.

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Sustainable Movement

County Structure Plan (Integrate) land-use and transport planning by having a disposition of land-uses that encourages sustainable patterns and modes of movement. West The towns (Northampton, Daventry and Towcester) will be connected by improved public transport and interurban road systems. Northamptonshire LSP Emerging NBC Vision People will be able to move about the town easily, hopping on and off an environmentally friendly transport system. This will free us from our dependence upon our cars to move around Northampton. Pollution and congestion will be virtually eliminated. SA/SEA Scoping To reduce the need to travel by encouraging necessary access to facilities, services, goods and other people in ways that make less use of the car Report and minimise environmental impact.

To develop transport infrastructures that are forward-thinking enough to embrace new alternative forms of transport, including systems integrated with new development, that improve the current levels of transport efficiency.

To reduce the reliance on the private motor car by: x promoting more sustainable forms or transport; and x reducing the need to travel.

Protection and enhancement of the Environment

RSS 8 To be recognised as a region with a high quality of life and sustainable communities that thrive(s) because of its…rich environmental diversity. MKSM SRS To ensure that development contributes to an improved environment, by requiring high standards of design and sustainable construction, protecting environmental assets and providing green space and infrastructure. County Structure Plan (Manage) assets and resources by conserving the environmental assets, minimising impact on natural resources and optimising the use of brownfield land. West There will be a major programme of green infrastructure development and enhancement. Northamptonshire LSP South Protect and enhance the current diversity of the natural and built environment. Northamptonshire Community Strategy South (To ensure) the prudent use of natural resources. Northamptonshire Emerging LDF

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Emerging NBC Vision All of Northampton will be clean and litter-free. We will work together to build be a community culture of no tolerance of those who litter and pollute our streets.

The Cultural Mile will snake through the town, joined together by our integrated transport system. Included within the Cultural Mile will be a heritage trail that celebrates our boot and shoe past. We will take full advantage of all that the River Nene has to offer and develop a water-based experience for all ages. Daventry Community Protect and enhance our environment: Strategy x Reduce greenhouse gas emission from private dwellings, public buildings, transport and local business, and promote alternatives to using the car

x Increase access to banking and cashpoint facilities and retail services in rural areas

x Minimise waste by encouraging all Local Strategic Partnership members to adopt efficiency measures and Environmental Policies

x Establish a 24-hour criminal damage repair and graffiti clearance on public property x Secure appropriate level of affordable housing in new developments.

x Reduce the number of abandoned and fired vehicles Northampton To promote and conserve the natural environment, promote sustainable urban living and develop an effective integrated transport system. Community Strategy

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SA/SEA Scoping To not damage key and designated wildlife sites and protected species. Report To value, protect, maintain, and increase our understanding of, biodiversity.

To restore the full range of characteristic habitats (floodplains, woodlands etc) & manage the ecological processes on which they depend.

To decrease noise & vibration.

To limit water pollution to levels that do not damage natural systems.

To preserve and enhance historic buildings and archaeological sites and to conserve other culturally important features/areas and their settings.

To reduce, reuse, recover & recycle waste through composting, energy recovery and bioremediation

To maintain water abstraction, run-off and recharge within carrying capacity (including future carrying capacity).

To reduce contamination & safeguard soil quality and quantity.

To limit air pollution to levels that do not damage natural systems.

To reduce greenhouse gas emissions by planning for energy efficiency.

To reduce vulnerability to the effects of climate change e.g. flooding, disruption to travel by extreme weather etc.

To enhance the quality of landscapes, the countryside, townscape character and local distinctiveness.

To foster and encourage the effective management of natural resources by: x reducing flood risk; x conserving energy and water; x maintaining biodiversity; and x reducing waste.

To protect and enhance the Borough’s natural and cultural assets, including buildings and areas of historical and architectural significance, important green spaces and the Nene river valley

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Thriving Economy

RSS8 To be recognised as a region with a high quality of life and sustainable communities that thrive because of its vibrant economy. MKSM SRS To provide for a commensurate level of economic growth and developing workforce skills. West Development in the rural areas and market towns will be targeted at places where local people have been seeking further investment and growth. Northamptonshire LSP Northampton The town will be proud, prosperous and progressive, a place where history and innovation co-exist. Community Strategy South Support sustainable local businesses and employment opportunities, to secure inward investment and address issues surrounding rural poverty. Northamptonshire Community Strategy South (To maintain) of a strong and stable economy. Northamptonshire Emerging LDF Daventry Emerging Building a district with a population of 95,000 based around Daventry town with a population of some 40,000 with a vibrant commercial core. LDF Emerging NBC Vision A specialist niche shopping experience like no other makes Northampton a tourist destination of choice. Daventry Community Improve our business economy: Strategy x Secure Government funding to improve and create transport links, particularly for those who work in out-of-town industrial estates

x Reduce business-related crime by promoting appropriate partnership activities, for example ‘Northamptonshire Action Against Business Crime’, which involves criminal intelligence data and attending break-ins

x Run promotions, competitions and awards to promote waste reduction and energy saving activities amongst businesses

x Work with more businesses to create a clearer, stronger voice for business and influence local and regional policy to the benefit of all businesses x Confront age and disability discrimination in the workplace

x As the town expands provide more childcare places and out of school clubs to enable parents to go back to work

x Establish an employer-led Skills Development Group to provide a single point of focus for all education and employment bodies, co- ordinating funding to meet local needs

x Increase the provision of and access to lifelong learning for all.

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Northampton To strengthen the economic base and regional role of Northampton and contribute towards making the East Midlands one of the top 20 regions in Community Strategy Europe. SA/SEA Scoping To give access to satisfying and rewarding work and to reduce unemployment. Report To increase investment in people, equipment, infrastructure and other assets to enhance the business image of the area.

To increase the efficiency of transport and economic activities without compromising the social and environmental performance of the economy.

To enhance the town centre’s vitality and role within the region, and to provide a hierarchy of district and local centres which can act as a focus for a range of neighbourhood activities serving all sections of the community.

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Learning Opportunities

Northampton ‘Its communities will be confident, educated, skilled and united.’ Community Strategy South ‘Increase access to learning, skills and employment opportunities.’ Northamptonshire Community Strategy Emerging NBC Vision Northampton will be a centre for educational excellence – our schools will help develop good citizens and produce exceptional results. Our colleges and university will work with local businesses to develop and retain the jobs and workers of the future Northampton For education in Northampton to be inclusive; for achievement to be at the national average or above and for aspirations and demand for learning to Community Strategy be raised amongst Northampton residents SA/SEA Scoping To improve access to skills & knowledge needed to play a full part in society. Report Balancing the delivery of infrastructure with development

MKSM SRS ‘To meet existing infrastructure needs and provide for requirements generated by new development, investing in new and improved infrastructure and reducing the need to travel.’

‘To create sustainable communities by ensuring that economic, environmental, social and cultural infrastructure needs are met in step with growth.’ County Structure Plan ‘(Secure) the necessary infrastructure, facilities and services to serve development.’ West ‘Our vision is that West Northamptonshire will become a model of sustainable community planning and development’. Northamptonshire LSP South ‘To promote the principles of sustainability in supporting social progress and the protection and enhancement of our environment’ Northamptonshire Emerging LDF Daventry Emerging ‘building a district …(that) sustains the economic, social, environmental, health and leisure aspirations of those who live and work in the district’. LDF Emerging NBC Vision With a population approaching 240,000 over the next 15 years, Northampton will become city sized as such we will develop an infrastructure that ensures that during this rapid period of growth there are enough schools, health care services, emergency services, roads, affordable quality housing and green space to support the rest of our vision. Northampton To develop a comprehensive Northampton infrastructure to enable communities of geography and interest to articulate, raise and achieve their Community Strategy aspirations via the community planning process SA/SEA Scoping To make local facilities and opportunities for culture, leisure & recreation readily accessible for everyone including those most in need. Report

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Quality Designed Development

County Structure Plan ‘(Promote) quality design-led development’ West ‘In line with the principles of sustainability, development in towns or urban extensions will meet strict design and sustainability criteria ensuring that Northamptonshire LSP new building is backed up by jobs, transport, affordable housing and community facilities.’ SA/SEA Scoping To encourage the use of renewable technology in the planning and design of new development. Report To create quality, diverse, durable places, spaces and buildings that are human in scale and form.

To ensure that new development is designed and located so as to: x minimise its impact on the natural environment; x safeguard community safety and the health of residents; and x provide a distinctive identity for the town.

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5. Sustainable Planning and Design Principles

5.1 INTRODUCTION

Alongside identifying the components of a spatial vision, the study team sought to establish a set of sustainable development and design principles that could be used to define how local aspirations may be achieved. These principles are derived from the ODPM’s ‘Sustainable Communities Plan’ (2003) that seeks to create distinctive, balanced and long-lasting places. The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 sets out for the first time the duty of planning authorities to reinforce the principles of sustainable development. Planning Policy Statement 1: Delivering Sustainable Communities (February 2005) translates the Act into practical guidance for ensuring that development plans and decisions taken on planning applications contribute to the delivery of sustainable development. It states that:

‘Sustainable development is the core principle underpinning planning. At the heart of sustainable development is the simple idea of ensuring a better quality of life for everyone, now and for future generations.’

Northampton is not alone in the challenges its community faces in being able to grow in a sustainable way – there are other towns in the UK and worldwide that are grappling with how best to design urban environments to combat social, economic and environmental issues. As indicated in the Baseline Report, there is a range of best practice guidance on tackling the issue of sustainable urban growth including principles on ‘smart growth’ and ‘transit oriented development’.

The purpose of this section is to identify a series of principles and describe how they may be applied to Northampton’s context in generating growth options. This includes understanding how to create places that: minimise climate change; promote accessibility; a balanced and financially viable mix of uses; harness the value of heritage; secure delivery with socio-economic responsibility, and commit to long- term success.

5.2 DEFINING THE PRINCIPLES

Before devising a list of principles that can be used to develop growth options, it is useful to capture those that underpin sustainable development as set out in the Sustainable Communities Plan and other best practice planning and urban design guidance.

5.2.1 Planning Led Principles Sustainable Communities Plan

In 2003 the government launched its ‘Sustainable Communities Plan’ (SCP) to provide for successful, thriving and inclusive communities, urban and rural, across England. New and expanded communities should be sustainable, well-designed, high quality and attractive places in which people will positively choose to live and work.

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The SCP defines ‘sustainable communities’ as those that have: x A flourishing local economy; x Strong leadership able to respond positively to change; x Engagement and participation by local people, groups and businesses; x A safe and healthy local environment with well-designed spaces; x Sufficient size, scale and density and the right layout for development; x Good public transport and other infrastructure; x Buildings that can meet different needs over time, minimising the use of resources; x Well integrated mix of decent homes of different types and tenures to support a mixed and balanced community; x Good quality local public services; x A diverse, vibrant and creative local culture; x A sense of place; and x The right links with the wider regional, national and international community.

Three years on the Government continues to be committed to delivering sustainable communities. In February 2006, the Deputy Prime Minister indicated that there was a need for an increased focus on: x Raising design standards in building and championing innovation; x Raising the profile/importance of sustainable development; x Getting the balance right between safeguarding the countryside and ensuring we build communities for people to live and work in, and x Government commitment to delivering infrastructure to make communities truly sustainable.

Sustainable Communities in the East Midlands

‘Sustainable Communities in the East Midlands: Building for the Future’ (ODPM, 2003) provides further detail of what ‘sustainable communities’ means for the East Midlands. These communities should: x Be economically prosperous; x Have decent homes at a price people can afford; x Safeguard the countryside; x Enjoy a well-designed, accessible and pleasant living and working environment; and x Be effectively and fairly governed with a strong sense of community.

The Plan establishes that growth in the East Midlands should be accommodated around the main cities and towns in the more prosperous southern parts of the region to ensure minimum impact on valuable countryside. Investment proposals should be directed to disadvantaged areas and brownfield sites. Green Belts and Green Wedges should have a continuing role and parks and open spaces improved.

Sustainable Communities: Homes for All

In June 2005 the ODPM launched the next phase for delivering the Sustainable Communities Plan, defining what should comprise ‘sustainable communities’. It recognises that: ‘not all communities are the same – different places have different strengths and needs. But sustainable communities have many things in common: decent homes at prices people can afford; clean, safe, green environments; access to jobs and excellent services – schools, health services, shops and banks; and people having a say in the way their community is run.’

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Sustainable communities should be: x Active, inclusive and safe – fair, tolerant and cohesive with a strong local culture and other shared community activities x Well run – with effective and inclusive participation, representation and leadership x Environmentally sensitive – providing places for people to live that are considerate of the environment x Well designed and built – featuring a quality built and natural environment x Well connected – with good transport services and communication linking people to jobs, schools, health and other services x Thriving – with a flourishing and diverse local economy x Well served – with public, private, community and voluntary services that are appropriate to people's needs and accessible to all x Fair for everyone – including those in other communities, now and in the future.

‘Smart Growth’

In determining how Northampton may grow in a sustainable way it is useful to consider how the United States (U.S.) has tackled growth through the ‘smart growth movement’. Smart growth was introduced due to a growing concern that current development patterns (i.e. sprawling cities) are not in the interests of the community. The economic costs of abandoning infrastructure already established in existing urban areas only to rebuild it further out, has been questioned, as has the impacts on rural communities and wilderness areas. While Northampton may be incomparable to U.S. cities the principles of smart growth could be given some merit in realising the UK’s Sustainable Communities Agenda. These principles are:

x Create a range of housing opportunities and choices x Create walkable neighbourhoods x Encourage community and stakeholder collaboration x Foster distinctive, attractive communities with a strong sense of place x Make development decisions predictable, fair and cost effective x Mix land uses x Preserve open space, farmland, natural beauty and critical environmental areas x Provide a variety of transportation choices x Strengthen and direct development towards existing communities x Take advantage of compact building design

Transit Oriented Development (TOD)

Transit Oriented Development (sometimes referred to as New Urbanism) is a form of urban development that clusters a greater mixture of land uses around a high quality transport service. This concept has gained currency worldwide as a key tool to reduce car dependence, boost public transport use and hence reduce reliance on fossil fuels. Differing patterns of development in cities have a direct impact on the way people move about. The transport node, either train, light rail or bus terminus is designed to be the focus for the development and ideally becomes the community 'heart'. The components of transit oriented design are:

x Walkable design with pedestrian as the highest priority x Train station as prominent feature of town centre

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x A regional node containing a mixture of uses in close proximity including office, residential, retail, and civic uses x High density, high-quality development within 10-minute walk circle surrounding train station x Collector support transit systems including light rail, and buses, etc. x Designed to include the easy use of bicycles and rollerblades as daily support transportation systems x Reduced and managed parking inside 10-minute walk circle around town centre / train station

5.2.2 Urban Design Led Principles

Urban Design, the art of making places for people, is inseparable from good planning. Good design is the key to creating sustainable communities: lively places, attractive, usable, durable and adaptable places; places with distinctive character; streets and public spaces that are safe and accessible. There is a plethora of guidance documents available for achieving well designed places; from designing safe places such as through considering the principles of ‘Secure by Design’, accessible places through ‘Inclusive Design’ and for better designed green space through documents prepared by CABE Space. Some of these documents may be more appropriately applied at the more detailed masterplanning level. For the purpose of identifying principles to lead the preparation of growth options, the following document produced by CABE is considered to be a sound tool. The information contained within the document is consistent with other best practice guidance documents such as the Urban Design Compendium published by English Partnerships.

By Design, Urban Design in the Planning System

This document produced by CABE (2001) provides practical advice to help implement the Government's commitment to produce attractive, high-quality, sustainable places in which people will want to live, work and relax. While the planning system has a key role to play in delivering better design, the creation of successful places depends on the skills of designers. It should be recognised that no two places are identical and that good design arises from a thorough and caring understanding of place and context. The following objectives are set out that could underpin the preparation of design principles for Northampton:

x Character - A place with its own identity. To promote character in townscape and landscape by responding to and reinforcing locally distinctive patterns of development, landscape and culture. x Continuity and enclosure - A place where public and private spaces are clearly distinguished. To promote the continuity of street frontages and the enclosure of space by development which clearly defines private and public areas. x Quality of the public realm - A place with attractive and successful outdoor areas. To promote public spaces and routes that are attractive, safe, uncluttered and work effectively for all in society, including disabled and elderly people. x Ease of movement - A place that is easy to get to and move through. To promote accessibility and local permeability by making places that connect with each other and are easy to move through, putting people before traffic and integrating land uses and transport. x Legibility - A place that has a clear image and is easy to understand. To promote legibility through development that provides recognisable routes, intersections and landmarks to help people find their way around. x Adaptability - A place that can change easily. To promote adaptability through development that can respond to changing social, technological and economic conditions. x Diversity - A place with variety and choice. To promote diversity and choice through a mix of compatible developments and uses that work together to create viable places that respond to local needs.

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It is with principles such as these that the approach to wider analysis of the growth options has been formulated, informing both the consideration of general configuration and location of the land take.

5.3 TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE PLANNING AND DESIGN PRINCIPLES FOR THE NIA

From considering the best practice planning and design documents as outlined above, the study team sought to devise a set of interlinked principles that could be applied to the development of sustainable growth options. These principles are based around ensuring growth:

x Achieves social diversity x Sustains environmental resources x Strengthens Northampton’s local identity x Enhances existing and creates new liveable communities x Supports a flourishing local economy

In the next section of this report, thematic scenarios are devised as a tool for developing the growth options. Before this occurs it is useful to further detail how the principles may be applied to Northampton’s context.

5.3.1 Achieving social diversity

Achieving social diversity and a balance of mixed and successful communities is dependent on a wide range of factors. Many of these will be applied at masterplan and planning application level and will be dependent on the good planning of community facilities and other social interventions by key agencies. However, in considering high level issues of growth, there are certain principles which may be applied to encourage social diversity and the establishment of sustainable communities. These could be:

x Diverse dwelling types & tenure mix - A wide range of dwelling types with a mixture of unit sizes, house types and tenure are provided to suit people of different incomes and at different stages of their lives; and allowing people of differing incomes to live side by side x “Tenure blind” design - Affordable housing, which should be pepper-potted throughout the town, should indistinguishable from market housing through external design x Mix of uses - A mix of uses - homes, local shops, offices, workshops and community uses, and health and education facilities - offer all residents the possibility of meeting their day to day needs within their community. x Good public transport and other infrastructure; to enable physical and social mobility x Ready access to a range of quality employment and educational opportunities; to ensure personal development and choice x Town wide integration – Quality district and local centres to strengthen the role of centres of activity, forming the focus for existing and future communities.

5.3.2 Sustaining environmental resources

The options themselves have considered a range of issues that reduce the use of resources: x reusing buildings and land; x protecting ecological resources, water resources and mineral extraction sites; and x providing new and improved centres, to combat social deprivation and private vehicle use.

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However, there are a set of design principles which will further these original issues and also embed more detailed considerations to ensure the resulting developments minimise negative impacts on resource use and maximise positive impacts:

x Regeneration and new build will apply the Code for Sustainable Homes (CSH) and BREEAM versions, to cover homes, commercial, industrial and community development. It is suggested that in the short term CSH 3* and BREEAM Very Good is applied, moving to CSH 6* and BREEAM Excellent by 2016. x As part of achieving CSH and BREEAM, excellent energy efficiency is assumed in new build and regeneration projects. To approach zero carbon status, energy will be supplied efficiently, for example via renewably powered Combined Cooling Heat and Power (CCHP). Then on-site renewable power will be supplied to cover the remaining heat and power requirements. x All regenerated and new developments will use wildlife corridors to link with surrounding open space and waterways, particularly linking urban Northampton to the Upper Nene River Valley. These wildlife corridors will be served by open spaces and new and improved habitats within the developments. Corridors and open space will be multi-functional, additionally providing pedestrian and cycle access, drainage and flood management, food and biomass production, amenity and recreation. x The buildings will incorporate water efficiency and rainwater collection and potentially greywater reuse, living roofs and walls and low environmental impact materials. x The developments as well as the buildings will provide private and communal storage space and facilities for waste to be reused, recycled, composted or turned to energy. x Developments will be well-served by public transport and facilities and routes for pedestrians and cyclists. Private buildings and community facilities will have excellent e-information facilities, including access to intelligent public transport systems.

In terms of applying such principles to the development of growth options, an important aspect of these requirements is that growth is achieved in suitable locations with the correct critical mass to achieve a step –change in housing provision, and public transport accessibility, and to ensure that there is suitable developer obligation mechanisms in place to allow effective implementation.

5.3.3 Strengthening Northampton’s local identity

An important aspect of the concept of growth in this area is not simply to provide additional numbers of housing units or employment space, but to utilise new provision to improve the identity and status of this historic town and emphasise the strength of the cultural contribution it must continue to play in the sub- region. This should be achieved by strengthening Northampton’s unique identity and by enhancing cultural and natural assets, which should be addressed with care when considering issues of town centre or urban intensification, and greenfield development alike.

New developments in Northampton will draw inspiration from the Northamptonshire vernacular. The use of local materials and an innovative approach towards their applications will help establish a distinctive identity for Northampton. Respecting key aspects of the existing townscape will help to define the sense of place and provide a mature setting for development, strengthen the character. This can include reinterpretation of the legacy offer by shoe industry and industrial buildings, and furthering the town’s design tradition by investment in education and specialist business clusters. Alongside protecting and enhancing Northampton’s built form heritage, distinctive natural features, such as the River Nene environs, should be taken into account in preparing the growth options.

Therefore, there are two key aspects to strengthening Northampton’s local identity:

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x Distinctive local character - New developments must draw inspirations from the local vernacular, including urban morphology, architecture and landscape design. The use of local materials and an innovative approach towards their applications will help establish a distinctive identity. x Heritage - New design must both complement and enhance the historic environment. A proper assessment of the historic environment/context contributes to a sense of place. Respecting key aspects of the existing townscape will define the sense of place and provide a mature setting for development, and strengthen the character.

5.3.4 Enhancing existing and creating new liveable communities

There are many factors that may underpin ‘liveable communities’. These include:

x Accessible public transport - To reduce reliance on cars and encourage a walkable environment, public transport routes and supporting services must be encouraged, along with alternative modes of travel and a high quality public realm. x Well connected open space network - A strong landscape structure must be incorporated with existing natural networks such as waterways, to create a green network linking playing fields and local parks with larger regional parks and the surrounding countryside. x Legible design - A legible structure of streets and blocks must link new developments to existing development and amenities in Northampton. x High-quality public realm x Creating safe, welcoming & inclusive places x Streets, squares, parks, plazas and gardens create the physical framework - the creation of attractive routes and meeting places through development of a stimulating environment, including quality street furniture, public art and a lighting strategy to create and change mood and ambiance; natural surveillance and over looking to promote a sense of security and non-threatening environments.

In appreciating Northampton’s context, it is worth considering potential future strategic infrastructure improvements, as these could have a bearing on future movement patterns and business and household locational preferences. For example, a potential new park way station on the Northampton branch at Milton Malsor, north of Roade could influence locational preferences in the future if it is deemed a viable public transport solution. Whilst the precise location and detail of such a facility is yet to be determined, the potential to attract sustainable mixed use development within its vicinity could be explored.

The second rail base opportunity that has been identified is the re-use of the northern section of the branch line between Northampton and Bedford. This currently has the track still in place between the station and Brackmills as the line has been used in the past for driver training. Whilst the existing infrastructure will need to be completely replaced, this could provide an opportunity for a light rail link to the existing commercial development at Brackmills and to additional development near Great Houghton. There are a number of issues that could frustrate such a proposal but the main one, other than the cost is likely to be how to mix heavy and light rail at Northampton Station with the limited space under the Black Lion Hill road bridge.

The creation of a green network, that also provides drainage and flood management, pedestrian and cycle routes and other sources of amenity (as outlined in 5.3.2 above), is also likely to be a significant contributing factor to supporting healthy communities in Northampton’s context. A crucial element in achieving this successfully is having a range of community facilities and other ‘traffic generators’ located around and between green spaces that are connected by a legible street network; thereby encouraging people to walk and cycle between them and thus increasing community safety within the green spaces. The creation of a hierarchy of green spaces, from gardens to boulevards, squares and plazas,

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allotments and orchards, play spaces, parks, playing fields and wilderness areas, is crucial for providing for a range of activities and maximising accessibility. Likewise, it will be important to ensure green space can be used to protect and enhance townscape views such as to the town centre, local church spires and across the valley, and together with the provision of high quality built form contribute towards the creation of long lasting places.

5.3.5 Supporting a flourishing economy

The long term sustainability of Northampton must be supported by a comparable growth in employment space which is fit for purpose, the successful exploitation of its superior transport regional linkages and the ongoing development of its workforce.

A flourishing local economy may therefore be underpinned by:

x High value added and dynamic employment centres x Maximising learning opportunities through strengthening the role of the university and other higher education and lifelong learning facilities – the development of particular specialisms over time associated with the university and the prospect of ready physical access to local further education learning opportunities will be key features in varying the skill base in the area, attracting new employers in and affording future generations the chance to stay in homogeneous family units, rather than seeking employment outside the county. x Providing for local jobs – the creation of a new distinct town centre hierarchy and the development of new activity centres is essential to afford a range of local opportunities in association with population growth. Mixed use development therefore must be a common feature of all the growth options. x Designing the right kind of environment for attracting more investment - this will require the imaginative re-utilisation of existing buildings in town centre locations and also the intensification and development of higher skilled opportunities over time in the existing industrial estates to increase job density.

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5.4 SUMMARY

The table below summarises the components of a potential vision, objectives and principles for establishing growth options. It may be used to evaluate the feasibility of options as set out in Section 8, alongside the sustainability appraisal, land suitability and delivery analysis.

Table 5.1 – Integration of potential vision themes, strategic planning objectives and design principles Spatial Vision Themes Strategic Planning Objectives Sustainable Planning and Design Principles

High quality of life and provision for lifestyle choice To improve the quality of life of people living in rural Growth should capture and enhance the urban living and urban settlements through making places experience through quality design and access to Quality designed development attractive, cleaner and safe with opportunities for facilities using green infrastructure. It should ensure access to a range of housing typologies, services and personal development opportunities within the local area Urban renaissance To ensure any development that takes places is Development should express the quintessential sensitively designed to minimise impact on the nature of Northampton’s character and history and countryside and/or other natural and cultural assets; respect its built heritage, cultural and natural particularly to avoid harming the region’s features biodiversity, landscape character and built heritage.

Sustainable movement To encourage people to choose more sustainable Growth should encourage behavioural change and transport options to using the private car, such as by modal shift by affording easy access to a variety of walking, cycling and/or catching public transport. modes and allowing mixed use development to minimise trip generation

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Spatial Vision Themes Strategic Planning Objectives Sustainable Planning and Design Principles

Protection and enhancement of the environment To encourage low carbon environments by requiring Growth should aim to capture the benefits of the high standards of design and sustainable critical mass of development through efficient and construction to reduce the scale and impacts of renewable energy supply and public transport climate change such as flooding. infrastructure To use land efficiently and maximise opportunities Growth wherever possible should reutilise previously for re-using brownfield land, wherever possible. developed areas.

Through quality design and masterplanning it should afford enhancement of the urban experience whilst increasing density of development

Thriving economy To make Northampton an appealing offer for visitors, Growth should afford provision and access to a wide workers and businesses, particularly knowledge- range of fit for purpose employment floorspace with based industries. sustainable transport links

Growth should support and encourage the expansion of the educational offer and linkage between educational institutions and business clusters Provision for more learning opportunities To encourage lifelong learning and skills Growth should afford the opportunity for skill uplift in development across all communities to encourage the area through provision quality learning local labour market participation. opportunities, a range of employment opportunities and housing typologies to consolidate a higher skilled populous Balancing the delivery of infrastructure with To ensure that both social and physical infrastructure Physical and social infrastructure needs should be development are adequately provided to meet people’s needs in modelled and developed in tandem with time with new development. development opportunities

Developer obligations should contribute to the timely and appropriate provision of new infrastructure

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6. Thematic Scenarios

6.1 INTRODUCTION

As mentioned in Section 2, in developing the options for accommodating Northampton’s growth, the study team have taken an integrated and holistic approach whereby potential directions for growth are not considered in isolation of the community’s aspirations for the town and surrounding rural area as a whole. The Government’s Sustainable Communities agenda sets a benchmark for how Northampton should grow; strengthening its role as a vibrant centre within the Milton Keynes and South Midlands Growth Area through balancing environmental, social, economic needs. How this may actually achieved in establishing the most appropriate spatial framework for Northampton needs to be fully explored.

From identifying the components of a spatial vision, objectives and sustainable planning and design principles, three thematic scenarios were established to promote debate about different types of growth with key technical stakeholders. These scenarios presented the way Northampton could grow emphasising particular policy positions – some emphasising social, economic and environmental outcomes more than others. They were therefore not presented as realistic deliverable options. The purpose of presenting these scenarios at this stage was to gain feedback on the most preferable elements of each one in order to inform the assembly of options, which would be based on a range of land suitability and deliverability criteria. Thus, the deliverable options for public consultation would be determined from a ‘menu’ for growth created by selecting the best elements of each scenario.

6.2 OVERVIEW OF SCENARIOS

As shown in Figures 6.1 to 6.3, the following three scenarios were created to emphasise a particular policy position: x Neighbourhood Centres Led x Urban Renaissance Led x Economy and Employment Led

Each scenario shares the same components of the vision identified in Section 4, although some objectives are emphasised more than others. For example, they all assume that a proportion of development would occur on brownfield land and that mixed-use development would be promoted along with a more integrated public transport system. Therefore, all scenarios take a ‘whole-town’ approach that is not merely attempting to identify growth on the periphery of the town, but is seeking to achieve positive change within the urban area itself; to improve the quality of life for existing communities.

The aims of each scenario are described below. The advantages and disadvantages of each scenario are also identified, which formed the basis for technical stakeholder discussion as outlined in 6.3. Section 8 explains how these conceptual scenarios can be translated into deliverable spatial growth options in light of the land suitability analysis.

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6.2.1 Neighbourhood Centres

The policy position surrounding the neighbourhood centres led scenario was about creating healthy, strong and safe communities for people that encourage a higher quality of life by improving access to facilities and employment opportunities, thereby addressing issues of social inequality and improving community well-being. The scenario sought to distribute the growth evenly across the town to enable all communities to benefit from the new social infrastructure to be delivered alongside residential and commercial development. The town centre would be the core of activity and it would be linked to all other centres through a sophisticated public transport system.

Aims

The aims of this scenario are to: x Establish a hierarchy of activity centres. x Promote mixed use activity. x Invest in improving local facilities including health, schools, leisure and shops. x Maximise accessibility to local facilities through encouraging walking, cycling and using public transport. x Promote the distinct identity of Northampton’s neighbourhoods and surrounding rural villages. x Create sustainable community living and social cohesion.

Advantages

The advantages of this scenario are: x Achieves a better defined character and function of centres. x Promotes social cohesion. x Encourages more sustainable living through locating homes closer to jobs and facilities. x Provides the opportunity to attract investment to rural communities. x Seeks to upgrade existing community facilities and spread benefits more widely.

Disadvantages

The disadvantages of this scenario are: x The character of some villages and settlements could potentially be lost. x It could be difficult to deliver this scenario as there is likely to be some constrained sites at existing centres, which could require complex land assembly. x There would be a wider distribution of growth across Northampton, affecting more communities, who may not welcome change i.e. a socially / politically higher risk strategy.

6.2.2 Urban Renaissance

This scenario was driven by low carbon environment oriented policies that emphasise requiring high standards of sustainable design and construction; using land efficiently through maximising brownfield

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development; minimising loss of countryside and biodiversity and encouraging people to use more sustainable modes of movement such as walking, cycling and public transport use. It was developed giving greater emphasis to best practice urban design principles that would seek to draw out Northampton’s valued assets such as its historic environment and the River Nene being the spine of the town, making it an attractive place for people to live, work and visit. By strengthening and emphasising the town’s existing attractive features it would become more competitive within the region and in comparison to other centres, such as Milton Keynes.

Aims

The aims of this scenario are to: x Bring vitality and life to poor quality or under-used areas. x Attract and retain investment in the town. x Make best use of existing natural features and cultural assets. x Use land more efficiently. x Promote more sustainable living environments – maximising opportunities for walking, cycling and using public transport to reach destinations – innovative ‘green’ buildings.

Advantages

The advantages of this scenario are: x Seeks to minimise the environmental impacts of growth. x Uses land efficiently. x Safeguards valuable resources, especially attractive rural hinterland. x Protects the character of villages. x Opportunity to attract investment to existing urban communities.

x Some existing estates could potentially be re-developed at higher density, generating investment and balancing communities.

Disadvantages

The disadvantages of this scenario are: x It is limited in its range of housing typologies offered due to site constraints and majors on promoting high density living. x There are limited locations for future business parks and larger employment footplates. x The non-car based environment may not be attractive to new businesses initially. x It would require a dramatic cultural change for existing Northampton residents. x Development sites in the urban area are likely to be restricted and would require major intervention and site assembly. This would infer delay and additional expense, and may in some instances, might be unsuccessful; i.e. a higher risk strategy.

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6.2.3 Economy and Employment

The main driver of this scenario was to examine the potential of Northampton for long term sustainability as a place, by maximising opportunities for inward investment, (particularly by knowledge-based industries), encouraging an uplift in lifelong learning and skills development. This would extend opportunities to all communities to encourage local labour market participation. A key feature is to strengthen the role of the university and other learning centres, enabling them to become a hub for generating economic activity through development of specialisms and business clustering. The scenario also promotes locations near the existing railway network and the M1 with efficient links to London and the wider region to continue to make Northampton more competitive. Similar to the other scenarios, it seeks to encourage people to live and work in Northampton by developing high quality living environments, additionally benefiting from the character of villages, which would be attractive to business workers.

Aims

The aims of this scenario are to: x Cluster development around key nodes of employment and skills development opportunities.

x Create the ideal environment for attracting investment in knowledge-based industries by maximising strategic locations (with efficient transport links to other regional centres, London and Europe) and through establishing high quality attractive living environments – close to leisure and cultural opportunities. x Minimise out-migration through encouraging people to live and work in Northampton. x Provide opportunities for skills development and ongoing learning. x Retain and consolidate the current population.

Advantages

The advantages of this scenario are: x Identifies and builds distinct economic clusters. x Attracts significant economic investment in Northampton. x Northampton becomes more self-sufficient, capturing spend, and ceases to be a dormitory town with a workforce used to sustain other places. x Its role as a regional economic centre within the East Midlands is strengthened. x Growth is consolidated in discrete areas.

Disadvantages

The disadvantages of this scenario are: x There would be limited benefits for new communities in terms of social infrastructure provision. x Development may not minimise environmental impacts. x The character of some villages and settlements could potentially be lost.

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x It continues to encourage car-based behaviour and attitudes. x It ignores areas within the existing urban area potentially requiring substantial revitalisation.

6.3 FEEDBACK FROM KEY STAKEHOLDERS

On 20 November 2006, a workshop was held with key technical stakeholders to gain feedback on the priorities for creating the preferred options. Further details of the workshop are set out in Appendix B. Attendees were asked what each scenario meant for Northampton and the elements considered being the strengths and weaknesses of each were extracted in order to inform the assembly of growth options given Northampton’s context.

The outcomes recorded at the workshop are highlighted for each scenario below. From the strengths extracted the main priorities appeared to be about creating a high quality living environment to promote community cohesion and to create new development with a unique identity rather than urban sprawl. Providing opportunities for linking places through public transport infrastructure and promoting the town centre as an activity focus were also emphasised.

The willingness of the property market to deliver the form of development envisaged was a key constraint identified. For instance, in the neighbourhood led scenario it was considered that the market may not be willing to deliver out of town services to some of the outlying existing settlements. Whereas in the urban renaissance led scenario, the property market may not be prepared to deliver concentrated town-centre development within a non-car based environment. An issue associated with the economy and employment scenario was the potential impact on highway infrastructure. Hence, the need to establish a deliverable spatial strategy for the NIA was stressed.

6.3.1 Feedback on Neighbourhood Focus Led Scenario: Comments Strengths

The strengths identified were: x It had the potential to develop community cohesion. x It ensures Northampton’s growth does not result in new areas being dormitories (i.e. live and work in Northampton). x The mixed use activity could enable greater vibrancy to be achieved. x There would be the potential to regenerate some declining centres.

Weaknesses

The weaknesses identified were: x Service agencies are not joined up which questions the ability to deliver this scenario (e.g. community safety and design issues). x The market may not deliver out of town services x Ignores Northampton’s Unique Selling Point / possible weakened identity for Northampton town centre. x Doesn’t minimise the need to travel if employment outside of Northampton centre. x If there is too much focus on other centres it could result in a dead town centre and the people living around the other centres not feeling part of Northampton. x Growing the centres to the north may not work with the lack of a ring road. x High use of car transport with this scenario. x Due to the spread, there may not be enough of an economic mass to be successful. x Small villages would be extremely affected by the development.

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x May be difficult to counteract long established commuting patterns on the A43, A45, A508 and M1. The South is already heavily congested by the A45/M1. 20 years is not very long to improve major roads. x Potential lack of diversity of development.

6.3.2 Feedback on Urban Renaissance Led Scenario Strengths

The strengths identified were: x Enables Northampton’s town centre to become more vibrant - to be a ‘24 hour town’. x Achieves efficiency through maximising opportunities for the re-use of land. x Encourages walkability. x Promotes less out of town business. x May enable cheaper ways of living through higher densities. x A larger core would make it easier to locate central services such as hospitals.

Weaknesses

The weaknesses identified were: x The form of development achieved would be too dense. x Potential lack of housing diversity to meet different housing needs. x The market may not deliver concentrated town-centre development within a non-car based environment and therefore housing numbers may not be delivered. x It may be difficult for existing local facilities to take the extra growth. x Unsure if the community would be willing to achieve significant ‘cultural change’. x The scenario would be difficult to achieve within a 20 year period.

6.3.3 Feedback on Economy and Employment Led Scenario Strengths

The strengths identified were: x It would attract economic investment x It would raise the profile of Northampton within the region. x It would cater for diverse economic base (e.g. medium tech companies with head offices)

Weaknesses

The weaknesses identified were: x It may encourage distribution companies/warehousing to locate at junctions x There would be a significant impact on highways and it could cause cross-town commuting problems. x The scenario would encourage out of town commuting, particularly to the south. x Ghettos could be created within the existing urban area because of the lack of investment x It attracts investment away from the town centre, which currently is not an employment hub x It encourages development further south of the town; thereby competing with Milton Keynes.

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6.3 TOWARDS OPTIONS

From weighing up the strengths and weaknesses of each scenario a series of opportunities that could influence the spatial framework were identified. In the remaining sections of this report, how these opportunities may be achieved from a delivery and land suitability perspective are considered.

It was recognised that a balance of development opportunities within the existing urban area and extensions would be needed as urban intensification may be constrained by a lack of capacity. The town centre was seen as the core to the spatial framework, with the majority of development focussed on one or two key employment areas such as around the University’s two campuses. There is a need to bring a diversity of housing and employment back into the centre, to improve community safety and to counteract the declining retail focus. By building on the town’s existing assets such as by encouraging high quality designed waterfront development it would attract more visitors to the town centre. It was also recognised that the market will demand some out of town uses and that the opportunity should be taken to focus urban extensions on a few areas that would be attractive for businesses and for a highly skilled workforce.

There was recognition that a hierarchy of centres should be created with new development concentrated on one or two key centres in addition to the core town centre, where strategic facilities were already in place that could be expanded and new ones clustered nearby (i.e. co-located). These centres could be linked by a high quality public transport system to the north, south, east and west of the town connecting the core to the outer areas. The opportunity could be made to locate development around a new railway and/or parkway station. A more sustainable use of the disused railway line could be encouraged such as a cycleway or pathway. In taking a balanced centre approach across the urban area it was recognised that there would be a need to bring forward the proposed extension to the ring road.

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7. Land Suitability Assessment

7.1 INTRODUCTION

Having defined the maximum amount of land that would be required for outward expansion and having developed the key values that could underpin a spatial vision for the NIA, and sustainable planning and design principles, the study team undertook an assessment of the suitability of greenfield land for development. The land suitability assessment is a key stage in understanding the areas that may be appropriate for development in terms of protecting and enhancing the town’s landscape character and areas of heritage and ecological significance. This analysis was undertaken in parallel with the process of identifying the thematic scenarios.

7.1.1 Study Area

The assessment area comprised all land within Northampton Borough and all adjacent wards of all adjacent districts. Although the MKSM Sub-Regional Strategy states that the growth area should cover Northampton Borough and the neighbouring parts of Daventry and South Northamptonshire Districts, the study team felt that it was appropriate to consider all possible directions for sustainable urban extensions from the defined urban boundary of Northampton (as contained in the Northampton Urban Capacity Study), particularly in determining development potential in the longer term. This does not mean the entirety of this area will result as an appropriate NIA boundary for development in the longer term but provides a robust starting point for the land suitability assessment.

7.2 METHODOLOGY

The land suitability assessment of the study area involved the following four steps:

1. Defining the ‘severe restraint’ areas for development 2. Defining the growth sectors that could potentially be developed 3. Determining the criteria for assessment 4. Assessing the developability of each growth sector

7.2.1 Defining the ‘severe restraint’ areas for development

This study has classified certain areas as ‘severe restraint’ areas due to the significant number of constraints associated with them which would generally prohibit or constrain development. In certain rare instances, circumstances may change over time to allow development to occur in areas determined to be currently restricted (e.g. mineral extraction areas or landfills); however, in the short term, it is appropriate that these areas should be shown as locations where development should be avoided.

The first step involved assessing the following categories of high level constraints to development: x Environmental designations ¾ Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) ¾ Ancient Woodland ¾ Local Nature Reserves ¾ National Nature Reserves ¾ County Wildlife Sites ¾ Flood zone 2 (maximum extent of flood risk)

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¾ Heritage: Conservation Areas/Scheduled Ancient Monuments/Listed Buildings x Topography ¾ Degree of slope x Built up urban areas x Physical Barriers ¾ Power and pipelines ¾ Landfill sites ¾ Major roads (noise impacts)

Assumptions were derived for each constraint. The study team’s rationale for buffer distances was based on what was considered a reasonable strategic gap for protecting the environmental designation and topographical landscape, and for minimising the impact of physical barriers to potential development opportunities. A GIS tool was then used to overlay the results of analysing the constraints, creating a composite raster dataset that could be visually interpreted as the areas that would be unsuitable for growth. Examples of the layers are shown in Figure 7.1. The ‘no-go’ areas for development that resulted from creating a composite constraints map are shown as the ‘blacked out’ areas on Figure 7.2. The assumptions that were applied are as follows:

Environmental Designations

x No development can occur on or within 500m of SSSI x No development can occur on or within 500m of Ancient Woodland x No development can occur on or within 500m of Local Nature Reserves x No development can occur within 500m of National Nature Reserves x No development can occur on or within 250m of County Wildlife Site x No development can occur in the floodplain x No development can occur in Conservation Areas

Built up urban area

x No significant development would occur within built up urban areas of Northampton (excluding urban capacity sites) and surrounding settlements

Topography

x No development can occur on gradients more than 20 degrees

Physical Barriers

x No development can occur on or within 25m from power and pipelines x No development can occur on or within 500m of domestic land fill x No development can occur within 100m of major roads

7.2.2 Defining the growth sectors that could potentially be developed

From visualising the areas unsuitable for development from the raster output, land sectors that could potentially be developed were defined. Twenty-four sectors were defined based on existing physical features such as the built form, field boundaries, roads and rivers. Where sectors could sensibly be assigned as potential development areas, but contained some physical barriers within them, sub-sectors were created. These sectors are shown in Figure 7.3.

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7.2.3 Determining the criteria for assessment

The criteria identified in Table 7.4 were used to assess each sector within the defined study area. The criteria were derived from the SEA/SA Scoping Report prepared for the Joint Core Strategy for West Northamptonshire and issues arising from the baseline analysis. It should be noted that sectors could not be rigorously tested against all objectives due to the strategic level of analysis required at this stage. It is envisaged that more detailed assessment would occur at the allocations and masterplanning stages. The outcomes of the overall sustainability appraisal of the options for growth are included in Appendix A.

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Figure 7.1 Examples of High Level Constraints Layers

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Table 7.4 SA Objective Assessment Question Criterion Assumption

Air quality and noise Will development result in an x Development should be SA1: Reduce the need to travel, the increase in motor vehicle trips and located within 1.5 km of a potential increase in congestion and increased dependence on car use? major transport interchange. facilitate modal shift Development should be Will it support the objectives of x located within 600 metres SA2: Avoid sensitive development local air quality action plans? walking distance to a local bus within areas of high noise levels or stop. poor air quality Will it improve existing local public transport infrastructure through the x Development should be provision of new infrastructure and located within 600 metres of a improved access to public cycle route. transport? x Development should be located in areas where noise Will it exacerbate existing traffic levels can be minimised. congestion hotspots or improve the x Development should take current situation? account of proximity to traffic congestion hotspots and any planned road improvements.

Archaeology and cultural Will it help to protect and enhance heritage x Development should aim to sites, areas and features of preserve cultural, SA3: Protect and where possible historic, cultural, archaeological archaeological, historical enhance the fabric and setting of and architectural interest? assets and known ancient designated and undesignated landscape features. archaeological sites, monuments, Will it improve access to and x Development should provide structures and buildings, recorded awareness of buildings, opportunities to structure new Historic Parks and gardens, listed townscapes and landscapes of open space around existing buildings and conservation areas. historical and cultural value? natural or heritage features. Will it preserve and/or enhance the distinctive local industrial heritage of the area? Biodiversity, flora and fauna Will development result in a x Development should aim to SA4: Maintain and enhance the negative or positive impact on preserve any biodiversity structure and function of habitats existing designated wildlife sites? habitats on site. and the populations of species for x Development should aim to which the sites have been Will it maintain and enhance protect any substantial areas designated. Biodiversity Action Plan habitat and of woodland and trees on site. species, in line with BAP targets SA5: Increase the land area of UK and priorities? x Development should aim to Biodiversity Action Plan habitats protect wildlife sites and any within the area. Will it contribute to habitat nearby areas sensitive to fragmentation and loss of existing protected species. SA6: Maintain and improve the biodiversity and conflict with green x Development should aim to conservation status of selected non- infrastructure initiatives? link environmentally significant designated nature conservation land and/or green corridors sites. Are there any opportunities for and should consider any enhancing or providing new green substantial water bodies.

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infrastructure along riversides?

Crime and community safety Will development improve the x Development should be SA7: Improve community safety; safety and security of public concentrated in districts to reduce crime and the fear of crime. spaces across the town? grow critical mass necessary to foster feeling of security. x Development should be concentrated to enable ‘designing out crime’ techniques to be implemented in masterplanning stage.

Energy and climatic factors Will development promote energy x If possible, development SA8: Support the provision of efficient design and construction so should occur in sectors which development projects and as to reduce greenhouse gas could accommodate infrastructure which lead to energy emissions? opportunities to link to existing efficient buildings, a reduction in alternative energy systems. carbon emissions and the provision Will it provide opportunities for x Development should not be of ‘affordable warmth’. renewable energy generation? encumbered by environmental factors so sustainable building practices could be employed in masterplanning stage.

Health and well being Will it help to promote healthy x Development should be SA9: Improve health and reduce lifestyles through access to green located in proximity of health inequalities. infrastructure? site/sector to existing parkland and open space. How do we design new Development should be communities to encourage healthy x located near settlements with living? a population over 3,000 people that receive an hourly bus How do we increase activity and service between 7.00am and vibrancy of open space in 6.00pm. Northampton? x Development should have How do we ensure housing supply access to hospitals within 60 meets different lifestyle needs? minutes. x The site/sector should be How can we improve the standard within 20 minutes walk of a of liveable housing across the pool, sports hall or health and town? fitness centre.

Labour market and economy Will it maintain and improve x Development should be SA10: Create high quality existing employment levels within located near existing employment opportunities and the Borough? employment land. develop a strong culture of x Development should be enterprise and innovation. Will it provide appropriate, high located near efficient transport quality and well located infrastructure. employment land for the development of future economic x Development should be

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activity? located to take advantage of existing or emerging clusters. Will the supply of employment land x Development should be meet the requirements of located in proximity to an growth sectors, particularly in the appropriately-skilled knowledge-based economy and workforce. fully exploit locational/ economic Development should foster opportunities? x new communities incorporating numerous Will high quality environments be amenities to attract employers. created to attract new labour and maintain the existing labour force? x Access to a Job Centre within 30 minutes total travel time by Will it improve access to bus employment by transport modes other than the car?

Landscape and townscape Will it help to promote the provision x Development should aim to be SA11: Ensure that special and of green infrastructure assets and visibly unobtrusive to the distinctive landscapes, and the networks (including green open landscape and should aim to features within them, are conserved space and river canal corridors)? avoid areas of scenic and enhanced. landscape and ecological Will it protect and enhance value. SA12: Enhance the form and landscape character in line with x Development should aim to design of the built environment. current landscape character protect Conservation Areas. assessments? x Development should avoid Will it protect and enhance local coalescence with villages. distinctiveness?

Will it result in the amalgamation of plot sizes and/or loss of the historic street pattern?

Can we afford to provide land just as ‘green setting’ or should all green space be multi-functional (amenity, food production, biodiversity)?

How can new development be planned to protect the character of villages? Material assets Will development ensure the SA13: Ensure that the housing housing stock meets the housing stock and associated infrastructure needs of the area in terms of meets the needs of the local people. quality, quantity and affordability?

SA14: To provide a strategic Will it ensure that the location of network of green infrastructure for development makes efficient use of West Northamptonshire. transport and physical infrastructure to help reduce the need to travel by car, and improve

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accessibility to jobs and services for all?

Will it provide opportunities for linking green infrastructure into new and existing developments and for locating strategic open space? Population Will it maintain or improve access x Development should be SA15: To develop and maintain a to community services and leisure located within 600 m of a local balanced and sustainable facilities for all ages? centre. population structure with good x Development should be access to services and facilities. Will it provide mixed use located within 1.2 km of a development? Are there any neighbourhood centre. development opportunities in or near to existing or new town, x Development should be district or neighbourhood centres? located within 2.4 km of a district or town centre. Does the Strategy ensure that free x Development should promote movement, for those without mixed use activity. access to a private car, is made easy?

Social deprivation Will it make local facilities and x Development should be located SA16: To reduce spatial inequalities opportunities for culture, leisure near existing community in social opportunities. and recreation readily accessible facilities and allow space for for everyone including those most additional provision. in need?

Will it promote well balanced and sustainable population growth through appropriate housing and service and facilities provision?

Will it encourage a sense of community identity in all development areas?

Are there opportunities to enhance the social, economic and physical environment of any deprived communities? Soils, geology and land use Will development result in the loss x Development should not occur SA17: Reduce land contamination, of the best and most versatile on agricultural land classified safeguard soil and geological (BMV) agricultural land? as Grades 1 and 2. quality and quantity Development should not on or Are there any longer term x within 100 metres of a mineral SA18: Make the most efficient use opportunities for developing on extraction area. of land. mineral extraction areas? x Brownfield land should be How will it promote brownfield developed wherever possible. development?

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Waste Will existing landfill areas be x Development should aim to SA19: Reduce waste generation safeguarded from development? preserve domestic land fill and disposal, increase reuse and sites. recycling and achieve the Will it conflict with set out in the sustainable management of waste. County Waste and Minerals Strategic Framework?

Are there any longer term opportunities for re-classifying land fill areas? Water Will development be within the x No development should be SA20: Maintain and continue to capacity of available water supply, located on the floodplain. improve the quality of ground and drainage and sewerage x Development should make the river water. infrastructure? best use of river corridors and any other substantial water SA21: Reduce risk of flooding. Will it result in a significant bodies by providing increase in water consumption? opportunities for green SA22: Improve efficiency of water infrastructure. use. Will it promote water efficient design (e.g. rainwater / grey water x Development should be reuse)? located close to existing or planned water infrastructure. Will it result in development which conflicts with EA flood risk and alleviation advice?

Will it protect the quality of water by controlling development likely to adversely affect groundwater and surface water (particularly the Grand Union Canal)?

Will it help to promote access to waterways and support green infrastructure initiatives? Education and training Will it ensure that there is adequate x Development should be SA23: Increased opportunities to provision of education facilities located within 600 metres of a participate in lifelong learning associated with new primary school. through the provision of appropriate developments? x Development should be infrastructure and facilitating access located within 1.2 km of a to opportunities. Can the University be expanded so secondary school. as to help in the provision of learning opportunities that raise x Development should maximise aspirations and link to the opportunities near university expanding business base within campuses / higher education the economy ?Can a campus be nodes. Access to tertiary located in the centre of town? education facilities within 30 minutes

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7.2.4 Assessing the developability of each growth sector

The land suitability assessment was carried out in three parts: x Part One – desktop quantitative analysis of each land sector based on key environmental, movement and neighbourhood criteria. Each sector was evaluated (using GIS techniques) as a discrete area. x Part Two – a qualitative assessment of land sectors was undertaken to understand how they interrelated with the structure of the town as a whole. A combination of field surveying and desk based analysis was used to determine the contribution that land sectors could make to growing Northampton in a sustainable way. x Part Three – taking into account the results of Parts One and Two, a recommendation was made as to the future potential of each land sector. It is important to note that this recommendation is based on land suitability criteria assessed through fieldwork to understand constraints and potential. The recommendations made must be combined with the results of the other strands of the methodology including implementation aspects to determine the most viable options for development.

Part 1 – Desktop Based Analysis

Building on the constraints identified in defining the ‘no-go’ areas for development and taking into account the sustainability led criteria assumptions, quantitative desktop based analysis was undertaken of each sector addressing the following categories:

x Environmental related issues ¾ Presence of BAP habitats ¾ Proximity to significant woodland and/or nature conservation areas ¾ Presence of mineral extraction areas ¾ Proximity to waterways ¾ Presence of archaeological sites / historic buildings ¾ Proximity to villages x Socio-economic related issues ¾ Presence of good quality agricultural land (Grades 1 or 2) ¾ Proximity to large employment areas ¾ Proximity to the town centre ¾ Proximity to large local centres ¾ Proximity to local centres ¾ Proximity to new developments under construction or approved in principle x Transport related issues ¾ Proximity to railway route with potential for new station ¾ Proximity to traffic congestion hot spots ¾ Proximity to highway and/or public transport improvements ¾ Proximity to the existing or planned cycleway network x Utility and waste related issues ¾ Proximity to existing or planned water infrastructure facilities ¾ Proximity to electricity powerlines ¾ Presence of landfill sites

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It should be noted that for the purpose of analysing centres within the study area, the following definitions were applied:

Town Centre (2.4km catchment) x 10,000 – 30,000 people, 5 min drive, 1-2 miles x Library, FE facility x Primary healthcare hub, social healthcare facilities e.g. child support, mental health x District park, entertainment venues, leisure centre, swimming pool, sports court and pitches x Art, craft, gallery space, food and drink venues x Places of worship x Supermarkets x Emergency services stations/offices

Large Local (1.2 km catchment) x 5,000 – 10,000 people, 20 min walk x Secondary school; 8 form entry x GP, dentist, pharmacy, optometrist, day care centre etc x Playing fields, allotments, sports centre x Youth centre, community space x Local retail – pharmacy, grocers, butchers, baker, florist

Local Centre (600m catchment) x 0 – 5,000 people, 5 min walk x Primary school; 2 form entry x Local shop, post office, pub x Place of worship x Local play area x Community space

In undertaking the land suitability assessment certain assumptions have been made with regard to the future highway provision, public transport provision and provision for cyclists and pedestrians. In terms of future highway and public transport provision the schemes assumed are based upon those identified in the Local Transport Plan and in the Paper taken to Northamptonshire County Council Cabinet on 8 January 2007. Elements of this paper are included within this report as Appendix C. The full report and the Local Transport Plan are available on the County Councils Web Site: www.Northamptonshire.gov.uk.

Many elements of the future public transport, cycling and walking provision are less well developed and the comments within this report are based upon our knowledge, as a consultant, of how the County Council is approaching these modes. In most respects the developments will be of a large enough scope that any currently planned measures will be superseded by the infrastructure introduced as part of the development.

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A GIS tool was used to analyse the above constraints and opportunities, creating a composite raster dataset that could be visually interpreted and quantified (Figure 7.4). As shown in Table 7.5, the study team assigned weightings to assessment criteria according to the severity of constraint and degree of development opportunity. Each sector was evaluated against every criterion to yield a total score for each sector. The higher the score achieved the less desirable the sector was considered for development (based on a score range of 1 – 3, 1 being the most desirable and 3 the least). For example, if a sector was not within the catchment of the town centre, it would receive a score of ‘3’, representing the worst score possible for that criterion. This scoring was given because it was reasoned that the most sustainable forms of development would be within the town centre’s catchment. Likewise, it was considered that if the sector was not within the catchment of a local centre (i.e. was in the catchment of a larger centre in terms of hierarchy), it would be most advantageous to develop there, and therefore the sector would receive a score of ‘1’. The resulting scores were used to form one level of quantitative analysis to determine the relative development suitability of the sectors.

Table 7.5 Criterion Assumption Weighting Score If BAP habitats are present within the sector 2 If significant woodland and nature conservation areas are located within or near the 1 sector If mineral extraction areas are present within the sector 2 If the sector adjoins a waterway 1 If historic buildings / archaeological sites are located within the sector 2 If development could occur too close to a village 1 If good quality agricultural land is present within the sector 2 If the sector is not within the catchment of the town centre 3 If the sector is not within the catchment of a large local centre 2 If the sector is not within the catchment of a local centre 1 If the sector does not adjoin or is not close to an existing or proposed large employment 2 area If the sector is not near an existing railway route with the potential for a new station 2 If the sector is near junction hot spots 3 If the sector is not near proposed highway and/or public transport improvements 3 If the sector is not near any existing or planned cycleway networks 2 If the sector is not near existing or potential water infrastructure facilities 3 If electricity power lines are present within the sector 2 If landfill sites are present within the sector 1 If the sector is not near any proposed new developments 3

There are several issues with conducting an appraisal of development potential of land in this way. The main obstacle is the lack of detailed site information to undertake a detailed assessment of the issues within the scope of the study. For example, the lack of information regarding archaeology is considered to be a limitation to this assessment. Likewise, for some categories both positive and negative results could be drawn out, thereby skewing the results. While proximity to waterways was scored as a constraint due to being related to biodiversity and potential flooding issues, for example, it could be considered as a positive factor in taking account of the community’s vision for an aesthetic setting for development / recreational pursuits. Similarly, the proximity of sectors to existing villages was scored negatively due to wanting to avoid coalescence. However, villages contain important social infrastructure and so it could be considered as a positive factor. Another issue is understanding the long-term potential of mineral extraction areas. Although planning policy points to safeguarding these sites, in some locations the opportunity may exist to re-evaluate their use for mineral extraction. Given

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these issues of limitation, it was therefore evident that further qualitative assessment was needed to ensure the results were appropriate to Northampton’s context.

Part 2 – Qualitative Assessment

As the output of Part 1 was limited in providing a robust indication of how suitable greenfield land may be in growing Northampton, a qualitative assessment was undertaken to validate the results using a combination of desktop and field surveying. A qualitative assessment was also needed to draw the quantitative results together in a more holistic fashion instead of identifying a patchwork of possible land sectors around the existing urban area.

This assessment took account of issues such as the character of landscape and built form, potential for the re-use of mineral extraction areas, and infrastructure delivery issues.

Landscape character A qualitative assessment was undertaken of each sector with respect of landscape character. This comprised analysis of topography, site visibility, noise, views/vistas and notable landscape features. Visual site surveys helped the study team refine results yielded from GIS research by placing areas in context, such as by uncovering any obstacles and/or unforeseen advantages to development. For example, the advantages of high topography as potential attractive vantage points for development.

Proximity to major transportation networks, while considered a positive attribute in other desk-based work, might be construed negatively for generating noise and for their visual blight during these surveys. Other characteristics such as quality of green space and natural areas were assessed as well. These and other sometimes conflicting attributes were judged in conjunction with GIS data to help yield a reasoned rationale for eventual sector scoring.

Built form character Existing built form within the sectors was analysed based on heritage value and proximity to other settlements. A primary concern was assessing the risk of coalescence between existing villages and the Northampton urban area. While it was generally thought undesirable to subsume settlements into the larger conurbation, thereby risking the loss of settlement identity, the qualitative aspect of this field work yielded varying characters amongst the villages. Those villages which contained conservation zones or otherwise a large percentage of high-quality historic buildings were considered to be quite sensitive to development and there would therefore be a need for a buffer to be placed around the settlements to help preserve their character. Some settlements contained a significant proportion of new buildings, however, which were thought to dilute the unique quality of the villages. Where new development had already substantially encroached on villages, it was determined that coalescence – though remaining generally undesirable - would be less detrimental to settlement character. Relatively new built form found in some villages, in

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other words, would fit more comfortably alongside potential new build developments.

Mineral extraction areas Though mineral extraction areas were considered constraints to development due to national and regional planning guidelines which advocate their safeguarding, Northamptonshire County Council, as a Mineral Planning Authority (‘the MPA’), recognises that while it is necessary for the area to continue contributing minerals, it is equally crucial to protect Northampton’s natural environment in the Northamptonshire Minerals Local Plan (May 2006). The Nene Valley, in particular, has traditionally been a source for sand and gravel, and the effects of long-time use are now evident. The MPA, therefore, states that it is reasonable to reduce mineral extraction and consumption in favour of more efficient use of alternative materials. While some new mineral extraction areas are being proposed, the long term use of other mineral extraction areas for their traditional use can be questioned. Further guidance should be sought on this matter when the Minerals and Waste Development Framework (MWDF) is published (due for adoption in March 2007, which will replace the Minerals Local Plan).

Deliverability issues Sectors were also assessed based on the likelihood that development could be delivered on site. The presence of major roadways and trains in close proximity was thought to decrease the probability that the site would be desirable to build upon. Likewise, it was believed that severance created by infrastructure such as highways, overhead power lines and railway tracks substantially decreased the likelihood of delivery due to costs associated with bridging or buffering. For similar reasons, major watercourses were considered natural barriers, and therefore determined that development would be less likely to occur within close range. Buffers, therefore, were essentially created around such elements when determining suitability of developable land.

Part 3 – Determining the Potential Developability

Drawing together the results of Part 2, sectors were subsequently categorised according to whether they had low, medium or high potential for development. The following definitions were applied:

High potential for development – there is significant potential for development in this location due to its proximity to existing or planned physical and/or social infrastructure and because of there being minimal environmental constraints to overcome. Development could fit in with the existing character of landscape and built form.

Medium potential for development – there is moderate potential for development in this location. While some environmental constraints are present they could be overcome and because they adjoin areas with significant potential they should be considered from a holistic development perspective.

Low potential for development – development in this location should be severely limited due to the high degree of environmental constraints present including the potential for coalescence with existing villages and impacting on the landscape character of the area due to topography. There are also issues associated with the high cost of delivering new infrastructure.

7.3 RESULTS

The results of land suitability assessment are shown in Figure 7.5. A summary of the results for each category of developability is described below taking account of the constraints and opportunities drawn from the sustainability led criteria. From these results, potential options for growth can be derived.

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Figure 7.5 Land Suitability Assessment

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7.3.1 High potential for development

The following sectors are considered to have high potential for development:

Sector 1

Constraints relating to: x Good quality agricultural land x Woodland x Mineral extraction x Landfill x Conservation Area (coalescence with Great Houghton) x Adjoining floodplain x Close to congestion hotspots

Opportunities relating to: x Potential for Brackmills Wood to contribute towards quality open space x Expansion of Brackmills, Rushmills and Northampton Business Park x Within catchment of Hardingstone and Great Houghton x Proposed road and public transport improvements along A45 x Close to existing cycleway network x Close to existing railway

This sector was considered to be quite developable due to it adjoining the large employment area at Brackmills with the opportunity to capitalise on the aesthetic setting of Brackmills Wood. It was recognised that constraints exist within the sector and so these areas would need to be sensitively designed and opportunities made for designating some parts as passive open space.

Sector 14 (parts A and B)

Constraints relating to: x Area of acknowledged archaeological value (14A) x BAP sites located (14B) x Close to congestion hot spots x County and local wildlife sites x Within River Valley policy area (as defined by Northampton Borough Local Plan 1996)

Opportunities relating to: x Proximity to Kings Heath, Harlestone Rd and Lodge Farm employment areas. x Within the catchment of Northampton Town Centre, the large local centres of Duston and Kingsthorpe, and local centres of New Duston and Kings Heath. x Close to existing cycleway network. x Close to existing railway. x Local Plan Policy H1 indicates that major residential development should be directed to Kings Heath.

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The proximity of this sector to the centre of Northampton; other existing employment areas and existing infrastructure provide the basis for high developability. Sector 14a is currently the subject of a planning application. This application gives Sector 14a the name, ‘Dallington Grange’.

Sector 19 (parts B and C)

Constraints relating to: x Good quality agricultural land (19B) x Adjoins floodplain x Landfill x Site of acknowledged archaeological value x Conservation Area (Kislingbury) x County wildlife sites x Close to congestion hotspots

Opportunities relating to: x Proximity to Swan Valley x Encompassing Pineham Employment Area with potential for expansion (19C) x Within catchment of Kislingbury local centre x Close to potential new water infrastructure /sewage facility x Close to planned road improvements x Close to existing cycleway network x Close to development underway within the South West District x Includes sites proposed as primarily residential by Northampton Borough Council

Part of the sector is located within or in close proximity to the proposed development area of the South West District. Proximity to the planned Cross-Valley Link Road and the M1, with existing employment areas, makes parts B and C highly developable.

7.3.2 Medium potential for development

The following sectors are considered to have medium potential for development:

Sector 2 (parts A, B, C, D and E)

Constraints relating to: x BAP sites located in or adjacent (2E) x Woodland (all) x Adjoining floodplain (all) x Close to village (coalescence) (all) x Not within catchment of town centre or local centres (all) x Close to existing railway (2B & E) x Close to congestion hot spots (all) & not close to any improvements

Opportunities relating to: x Close to large employment areas (2B & E) x Close to cycle network (all)

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x Close to sewerage / water facilities (all)

Though Sector 2 is located within the Northampton urban area, between two employment areas (Swan Valley and Brackmills) and parts are in proximity to existing development (e.g. Shelfleys), it is somewhat prevented from adjoining existing and potential future development due to severance and noise caused by major roadways (M1, the A508 London Road) and railway tracks, though the north of the sector is relatively unconstrained. The north, however, is located next to the flood plain, which could have positive development attributes (e.g. proximity to a natural habitat). The Counties Crematorium is located within Sector 2C as well.

Sector 4

Constraints relating to: x Sensitive landscape x Adjoins floodplain x Woodland x Close to congestion hotspots x Landfill site x Historic buildings

Opportunities relating to: x Within catchment of Roade village centre x Within catchment of Blisworth village centre x Within catchment of Milton Malsor village centre x Near railway line and potential parkway station x Proposed road improvements

The high heritage and natural quality of Milton Malsor, located in the north of the sector, is considered the primary reason for lower developability here. The presence of railway tracks (due to noise and severance issues with potential adjoining land) further discourages potential development.

Sector 6

Constraints relating to: x Conservation area (Courteenhall) x Mineral extraction x Near floodplain x Close to congestion hotspots

Opportunities relating to: x Within catchment of Roade village centre x Proximity to Grange Park (although separated by the M1) x Near railway line and possible parkway station x Proposed road improvements x Close to existing cycleway network

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Comprised largely of agricultural land, this sector scores lower for potential developability due to severances caused by the M1 to the north and east and railway tracks to the north and west. If these obstacles could be overcome, however (e.g. through bridging the highway or buffering the railway tracks), it has advantages such as proximity to Grange Park and the Northampton urban area in the north and west. Conservation areas at Milton Malsor and Collingtree should be safeguarded, however.

Sector 7

Constraints relating to: x Landscape character x Large areas of BAP habitats x Adjoins SSSI x County wildlife sites x Potential presence of Roman ruins x Close to congestion hotspots

Opportunities relating to: x Within catchment of Roade village centre x Close to existing cycleway network x Contains existing new development at Grange Park x Potential new railway station on Northants Loop south of M1

Picturesque villages and rural farms dot the largely agricultural land in Sector 7. Significant areas of County Wildlife Sites and Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) comprise the southern half of the sector. In the north, several small conservation areas risk coalescence if significant development were to occur. Development would be most feasible adjoining Grange Park.

Sector 8

Constraints relating to: x Contains good quality agricultural land x Mineral extraction area x Close to floodplain x Close to village (possible coalescence issues with Brafield on the Green and Denton) x Not close to any large employment areas x Not within catchment of town centre or large local centre x Not close to existing railway x Not close to sewerage / water facilities x Not close to any proposed new developments

Opportunities relating to: x Close to a local centre x Not near congestion hot spots x Close to proposed highway improvements & cycling network x Not constrained by powerlines / landfill

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The agricultural nature of this sector and remoteness from the urban area makes its development potential less desirable, although the villages of Brafield on the Green and Denton (connected to the urban area by Bedford Road / A428) are of mixed quality and could feasibly be expanded. Development at nearby Brackmills (as in Sector 1) would be preferable as it has good transport connections and would be contiguous with the urban area.

Sector 11

Constraints relating to: x Sensitive landscape x Woodland x Good quality agricultural land x Adjoins floodplain to the south x Conservation area x Scheduled ancient monuments x Close to congestion hotspots x Landfill site

Opportunities relating to: x Close to existing business areas x Within catchment of Ecton Brook and Ecton local centres x Close to proposed highway improvements & cycling network x Close to existing sewage works

Sector 11 is comprised mostly of relatively flat greenfield land. Although existing development currently ceases where the statutory boundary of Wellingborough begins, opportunity exists to extend development east. However, development potential is limited due to the conservation area at Ecton, located in the middle of the sector, and County Wildlife Sites which adjoin the village and comprise the southernmost points of the sector. Trends towards coalescence with Wellingborough should be avoided as well.

Sector 12 (parts A and B)

Constraints relating to: x Good quality agricultural land x County wildlife sites (part A)

Opportunities relating to: x Proximity to Round Spinney Employment Area x Within catchment of Moulton large local centre (part B) x Within catchment of Overstone local centre (part A) x Close to proposed highway improvements & cycling network

This sector is well-situated for development, being relatively free from obstructions and adjacent to the urban area and close to local centres at Moulton and Overstone as well as the employment area of Round Spinney. Constraints relate to the high quality of land in the area for wildlife and agriculture. The opportunity for development may exist, however, despite these characteristics.

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Sector 13 (part A)

Constraints relating to: x Good quality agricultural land x Woodland x Historic buildings (Moulton Conservation Area) x Close to villages (coalescence issues) x Not close to railway x Not close to sewerage / water facilities x Not close to any new development

Opportunities relating to: x Close to employment area x Within catchment of large local centre x Not close to congestion hot spots x Close to highway improvements, cycle networks x No powerlines / landfill

Comprised largely of greenfield land, Sector 13A is bordered by the A43 to the east and housing and villages to the south and west. Proximity to local centres and Moulton Park employment area lend this sector to development opportunities by connecting new development to existing housing. Local nature reserves and the character of the village of Moulton (including the Moulton Conservation Area) should be preserved, however, and therefore represent constraints to development.

Sector 13 (parts B and C)

Constraints relating to: x Woodland x Mineral extraction x Close to floodplain x Historic buildings (Moulton Conservation Area in 13B, and Boughton Conservation Area in parts B and C) x Close to village (coalescence) x Not within catchment of town centre x Not close to railway x Close to congestion hot spots x Not close to proposed highway improvements or cycle networks x Not close to existing sewerage / water facilities x Adjoins landfill

Opportunities relating to: x Close to employment areas x Within catchment of large local centre & local centre x Close to proposed new development

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Like 13A, proximity to employment areas and local centres are positive attributes to development in these sectors. Additionally, proximity to new development at White Hills would be attractive to potential developers. Patches of quality wildlife areas, historic buildings at Boughton, proximity of a landfill and lack of nearby infrastructure limit this potential, however.

Sector 17

Constraints relating to: x County wildlife sites x Adjoins locally important landscape to the south x Adjoins floodplain to the south x Scheduled ancient monuments x Close to congestion hotspots x Sensitive landscape / historic character to the north and south (including Harlestone Conservation Area)

Opportunities relating to: x Within catchment of Harpole village centre x Near potential water infrastructure facilities x Proximity to the South West District x Close to road improvements

Located directly to the west of the urban area of Northampton, Sector 17 is bordered by Harpole and Weedon Road / A43 to the south and quality open space of Harlestone Heath to the north. These and other sensitive landscape features limit development potential to a degree; however, proximity to new development and major road networks are desirable attributes.

Sector 20 (parts A and B)

Constraints relating to: x Woodland (20B) x Mineral extraction (20A) x Close to floodplain (20A & B) x Notable historic buildings within sector (20A & B) x Close to village (coalescence) (20A & B) x Not close to large employment area (20A & B) x Not within catchment of town centre (20A & B) or existing local centre (20B) x Close to an existing railway (20A & B)

Opportunities relating to: x Within catchment of local centre (20A) x Not close to / have impact on congestion hot spots (20A & B) x Close to proposed highway improvements (20A & B) x Close to cycling network (20A & B) x Close to sewerage / water facilities (20A & B) x Close to proposed developments (20A & B)

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These sectors are restricted by the floodplain and Weedon Road / A43 and the M1, with fairly high visibility from major roadways. Kislingbury, a village containing a mixture of quality historic and modern buildings, is located between the two sectors. Though this greenfield land is close to the River Nene and major transport junctions, the confined area of these sectors and sometimes sensitive nature of the landscape does not allow for development opportunities of significant scale.

Sector 21

Constraints relating to: x Historic buildings (Harpole) x Remoteness from employment areas x Not within catchment of existing centres x Close to congestion hot spots x Not near sewerage facilities

Opportunities relating to: x Proximity to M1 / A43 x Absence of major wildlife / conservation sites / mineral extraction areas x Close to highway improvements

The remoteness of this sector from infrastructure and existing built areas, in addition to the possibility of development exacerbating existing traffic problems in the area, makes it less desirable for development. However, the proximity to existing built areas is a positive attribute for further development.

Sector 22

Constraints relating to: x Sensitive landscape x Mineral extraction x Adjoins floodplain x Conservation area (Bugbrooke) x Close to congestion hotspots x Landfill

Opportunities relating to: x Close to existing cycleway network x Close to proposed business development at Pineham Extensions to Bugbrooke (a village composed of approximately equal historic and new housing) into large swathes of greenfield land is plausible. A nearby school, access to the road network and trains are positive attributes. The primary constraint to development, however, is the severance to the sector caused by the M1, which forms its northern border.

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7.3.3 Low potential for development

The following sectors are considered to have low potential for development:

Sector 2 (parts C and D)

Constraints relating to: x Woodland x Near floodplain x Close to village (coalescence) x Not close to employment areas x Not within catchment of town centre or any local centres x Not close to railway x Close to congestion hot spots x Not close to sewerage / water facilities x No new development proposed nearby

Opportunities relating to: x Close to highway improvements, cycle networks x Not near power lines / landfills

The Counties Crematorium is located within this area and occupies a significant amount of land. In addition to the constraints listed above, the topography in this sector is hilly.

Sector 3 (parts A, B, C and D)

Constraints relating to: x Good quality agricultural land (3A) x Mineral extraction x Close to congestion hotspots x Landfill (3A & B) x Conservation Areas (Milton Malsor and Rothersthorpe)

Opportunities relating to: x Potential parkway station x Proposed road improvements x Near Swan Valley and Milton Ham business area (3A) x Within catchment Milton Malsor and Rothersthorpe village centres

Although comprised largely of greenfield land, this sector is considered to be less developable due to the significant ‘no-go’ areas scattered throughout the area, relating to historic settlements, mineral extraction areas, landfill and proximity to railway tracks / major roads (e.g. the M1 forms the northern boundary for the sector). Infill development would most likely have to take on an irregular form to avoid these problematic areas.

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Sector 5

Constraints relating to: x Good quality agricultural land x BAP sites x Woodland x Mineral extraction x Near floodplain x Historic buildings (at Blisworth) x Close to village (coalescence) x Not close to employment areas x Not close to sewerage / water facilities x Landfill adjoining site x Not close to any new proposed developments

Opportunities relating to: x Within catchment of village centres x Close to railway x Not near congestion hot spots, near highway improvements

The quality of the built form which anchors Sector 5 varies, from the historic settlement at Blisworth to lower quality modern development just adjacent to the east. Though the majority of the sector is comprised of gently rolling hills and agricultural land, and thus relatively free from development obstacles, the severance caused by the M1 and thus its apparent remoteness from the Northampton urban area makes it less desirable.

Sector 9 (parts A and B)

Constraints relating to: x Good quality agricultural land x Woodland x Mineral extraction x Contains BAP sites (part B) x Near flood plain (part B) x Historic buildings x Close to village (coalescence) x Not close to employment areas x Not within catchment of town centre or large local centre x Not close to railway x Close to congestion hot spots x Close to powerlines x Landfill x Not close to any proposed new development

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Opportunities relating to: x Close to employment area (part B) x Within local centre catchment x Close to highway improvements, cycle networks x Close to sewerage / water facilities x Not close to congestion hot spots (part B) x Close to new proposed developments

This sector is considered to be less developable due to the number of constraints and few opportunities. Sector 9A contains Brafield on the Green, a village anchored by a historic green though expanded and mostly overwhelmed with modern development, as well as Little Houghton, a significant Conservation Area. Development between these two villages would risk coalescence in particular. Sector 9B is characterised by steep topography which is already developed, thereby making potential development below particularly visible. Overhead powerlines divide these two sectors and sever potential areas of developability.

Sector 10 (parts A and B)

Constraints relating to: x Good quality agricultural land x Woodland x Mineral extraction (10B) x Adjacent to floodplain x Historic buildings x Close to village (coalescence) x Not close to employment areas x Not within catchment of town centre or large local centre x Not close to railway x Close to congestion hot spots (10B) x Close to powerlines / landfill site x Not close to proposed new development

Opportunities relating to: x Close to local centre x Close to proposed highway improvements, cycle networks (10B) x Close to sewerage / water facilities

Like Sector 9, Sectors 10A and 10B are characterised by hilly and sometimes steep topography, providing excellent views but also high visibility for potential new development. Several historic buildings are located within the sectors and are visible due to the hilly nature of the area. Because of these and the other numerous constraints listed above, these sectors are likewise considered to be less developable.

Sector 15

Constraints relating to: x Good quality agricultural land

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x BAP sites x Woodland x Near floodplain x Historic buildings x Close to village (coalescence) x Not close to employment areas x Not within catchment of town centre or large local centre x Not close to railway x Not close to highway improvements x Not close to sewerage / water facilities

Opportunities relating to: x Within catchment of local centre x Not near congestion hot spots x Near proposed developments

This sector is considered to be less developable due to the number of constraints and few opportunities. In particular, the sensitive quality of the landscape and potential for coalescence between Chapel Brampton and Church Brampton are concerns. Flood zones, which form the south-eastern and south- western borders of the sector, also hinder it from adjoining existing developed areas.

Sector 16

Constraints relating to: x Good quality agricultural land x Landscape character x BAP sites x Woodland x Near floodplain x Historic buildings (Chapel Brampton Conservation Area) x Close to village (coalescence) x Not close to employment areas x Not within catchment of town centre or large local centre x Not close to railway x Not close to sewerage / water facilities x Not close to proposed new development

Opportunities relating to: x Within catchment of local centre x Not close to congestion hot spots x Close to highway improvements x Close to existing cycling networks

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This sector is considered to be less developable due to the number of constraints and few opportunities. Its lack of infrastructure, relative remote nature and sensitive landscape characteristics give the sector a low score.

Sector 18

Constraints relating to: x Good agricultural land x BAP sites x Woodland x Mineral extraction x Near floodplain x Near village (coalescence) x Not within catchment of town centre or large local centre x Not close to railway x Not close to sewerage / water facilities x Adjacent to landfill

Opportunities relating to: x Close to employment areas x Within catchment of local centre x Not close to congestion hot spots; near highway improvements x Near proposed new developments

The sensitive nature of the landscape in Sector 18, as well as its remoteness from the urban area of Northampton, makes it less developable. Possible coalescence of villages is significant, and the proximity to Harlestone Conservation Area is also a limiting factor.

Sector 19 (part D)

Constraints relating to: x BAP habitats x Proximity to floodplain x Close to congestion hotspots x Not within the catchment of any existing local centres or Northampton’s town centre

Opportunities relating to: x Adjoins proposed primarily residential area at Swan Valley x Proposed road and public transport improvements x Close to existing cycleway network

Because the sector is completely covered by a floodplain grazing marsh (identified as BAP) it was considered to be inappropriate for development.

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Sector 23

Constraints relating to: x Good quality agricultural land x Landscape character x Distance from the existing Northampton urban area x SSSI x Conservation area (Gayton) x Potential traffic congestion within the sector

Opportunities relating to: x Within catchment of existing village centre

The distance of this sector from the existing urban area of Northampton, separated by the railway line makes it less desirable for development. In landscape terms the sector seems quite isolated.

Sector 24 (parts A, B and C)

Constraints relating to: x Good quality agricultural land (parts B & C) x Proximity to SSSI x Woodland x County wildlife sites x Mineral extraction (parts A & B) x Adjoins floodplain x Conservation area (part A) x Close to congestion hotspots x Powerlines x Landfill (part B)

Opportunities relating to: x Within the catchment of a large local centre (Moulton) x Within catchment of local centres (Pitsford and Overstone) x Close to existing cycleway network (part A) x No proposed development opportunities within close proximity to the sector

This sector is considered to be less developable due to the amount of significant constraints and few opportunities. Proximity to Moulton is considered a benefit, but the sector itself appears separated from the existing Northampton urban area.

7.4 IMPLICATIONS FOR THE GROWTH OPTIONS

The sector analysis above gives an overview of the suitability for development on greenfield land surrounding the Northampton urban area. Quantitative analysis was performed through desk-based research (using GIS technology) by applying a set of criteria relating to ecological, heritage and landscape protection and enhancement to assess potential for development. Transport initiatives, economic goals, community vision and potential deliverability were considered in parallel as well.

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Fieldwork allowed team members to place these findings in context through overlaying results collected through visual surveys.

It should be noted, however, that the time and resource limitations of this study necessitate that only a high-level analysis of potential developability of greenfield land be carried out. Sectors, therefore, were established to facilitate the high-level assessment and thus covered somewhat large areas. The scale of the sectors, while sufficient to satisfy the aims of this study, would not be appropriate for more fine- grained assessments of development suitability. The sector analysis and subsequent growth options, therefore, should be seen as only a first step to identifying broad locations of development. Any subsequent allocations or planning applications work would need to carry out more site specific assessments.

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8. Potential Options for Growth

8.1 INTRODUCTION

Having considered the issues relating to the development of a long-term vision for Northampton; the sustainable planning and design principles to underpin growth; the sectoral analysis, and the consultation feedback in response to the thematic scenarios, the study team were in a suitable position to establish potential growth options.

As indicated in Section 2, based on the land budget requirements, the methodology for preparing the options draws together the outcomes of the land suitability analysis and the spatial components of delivering sustainable development and best practice planning and urban design principles in an ideal world (represented as ‘thematic scenarios’). There are two other vital factors that should have a bearing on determining the future directions for growth: appreciating the implementation requirements (as described in Section 9) and gaining community and stakeholder feedback (which will occur as the Joint Core Strategy Issues and Options Consultation).

In assembling the options, the study team were drawn to the areas considered most developable from a land suitability perspective in the first instance. The outcomes of the thematic scenario analysis were subsequently overlaid. As discussed in paragraph 6.3, core elements emerged from discussion with technical stakeholders which should underpin the options. These core elements include the support for and intensification of the town, district and local centres; the need for further development of employment and learning clusters; maximising opportunities for green infrastructure, and taking account of any potential strategic transport and community infrastructure improvements. These elements are shown in Figures 8.1 through 8.4.

Hierarchy of Town Centres To improve the functionality and offer of Northampton, to provide a wider scope of services for an increased population, and to offer the opportunity for sustainable growth, all of the growth options include the ability to intensify the town centre core itself and develop and intensify other district and local centres. This intensification represents about 40% of the total land budget as outlined in Section 3. To create a balanced distribution of centre activity across the town, the study team felt that opportunities should be sought to expand and intensify mixed use development at the existing district centre of Weston Favell to the east and that a new district centre should be created in the vicinity of existing facilities at Sixfields. These major district centres would serve the east and western areas of the town, supported by newly developed or intensified local centres, and would be pertinent to new areas of population growth.

The study team considers that there may be significant opportunities to intensify the district centre of Weston Favell due to the existing range of retail and services available, current patterns of movement and demand within the area; potential scope for further multi-storey development and the availability of land for outward extension, and due to existing development interest within the area. However, it is also realised that this would require further investigation.

The precise location for a major district centre to the west of the town is less clear. Yet there is a fundamental need for a centre to be established to deliver a wider strategic function in light of the recent and forthcoming new developments in this area. This centre could become a vibrant activity focus for residents, businesses and service providers and it is understood that the PCT are actively seeking an

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appropriate location to service the South West District population. Thus, it will be important to think strategically about land opportunities in the area and to work together with community services agencies and other key stakeholders to determine market interest.

Intensification of Employment and Learning Hubs; the “University Arc” The opportunity for intensifying strategic employment nodes, whilst not detracting from the town centre, and producing more specialist business clusters, particularly for knowledge based industries, was also examined through the development of thematic scenarios. Some of the geographic options seek to capture the regenerative benefits associated with business clusters, where others apportion employment opportunities on a more equitable basis throughout a growth area.

In particular, the opportunities for linking research and skills strengths offered by the University and other learning nodes such as Moulton College and specialist secondary schools with new business clusters could be exploited, in the midst of a high quality urban environment including open space. This has led to the identification of areas of intensification for mixed use development, including general needs residential and student accommodation, running south from Moulton down towards the town centre with its regional transport links. The development of such a specialist arc, which is envisaged to have a distinct cultural, environmental and learning offer (an elongated varied “campus”), would be an important consideration in developing the identity and business offer of Northampton, and would be critical in capturing and retailing an improved regional skill base and aspirational offer for younger generations. In addition to the intensification of centres, the ‘University Arc’ model accounts for a small percentage of total land take and is considered a part of each option presented below.

All options seek to intensify existing strategic employment nodes such as Brackmills, and that uses in areas such as these intensify and change over time to more office based or research and development type uses.

EDAW PLC PLANNING, DESIGN AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT WORLDWIDE 98 | NORTHAMPTON LONGER TERM GROWTH OPTIONS STUDY Figure 8.1

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EDAW PLC PLANNING, DESIGN AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT WORLDWIDE 100 | NORTHAMPTON LONGER TERM GROWTH OPTIONS STUDY Figure 8.3

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8.2 UNDERSTANDING THE OPTIONS

Within the scope of the study, three options were drawn together. A further supplementary option was considered given the outcomes of the land suitability analysis – where all sectors of high and medium potential developability were explored. It was deemed a ‘supplementary option’ because it was considered not as sustainable as the other options.

As stated in earlier sections, all the growth options assume that urban capacity will be maximised prior to recourse to greenfield sites, in accordance with national planning policy. The other features of the different growth options have arisen from analysis of a combination of the more successful elements of the thematic scenarios, feedback from key stakeholder consultation, application of the findings of the sectoral analysis, and analysis of information in respect of deliverability.

The options are intended to initiate early debate about specific directions for growth prior to their being fully tested. It is likely that any public consultation exercise will identify further detailed local information on possible constraints, positive implications and further opportunities to modify the solutions. It is also possible that the preferred growth solution may be a composite of different elements offered within the four growth options.

For the sake of clarity, the diagrams presented are schematic and attempt to show the general directions for growth or intensification. Different tinted areas give a broad indication only of the hectares covered and must not be scrutinised for precise locations.

8.2.1 Option 1 – South-Eastern Extension Location

Option 1 considers growth to the south of Northampton, expanding and coalescing the existing settlements of Collingtree Park, Collingtree, Wootton and Grange Park either side of the A45 London Road. The proposal sees the development of a contiguous growth area with Northampton, which does not envisage development south of the M1.

Option characteristics

As stated above, this option also includes development and intensification of the University Arc. It also seeks to exploit the relationship between an existing strategic employment node at Brackmills, with its strategic transportation linkages, and the development of a new population nearby. It envisages an expanded and intensified Brackmills, where new higher density and higher skill employment uses will cluster and will be brought forward over time. Development recently brought forward at Grange Park will be continued and a new southerly local centre will be established to serve the new population. New communities will benefit from proximity to a possible new parkway station to the south; however, this is likely to continue the pattern of out commuting to the south and possibly detract from the local employment offer nearby.

The extensions in Option 1 represent about 60% of the entire land budget. As with each option, approximately 40% of the entire land budget is applied to intensification of centres and development of the employment area at University Arc. It is envisaged that the approximate apportionment of land for Option 1 would be as follows:

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Town Centre Intensification / University Arc 40% of land budget Option 1 60% of land budget OPTION 1 South-eastern Extension Brackmills Residential land All - Community land All - Retail land All - Leisure / Open Space land All - Office land 1/5 4/5 Industry / Warehouse land - All

8.2.2 Option 2 – South-Eastern & Western Extension Location

Option 2 considers growth to the south of Northampton, but confined to east of the A45, London Road. It similarly expands and coalesces Wootton and Grange Park to be contiguous with Northampton, and acknowledges the severance between settlements to the west caused by the A45 by limiting growth to the east. Growth is also proposed as being located on the western fringe of Northampton, extending development already being implemented and planned at the Southwest District to coalesce the settlement of Duston with Northampton.

Option characteristics

A similar relationship is established between growth to the south of Northampton in Option 2, with the existing employment node of Brackmills, which is expanded and intensified. A new local centre is also proposed to serve the needs of the new communities, but is proposed as a transitional zone between the new primarily residential areas and the employment node of Brackmills, in a more northerly location than as in Option 1. As with Option 1, new communities to the south would also be served by a potential new station, which may however aid out-commuting. Expansion to the west, would be mixed use in character, relating to the character of the new Southwest District, and would be served by a new district centre within a rationalised and intensified Sixfields area. The option also includes the establishment of the University Arc.

The extensions in Option 2 represent about 60% of the entire land budget. As with each option, approximately 40% of the entire land budget is applied to intensification of centres and development of the employment area at University Arc. It is envisaged that the approximate apportionment of land for Option 2 would be as follows:

Town Centre Intensification / University Arc 40% of land budget Option 2 60% of land budget OPTION 2 Southern Extension Western Extension Brackmills Residential land 2/3 1/3 - Community land 2/3 1/3 - Retail land 2/3 1/3 - Leisure / Open Space land 2/3 1/3 - Office land Marginal amount Marginal amount 2/3 Industry / Warehouse land - - All

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8.2.3 Option 3 – North Eastern Extension Location

Option 3 largely considers extending the northeast quarter of Northampton between the A5199 Welford Road and the A45 Nene Valley Way. It considers expansion in and around the areas of White Hills, Moulton, Moulton ParkIand, Round Spinney Industrial area, Overstone Lodge, Rectory Farm and Ecton Brook. This option also includes the establishment of the University Arc, but seeks to intensify further by the inclusion of considerable industrial and commercial floorspace by intensifying and expanding existing employment areas. This scenario does not anticipate intensification at Brackmills, focussing growth and development to the north and east of Northampton.

Option characteristics

This option has strong links to the potential offered by the University Arc for learning and employment clusters, and intensification of northerly industrial estates. It also offers major potential for developing a quality environment and providing strategic open space, and offering quality residential uses to the north of the town. It is arguably the option which will intensify the character and sustainable employment offer for Northampton the most, being less likely to appeal to out-commuters and through proximity to the University Arc, offering the potential to link new residential areas to a higher skills base. However, by focussing industrial and commercial development to the north, this may raise environmental and highway capacity issues, questions about commercial viability and impact on the potential markets for Wellingborough and Kettering.

The extensions in Option 3 represent about 60% of the entire land budget. As with each option, approximately 40% of the entire land budget is applied to intensification of centres and development of the employment area at University Arc. It is envisaged that the approximate apportionment of land for Option 3 would be as follows:

Town Centre Intensification / University Arc 40% of land budget Option 3 60% of land budget OPTION 3 North-eastern Extension Intensified University Arc Residential land 4/5 1/5 Community land All - Retail land All - Leisure / Open Space land All - Office land 1/3 2/3 Industry / Warehouse land 1/3 2/3

8.2.4 Supplementary Option 4 – Southern / South of M1 Extension Location

Supplementary Option 4 - Southern / South of M1 Extension considers expansion of Northampton south of the town, coalescing Collingtree Park and Collingtree to the west of the A45 London Road. Additionally, it envisages further expansion south of these settlements and south of the M1 and Milton Malsor, to the A45 and the intersection with the railway line.

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Option characteristics

This expansion would require the ability to cross the M1 readily to access Northampton, either by a bridging solution or junction modification, and the establishment of a new station on the Northampton rail loop. As with Options 1 and 2, proximity to these strategic road and rail connections, and being locationally based on to the south of Northampton, may lend focus toward London and Milton Keynes, increasing out commuting. It is envisaged that development in this option would be mixed use, with employment and service uses focussed within a new district centre.

It should be noted that this option was not supported by key technical stakeholders when considering the thematic scenarios. It is however, an area where there has been some developer interest, and therefore may be deliverable. This option will require further testing and evaluation, in order to understand its implications fully, but it may be worthy of inclusion in the Joint Core Strategy consultation process in order to gauge a public and a private response.

The extensions in Option 4 represent about 60% of the entire land budget. As with each option, approximately 40% of the entire land budget is applied to intensification of centres and development of the employment area at University Arc. It is envisaged that the approximate apportionment of land for Option 4 would be as follows:

Town Centre Intensification / University Arc 40% of land budget 60% of land budget SUPPLEMENTARY OPTION 4 Southern Extension South of the M1 Brackmills Residential land 2/3 1/3 - Community land 2/3 1/3 - Retail land 1/3 2/3 - Leisure / Open Space land 2/3 1/3 - Office land 1/4 1/2 1/4 Industry / Warehouse land - 2/3 1/3

8.3 EVALUATION OF THE OPTIONS 8.3.1 Achieving the Vision - Introduction

Section 4 explored the components of a long term spatial vision. While there is no agreed long term spatial vision for the Northampton Implementation Area (NIA), Section 4 summarised the main components of the relevant visions and strategies that could guide the future growth of the town. This policy review provided the study team with an appreciation of the key values and aspirations of the local communities and how they can be spatially interpreted. Briefly, the four options have been evaluated in the light of the summary presented in Section 4 as discussed below. Some key components of growth which feature in all or most options are also evaluated in terms of their contribution to sustainable growth:

University Arc

The intention is for this to provide a focus for knowledge based, high technology led investment in Northampton. This is likely to be an office led mixed-use development that will also include residential development. The development of an Arc to the north of the town linking the town centre with the

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University and the village of Moulton is visionary and is dependent on gaining the necessary ‘political buy-in’ and a will to be taken forward.

The development of an Arc such as this could become a focus for investment and would likely raise the profile of Northampton as a location for knowledge based development. The feasibility of developing a specialist business park linked to the University would need to be considered. Such developments are often attractive for both ‘spin out’ companies originating from the University and new business ‘start ups’ as such facilities offer the benefits of ongoing collaboration opportunities with academics at the University and/ or links into industry through the University. Such developments would be critical in developing an ongoing skills uplift in Northampton, recruiting and retaining graduates, increasing the range and number of jobs, increasing the offer of and variety in the town centre, and encouraging future generations to invest and stay in Northampton. In particular, the Arc would assist in defining a future for Northampton that enhances its local identity, increases its regional profile and improves its offering, thereby capturing and retaining investment and spend within the town centre, district and local centres.

Brackmills and Other Areas of Employment Intensification The expansion and intensification of areas which are already key employment nodes is also an important component in delivering a sustainable future for Northampton. Delivering a key proportion of the employment floorspace required to support growth in these areas will be important not only for achieving job numbers and greater job density, but also in achieving economic restructuring in the sub- region and an increasing move away from existing logistics and manufacturing to more office based activity.

Intensification and Development of Town Centre, Urban Capacity It is important however that employment intensification at certain outlying hubs complements similar intensification of the town centre, district and local centres. In this way, nodal activity centres will continue to be successful, providing a range of services, employment and transport interchanges necessary to support sustainable communities. All the options offer the development of activity centres which will perform a function of a focal point for community and leisure services, retail and employment space and access to transport. Additionally, all the options envisage intensification of the urban area to increase the vibrancy and liveability of the urban area and a choice of lifestyles.

8.3.2 Evaluation of Option 1 – South-Eastern Extension (Figure 8.6) Achieving the Vision

By allowing planned development contiguous with Northampton, and the creation of a new local centre, it is possible to create a sustainable urban extension in this location. It is possible to create new settlement areas which adhere to a high standard of urban design and build upon recent development in the area at Grange Park. However, although urban design solutions can be introduced to reduce the degree of severance created west-east by the A45 London Road, it is difficult to envisage that this can be completely successfully addressed and a sense of place established throughout. It is also possible to create the necessary employment opportunities by intensifying Brackmills nearby and offering additional job opportunities in existing and new town centres and the University Arc. However, the southerly location of this urban extension and its proximity to strategic road and potential rail links will increase the likelihood of out-commuting, making it less robust as a solution.

Addressing land suitability

The land suitability work (as described in Section 7) indicates that the majority of this land (sectors 1, 2a and part of 7) is suitable for development. The location of the M1 and other major roads and railway tracks would create the western and southern boundaries of the south-eastern extension. However, the potential for new and intensified growth is substantial east of the A45 London Road where constraints are limited. Opportunities exist to capitalise on natural attributes in this area (such as Brackmills Wood)

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as well; thereby providing an ideal setting for development. Development in this location may also be preferable due to the close proximity of the Northampton urban core and compatible residential uses at Collingtree Park, Collingtree, Wootton and Grange Park. The potential to intensify Brackmills employment area, thereby introducing greater opportunities for the local population to work close to home, was also considered a positive attribute which could help foster sustainable development. As with all options, an environmental impact assessment would be required in carrying this option through to the masterplanning and design stage, however.

Transport implications

Most of the options have features in common such as the University Arc and town centre intensification. The common features are discussed first and then each option is discussed individually.

University Arc

The concept of the University Arc builds very much on existing land use patterns and also already includes a substantial element of residential development. In transport terms the concept of zoning radial movements is not new but its application in this way has some exciting possibilities. In particularly, the way public transport can be branded to serve a themed zone and the potential for linking some of the existing residential roads to form a bus only / green route through the centre of the zone where there are not currently any radial movements. Bus gates and improving pedestrian permeability through a walking corridor to create independent routes will be key. This is likely to appeal to the potential user group of an educationally based area.

Town Centre

Managing traffic movements round the town centre and particularly on the inner ring road will be a major challenge given the projected increase in town centre housing and particularly the increased number of jobs. Whilst introducing more mixed development will reduce the number of trips generated out side the town centre, it must be recognised that there will still be a substantial increase in demand for travel.

There is not the scope to substantially increase the capacity of the central urban road network and there is also a strong desire not to have the town centre isolated by the inner ring road, but to introduce a substantial amount of pedestrian permeability. This will require innovative management through the use of parking controls and by introducing more constraints on trips made across town through the centre. Again public transport will feature very highly and to a large extent will be a continuation of the approach to managing the radial routes.

To enable the town to evolve there will need to be far-reaching changes in the way people perceive and use public transport. A bus based system has the flexibility to evolve along with the town so if public transport is needed then it will be provided. Road user charging is becoming increasingly likely and will be a major factor in influencing behaviour or achieve modal shift. The only issue of significance is that the development furthest from the centre is likely to be less attractive for public transport trips because of the increased journey times.

If a substantial proportion of the trips generated are car based then the resulting congestion on identified radial routes is likely to be detrimental to the development of the town centre. The challenge will be centred on firstly reducing the need to travel and then providing an environment that makes using public transport an acceptable alternative. The features used to manage these radials will need to be reproduced on all the town centre radials to manage the future congestion and to link with the different development options identified below.

In addition to the common features highlighted above Option 1 centres on a new growth area to the south of the town either side of the A45, north of the M1 junction 15.

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The main feature of this option in transport terms is the direct access to the trunk road network, A45 and M1, both of which suffer a degree of peak hour congestion. It is possible that trips to and from this site will focus as much out side Northampton, particularly toward Milton Keynes, as to the town centre. This will tend to act against the sustainable transport aims of pushing a substantial number of trips toward public transport and it is also likely to raise a conflict with the Highways Agency as they have a specific remit to protect strategic national movements.

Conversely the site offers a relatively compact area that, when combined with the existing residential development in the area, could provide a good population base for a high quality direct bus service to the town centre. The A508 has some potential for bus priority and the direct distances are relatively short. There have been proposals for Park and Ride sites in this area and Option 1 would support this initiative and combined with the proposal above, would add to the justification for bus priority measures.

There is also the potential of a direct link to a parkway type rail station should it be promoted on the Northampton loop south of the town. This would make development in this area quite attractive for people wanting to commute by train to London, without having to get to the town centre railway station.

There is also a high level of synergy between this proposal and the existing developments, both housing and employment at Brackmills which will help to minimise the trips generated out side the area to the south of the town.

Delivery issues

If permitted, residential led growth in this area is likely to come forward in an early phase of development due to the fact that a large proportion of the area is already in freehold ownership (to the east) or has options on it (to the west) from residential developers. In taking forward their interest in the land, developers may have already started to undertake the preliminary statutory searches and survey work which will be used to inform future planning applications for the land and may even have started to develop indicative schemes. Therefore, as a result such identified land in freehold ownership could be seen as an ‘early win’ in the first phases of development, and could therefore be viewed as perhaps the most immediately deliverable of the identified options. One caveat in respect of development to the west of Grange Park, and the establishment of any new local centre facilities is that it may be affected by the presence of land fill. This means that the provision of local centre facilities in this location may be a long term solution, and will be more complex and costly to implement. Local centre provision may alternatively be established, north of Wootton, as cited in Option 2.

Similarly the land to the west has been optioned by developers, and could provide a second phase of residential growth in this area. It is likely here, as above, that developers may have already started to undertake the preliminary statutory searches and survey work for the land and may even have started to develop indicative schemes.

Employment led growth in this area associated with the Brackmills area could also come forward in an early phase of development due to the fact that a large proportion of the land to the south is already in freehold ownership from developers. The delivery of land in the University Arc is likely to be a later phase of development as suitable sites within this Arc falling within the urban area would need to be identified and feasibility studies undertaken prior to any development proposals being brought forward. This work is outside the remit of this current study and so would need to be based on future work that identifies suitable, deliverable locations in close proximity to existing University, knowledge and learning campuses to facilitate the proposed development.

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Market View

The study team also canvassed the views of professionals working in and alongside the construction industry, and the following “market view” needs to be taken into consideration: x A number of developers in one location could lead to competition between developers, which is likely to impact on sales. It is to be expected a maximum of 4/5 developers in one location. Developers are reluctant to have too many sales outlets due to competition and are therefore less inclined to cluster; x Most new build over the last 20 years in Northampton has been to the west/ south/ south west as a result land and property values in these areas are higher e.g. a traditional housing site would achieve land values of approximately £2.5m per ha (£1-1.1m per acre); x This option offers two locations in popular areas (Wootton and Grange Park largely built out); x The possible new station to the south would help the marketability of this option; and x There will need to be a ‘landscape buffer’ between the expanded employment areas here and the proposed residential led growth in the South including Collingtree, Wootton and Grange Park to ensure that both employment and residential development can be delivered in close proximity.

OPTION 1 – South-Eastern Extension Summary Growth south of Northampton; coalesces Collingtree, Collingtree Park, Wootton, Grange Park with Northampton west and east of A45. Intensification of Brackmills, town centre intensification; new centre adjacent to Grange Park; provision of University Arc; possible new Parkway station to south of Northampton Land Budget Approximately half of the extension is envisaged to be residential development. Community, leisure / open space, and industry / warehouse development uses are anticipated to be roughly equally apportioned on the remaining 45% of land. The remaining land (around 5%) is anticipated to accommodate office and retail development. Achieving the Vision Cohesive communities developed around activity centres; access to quality employment; some severance and fragmentation caused by A45; may further continue out-commuting / dormitory effect. Land Suitability Land generally suitable for development; some issues around land fill and flood plain Transport Implications Additional pressure likely to be placed on M1 Junction 15; A45. Provision of possible parkway station will offer modal choice; critical mass of development could improve public transport to town centre Delivery Issues Evidence of developer interest and land banking; fairly readily deliverable Market View Area attractive to developers; recent development at Grange Park Overall Assessment Some major strengths in being relatively deliverable and of interest to the market; weaker in terms of place making and capturing employment and investment within Northampton

8.3.3 Evaluation of Option 2 – South-Eastern & Western Extension (Figure 8.7) Achieving the Vision

As in Option 1, this option works to achieve sustainable growth by creating a relationship between a new sustainable urban extension to the south and new employment intensification at Brackmills. It also works towards achieving a vision for sustainable growth through the creation of a new local centre at Wootton, which would serve both residents and users of Brackmills, creating a transitional zone between the commercial and residential uses. In urban design and place-making terms, this option

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acknowledges the difficulties presented by severance created by the A45 and seeks to deliver an urban extension to the south east, coalescing Wootton and Grange Park. As with Option 1 however, proximity to the strategic road and rail network, and the southerly location of the urban extension would infer likelihood of a “dormitory” effect and incidence of out-commuting, although this would be to a lesser effect than Option 1, which seeks to locate all growth to the south of Northampton.

To the west of Northampton, growth is also proposed through further extension to the South West District. This would be mixed use development, and by relating closely to the development of a new district centre in the Sixfields area, would provide a focus for community services, offering a sustainable solution and the opportunity for high quality design.

Addressing land suitability

The land suitability assessment (Section 7) indicates that the majority of the land to the south (Sectors 1 and part of 7) is highly suitable for development. Again, the potential to adjoin existing development, expanding Grange Park and intensifying Wootton, to extend the contiguous urban area of Northampton was considered a positive attribute. The potential to create a new neighbourhood centre at Wootton would likely provide additional infrastructure and facilities to the area’s benefit. As with Option 1, opportunities exist to promote quality natural features in the southern extension, though care needs to be taken to sensitively develop in proximity of the floodplain and landfill areas.

The smaller extension to the west was assessed to be of medium development quality, largely due to its remote nature (Sector 17). However, it is only recommended that a small portion of this large sector be considered for development (adjacent to existing built areas), and so is considered more suitable for development. Opportunities exist relating to the area’s proximity to the M1 and A4500 and environmentally unconstrained land. This extension would be most sustainable, however, with the creation of a new district centre at Sixfields, as it is currently not within the catchment of existing centres.

Transport implications

The transport implications of Option 2 option are similar to Option 1 with a substantial, although reduced level of development to the south of the town. This area will have a very similar impact and generate similar opportunities as Option 1, having enough critical mass to still generate the public transport benefits that could accrue to this development.

Option 2 also includes an additional area of mixed development to the west of the town off Sandy Lane Improvement north of the current Upton site. Development in this area would form an extension of the existing sites and could link to and enhance the likely public transport provision and bus priority improvements.

It should be noted that the majority of development sites identified as having planning approval ‘in principle’ and/or potential development opportunities in the short and medium term as indicated in Section 3, are located on the western side of town. They primarily feed trips on to the Weedon Road and Harlestone Road, which will potentially have good access to the M1 motorway and the strategic network to the south of the town. The key issue for developing to the west, will be the impact on the radial routes into the town centre. The cumulative effects of development proposed to the west of town may also mean that the Highways Agency will raise concerns about the impact on the M1. However, it is understood that the northern section of the M1 in the vicinity of Junction 16 is not under quite as much stress as the sections further south.

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Delivery issues

Much of the analysis which applies to option1equally applies to the southerly extension identified in Option 2, with the land to the west being capable of being brought forward early on due to freehold interests from developers and initial searches and indicative schemes.

Equally, land to the west adjoining the South West district has options on it for development and landowners may have had early schemes appraised. Developers in this area see the potential of this land to be a key location for future sustainable urban growth. They will particularly be encouraged by the success of development to the south in the South West District. Residential led growth in these areas therefore is likely to come forward in an early phase of development if permitted, but as stated above, would require the appropriate provision of social and physical infrastructure.

Market View The following market view needs to be taken into consideration: x If development was more dispersed around the town i.e. in a number of locations this would be more beneficial for house builders as they prefer working either on their own on a site or with a select few other builders. Such an approach would not be possible in a large development area as the level of growth proposed would not be met by one/ a few developers (builders on average produce one home a week, four a month and approx. 50 p.a.); x Issues of competition due to a number of developers being active in the same location as described in Option1; x Higher land/ property values are likely to be achieved around Duston; x New build development over the last 20 years in Northampton to the west and south has seen an increase in land/ property values in these areas. For example a traditional housing site would achieve land values of approx. £2.5m per ha (£1-1.1m per acre); x The proposed new station to the south would help the marketability of the southern element oft his option; and x There may be supply and demand issues with this option due to development to the west at Upton and the South West District and competition with existing/ proposed allocations.

OPTION 2 - South-Eastern and Western Extension Summary Growth south of Northampton with coalescence of Grange Park and Wootton Northampton, east of A45. Intensification of Brackmills, town centre intensification; new centre adjacent to Wootton; mixed use development to the west of Northampton extending the South West District; provision of University Arc; possible new parkway station to the south of Northampton. Land Budget The southern extension would be approximately double the size of the western extension. About 2/3 of the residential, community, retail, leisure / open space land would be located in the southern extension and 1/3 in the western, with a marginal amount of office land in each. Brackmills employment area would accommodate all the industry / warehouse land as well as the bulk of the office land. Achieving the Vision Cohesive communities developed around and with access to activity centres; access to quality employment; may further continue out-commuting / dormitory effect, but to a lesser degree than Option 1 Land Suitability Land generally suitable for development; some issues around land fill and flood plain Transport Implications Additional pressure likely to be placed on M1 Junction 15; A45 but less M1 stress than Option 1. Provision of possible parkway station will offer modal choice; public transport improvements to town centre but more diffuse than Option 1 Delivery Issues Evidence of developer interest and land banking; fairly readily deliverable

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Market View Area attractive to developers; recent development at Grange Park; South West District Overall Assessment Partially improves upon weaknesses of Option 1; split locations for growth compromise on critical mass yet reduce impact; an option which compromises both strengths and weaknesses

8.3.4 Evaluation of Option 3 – North Eastern Extension (Figure 8.8) Achieving the Vision

A key component for ensuring that Northampton has a sustainable future is to increase its employment capacity, skills base and improve its regional identity. This option offers the ability to intensify northerly industrial estates and to increase the potential offered by the University Arc for learning and employment clusters, extending the range and quality of employment over time, whilst relating to new quality residential in a sustainable urban extension to the north of the town. As stated previously, of the four options it perhaps showcases the potential for Northampton itself the most, capturing its skills and spend within the urban area, rather than allowing its assets to be dispersed elsewhere. It does however, have widespread effect on existing settlements.

Addressing land suitability

In respect to the proposed expansion to the northeast of Northampton, the land suitability analysis raises delivery concerns regarding development as the land to the west and east Boughton (sectors 13c and 13b) have been identified as being relatively constrained. Although the area is attractive due to its close relation to employment areas, there are several environmental constraints such as proximity to the floodplain, historic buildings, landfill and mineral extraction areas. Infrastructure such as sewerage and water facilities are lacking here as well. These constraints would need to be subject to further detailed analysis and survey work to identify whether these constraints would become ‘show stoppers’. Whilst developers in the area do hold both freehold and options on land in this area, it is likely that development in this location will be put at risk by the constraints which could lead to slippage as to when this land is in a suitable state to bring to the market. Due to these constraints this land would be seen at best as a latter stage of growth.

Land to the northeast of the urban area (sectors 13a, 12a, 12b and 11), however, is less constrained, although risks of coalescence (e.g. with Moulton and Overstone, and to a degree Wellingborough, beyond Ecton) and environmental constraints associated with nature and wildlife sites exist. If development is done in a sensitive manner, opportunities to service new populations through local centres at Moulton and Overstone and through employment areas such as Round Spinney are feasible. Development has only been proposed, therefore, to attempt to take advantage of these possible opportunities, but has been limited so as not to encroach on existing sensitive areas.

Transport implications

Option 3 envisages residential development distributed around the fringe of the existing development to the north and east of the town. This arrangement is relatively dispersed and as such is likely to have less impact on specific junctions with the likely traffic generated being dispersed across a number of routes. However, this dispersal is likely to make it more difficult to serve with specific public transport provision and it is likely that new residents will follow the existing transport patterns. It is also probably the furthest of any of the proposals from the town centre. To make this work in public transport terms it will be necessary to combine the development with a change in the way the existing residents and businesses perceive their travel demands so that the whole of the northeast of the town becomes a more homogenous unit. This would link will with the proposals for the University Arc as discussed above.

This Option would necessitate the completion of the outer ring road and the developer contributions would financially contribute to such provision, however, this would inevitably place more pressure on the

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A43 and A45. A major feature of the travel patterns in Northamptonshire are Kettering and Wellingborough, which act as dormitory towns for Northampton. Although these towns are located within the Boroughs of Wellingborough and Kettering, which are not local authorities identified in the MKSM SRS to be included in the NIA, the transport implications of growing Northampton to the north in terms of North Northamptonshire growth towns must be taken into account through more detailed assessment.

It is expected that Option 3 would generate a substantial number of trips between the three towns and further development in this area (particularly employment based) as well as the proposals for Kettering and Wellingborough will add further to the stress on the A43 and A45 trunk road. Again, this is likely to be an issue with the Highways Agency.

Delivery issues

There is evidence that some of the land to the north is in the freehold ownership of or optioned by developers. Therefore, some limited residential led growth in this area could come forward in an early phase of development.

In taking forward interest in the land developers may have already started to undertake the preliminary statutory searches and survey work which will be used to inform future planning applications for the land and may even have started to develop indicative schemes. As a result residential development to the west of Boughton could be deliverable in a first phase due to its close proximity to other compatible residential uses.

The land suitability work indicates that the majority of the land to the south of Moulton is the most suitable for development i.e. there are limited/ no constraints to development in terms of environmental, socio/ economic and transport/ utilities factors and that the likelihood of sustainable development at these locations is high. These factors are likely to be the reasons why developers will have either purchased the freehold or taken up options on these sites to ‘land bank’ for future development opportunities. As a result would identify this land as the most likely to come forward in an early phase of development.

In addition to the above the proposed residential led mixed use development to the south of Boughton and Moulton, whilst also in close proximity to compatible residential uses, will need to mitigate any development that is located in close proximity to the industrial estates at Moulton Park and Round Spinney. This will likely take the form of a ‘landscape buffer’ between the employment and the proposed residential led growth to ensure that both uses can be delivered in close proximity. It is therefore more likely that development that has to mitigate incompatible uses will come forward as a latter phase of development and at a time when the local planning authority are satisfied that there is an adequate ‘buffer’ between uses.

In respect of mixed use development /residential growth in the north east to the west of Ecton, whilst seen as a sustainable urban extension, there are a number of concerns with regards to its deliverability as detailed below: x The growth sector is outside the Northampton Borough boundary, and will no doubt raise concerns about long term coalescence with Wellingborough; x The study team are not aware of any land in this sector to either be in freehold ownership or have been optioned by developers. This suggests that there is limited confidence within the market of this land being both developable and deliverable; x There would be concerns about with potential coalescence with the rural village of Ecton to the east and the effect of development adjacent to rural and woodland areas;

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University Arc All of the issues discussed in relation to the University Arc above are relevant here. To the south of Moulton and just outside the Northampton Borough boundary there is some land in freehold ownership. If this land was identified as a suitable location for knowledge based development (perhaps a satellite facility connected to the University) this could be brought forward as one of the earlier phases of development. This would only be one possible location and would need to be considered alongside all other sites within the Arc (see above).

Market View The following market view needs to be taken into consideration: x The impact of dispersed development on house builders is as described in Option 2; x The eastern district of Northampton contains relatively poorly designed 1970’s style development and is close to a sewerage facility. As a result, it generally contains lower land and property values than some other parts of Northampton. The area has the potential to become more desirable from a market perspective through the provision of new housing development. x Higher land/ property values will be achieved around the attractive rural villages of Moulton and in the vicinity of Boughton, Overstone and potentially Sywell. x The provision of increased employment floorspace may compete with Wellingborough and Kettering and there may be issues of overprovision in that locale.

It may be possible to conclude therefore, that this option, which potentially may glean the most long term benefits, is also the higher risk solution which may be the most difficult to deliver.

OPTION 3 – North-Eastern Extension Summary Growth northeast quarter of Northampton between the A5199 Welford Road and the A45 Nene Valley Way; town centre intensification; provision of an intensified University Arc; possible new parkway station to south of Northampton Land Budget Employment uses are intensified in the University Arc, where 2/3 of industry / warehouse and office land would be located, as well as a small amount of residential land. The remaining 1/3 of employment land is divided evenly throughout the northern extensions. Residential, community, retail and leisure / open space land is also roughly evenly distributed, with higher concentration of development to the north-east rather than due north. Achieving the Vision Cohesive communities developed in proximity to the University Arc; access to quality employment; less likelihood of out-commuting due to northern location; sustainable transport links into town due to critical mass. Investment in generational change. May be potential for residential / vehicular conflict serving employment areas in short term. Land Suitability Land generally suitable for development; some environmental issues Transport Implications Ability to complete outer ring road, but additional pressure likely to be placed on A45. Bus based improvements but growth distant from possible new parkway station. Delivery Issues Limited developer interest and land banking; outside N B boundary; delivery may be complex and higher risk Market View Existing environment and character of some settlements likely to be attractive to developers Overall Assessment Higher risk, more complex option in terms of degree of change it is promoting; offers longer term sustainable benefits if key issues of infrastructure and deliverability can be overcome.

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8.3.5 Evaluation of Supplementary Option 4 - Southern/South of M1 Extension (Figure 8.9) Achieving the Vision

As in Option 1, this Option comprises the sustainable urban extension of Northampton through Collingtree and Collingtree Park. However, the considerable barrier of the M1 makes it difficult to imagine the establishment of new communities south of the M1as settlements contiguous with Northampton, and additionally there would be challenges in terms of place making and environmental quality. This community would also be relatively remote from Northampton town centre and there may be limited benefits for new community provision and social cohesion. Although the option envisages a bridging solution (separate vehicular and pedestrian bridges) or junction improvement in order to allow access to and from Northampton, the actual and perceptual barrier may well act as a deterrent to using the town, and capturing the financial benefits of growth. Immediate access to the M1, especially for the southerly communities, and proximity to a potential new station, would be likely to increase the incidence of out commuting the most out of all the options. The provision of employment clusters within the mixed use development, would find the location near to the M1 advantageous, but this would still promote a car based economy, alongside intensification at Brackmills, which would have a cumulative effect. In order to mitigate against these some of these factors, it is envisaged that the location for the new station would also incorporate a new local centre. This would need further testing as the effect of this proposal; a local station with transport interchange, would mitigate against the purpose of a potential parkway station.

Addressing land suitability

The land suitability work indicates that the land included in the southern and south of the M1 extension areas (sectors 2a, 3c and parts of 4 and 6) is of varying quality. Land included in the southern extension, which includes Collingtree and Collingtree Park, is attractive due to its proximity to the existing urban area and employment areas, though sensitive aspects such as the presence of the floodplain would need to be carefully considered. Land south of the M1is largely greenfield land and is relatively unconstrained. However, the high heritage and natural quality of Milton Malsor should be safeguarded and thus might impede large-scale development. Further, severance caused by the M1 is a significant and costly barrier to overcome. If works could be done to bridge or link communities on either side of the highway, however, employment areas such as Grange Park and Brackmills would be within close proximity, as well as local centres. Already, the proximity of centres such as Roade and Bliswoth are advantageous, however.

Transport implications

Option 4 considers possible development associated with a potential station south of Northampton on the Northampton Loop. As stated above, if developed as a transport interchange with associated town centre facilities, the station could not be proposed as a parkway station. Conversely, although some parking would be provided, this would need to be limited and a regime of parking management implemented to discourage car-borne commuters journeying from Northampton. Some workers, however, would wish to make the reverse trip to employment destinations within Northampton town centre.

In other transport terms the implications are to a degree the same as Option 1 with some positive public transport potential but also with the possible negative reaction by the Highways Agency. There will need to be a substantial investment in highway infrastructure particularly in either a potentially costly bridging of the motorway or changes to Junction 15 and 15a. Issues will also remain about the potential location of landing such a bridge and the effects of linkage to the strategic highway network, such as additional stress on the A45.

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Delivery issues

All of the issues discussed in Option 1 above are relevant here. Despite the weaknesses of this option in delivering against the vision of sustainable growth, it does have some advantages in terms of deliverability. Growth would be consolidated in discrete areas and to a considerable extent would affect land presently relatively remote from existing communities. There is evidence of developer interest, with some of the land to the west of Milton Malsor having been optioned by developers who may be seeing this area as a potential location for further growth of Northampton. As discussed above this could mean that work may have already started on preliminary survey work and the necessary statutory searches.

Investment in junction remodelling, although clearly in different locations, is likely to be a common feature with all the options, and will need further detailed appraisal. If additional access north and south of the M1 can be achieved without bridging, this option may not be any more costly in terms of implementation than any of the other options considered, and therefore may have some deliverability and financial advantages.

The location of such an extension would probably require a higher proportion of new build provision rather than rationalisation and extension of existing facilities already serving established communities, although conversely outlying settlements may benefit from such investment. There would also need to be a substantial ‘landscape buffer’ between the motorway and the development and the existing villages of Milton Malsor and Roade to help mitigate against coalescence and impact.

Market View

The following market view needs to be taken into consideration:

x Higher land/ property values will be achieved in the vicinity of the attractive rural villages of Milton Malsor and Roade; x Issues of competition due to a number of developers being active in the same location as described in Option1 and 2; x Higher land/ property values will be achieved around the attractive rural villages of Milton Malsor and Roade; x New build development over the last 20 years in Northampton to the south has seen an increase in land/ property values in these areas. For example a traditional housing site would achieve land values of approx. £2.5m per ha (£1-1.1m per acre); and x The proposed new station to the south would help the marketability of this option.

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SUPPLEMENTARY OPTION 4 – Southern / South of M1 Extension Summary Growth south of Northampton; coalesces Collingtree, and Collingtree Park with Northampton west of A45. Intensification of Brackmills, town centre intensification; new centre around new station and interchange (not a parkway) on Northampton loop; provision of University Arc Land Budget The majority (2/3) of residential, community and leisure / open space land would be allocated in the southern extension, whereas employment uses would be concentrated in the extension south of the M1 and in Brackmills. Around 2/3 of all employment land would be located south of the M1, with the remaining 1/3 apportioned to intensifying Brackmills. The extension south of the M1 would be mixed-use, however, accommodating the remaining residential and associated community / open space uses as well. Achieving the Vision Communities developed around activity centres but remote from Northampton town centre; access to quality employment; significant severance and fragmentation caused by M1; environmental quality issues; may further continue out-commuting / dormitory effect. Land Suitability Land generally suitable for development; some issues around land fill and flood plain Transport Implications Additional pressure likely to be placed on M1 Junction 15; provision of station will offer modal choice; critical mass of development could improve public transport to town centre. Delivery Issues Evidence of developer interest and land banking; fairly readily deliverable but infrastructure issues will need to be resolved Market View Area likely to be attractive to developers; recent development at Grange Park Overall Assessment Some strengths in being relatively deliverable and of interest to the market; weaker in terms of place making and capturing employment and investment within Northampton. Issues around severance and environmental quality

8.4 SUSTAINABILITY ASSESSMENT An assessment of these options from a sustainability perspective is given in a table attached as Appendix 1.

8.5 SUMMARY

The table below summarises the key features and evaluation of the options for comparison. As can be seen from the comparison of options above, all the options have differing strengths and weaknesses. Where growth predominately occurs to the south as it does to a greater or lesser degree in Options 1, 2, and 4, it is arguable that the relationship with the existing Northampton urban area is weaker, as communities are more remote from the town centre core and ready opportunities for out commuting exist via the strategic road and rail network. Development to the north, as envisaged in Option 3 offers a strong relationship socially and economically with key institutional and other centres. However, it may be also more politically difficult to implement, and present a higher risk strategy, despite possibly offering more long term benefits.

Development to the west of Northampton as in Option 2, has the least disbenefits in transportation and sustainability terms, provided that a new district activity centre is established to serve new western communities and improvements to the strategic road network can be implemented to reduce impact on the M1.

The suitability of these options or parts of these options very much depends on the criteria applied in judging them. If the desire is to adopt a more radical approach to land use and the nature of Northampton, affecting long term generational change, and those benefits are deemed worthy of

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adopting a more complex, higher risk strategy, then option 3 may be more attractive. However, if it is felt that a more pragmatic and immediately deliverable solution, which fills to a degree the criteria for sustainable growth in the short term, Options 1 or 2 or even 3 may offer attractive advantages. It is appropriate that these considerations are tested through the public consultation process for the Joint Core Strategy.

EDAW PLC PLANNING, DESIGN AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT WORLDWIDE COMPARISON OF OPTIONS

All options include intensification of the urban area, Northampton town centre intensification, the growth and development of new or existing centres to serve new populations; development of the University Arc and the development of a new parkway station or town centre rail interchange south of Northampton. Such development accounts for 40% of the land use budget.

Option Key Characteristics Summary Overall Assessment OPTION 1 – Growth south of x About 60% of the entire land budget – half residential use with other Strengths: relatively deliverable/ market interest South Eastern Northampton, west and uses equally apportioned with small amount of office and retail. to the market Extension east of A45. x Cohesive communities Intensification of x Access Weaknesses: place making; capturing Brackmills x Some severance a to activity centres employment and investment within Northampton x Access to quality employment and fragmentation caused by A508 x May further continue out-commuting / dormitory effect x Land generally suitable for development; some issues around land fill and flood plain. x Additional pressure likely to be placed on M1 Junction 15; A45. x Provision of Parkway station will offer modal choice; critical mass of development could improve public transport to town centre x Developer interest; fairly readily deliverable OPTION 2 – Growth south of x About 2/3 residential, community, leisure / open space in southern Strengths: relatively deliverable/ market interest South Eastern / Northampton; extension; 1/3 in western extension; Brackmills accommodating most of to the market Western Extension coalescence east of employment land A45. Intensification of x Cohesive communities Weaknesses: Less critical mass in some areas; Brackmills, extension of x Access to activity centres some “dormitory” effect but less than Option 1 South West District x Access to quality employment x May further continue out-commuting / dormitory effect, but to a lesser degree than Option 1 x Land generally suitable for development; some issues around land fill and flood plain x Additional pressure likely to be placed on M1 Junction 15; A45 but less M1 stress than Option 1. Provision of Parkway station will offer modal choice x Developer interest; fairly readily deliverable Option Key Characteristics Summary Overall Assessment OPTION 3 – Growth northeast quarter x Residential, community, retail and open space roughly evenly distributed Strengths: offers longer term sustainable North Eastern of N between the A5199 in north eastern extension; employment uses intensified at University Arc benefits and critical mass if key issues of Extension Welford Road and the x Cohesive communities developed in proximity to the University Arc infrastructure and deliverability can be overcome A45 Nene Valley Way; x Access to quality employment; less likelihood of out-commuting due to intensified University Arc northern location Weaknesses: Higher risk, more complex radical x Sustainable transport links into town due to critical mass. Investment in change; untested market interest generational change. x Land generally suitable for development; some environmental issues x Ability to complete outer ring road, but additional pressure likely to be placed on A45. Bus based improvements but growth distant from new parkway station. May be potential for residential / vehicular conflict serving employment areas in short term x Limited developer interest but some areas could be attractive; outside Northampton Borough boundary; delivery may be complex /higher risk SUPPLEMENTARY Growth south of x About 2/3 of residential, community and open space land allocated in the Strengths: relatively deliverable; market interest OPTION 4 – Northampton southern extension, with the remaining 1/3 south of the M1; 2/3 of Southern / South of coalescence west of employment land south of the M1, with the remaining 1/3 in Brackmills Weaknesses: place making; capturing M1 Extension A45, growth south of M1. x Communities developed around activity centres but remote from N town employment and investment within Northampton; Intensification of centre severance, environmental quality Brackmills x Access to quality employment x Significant severance and fragmentation caused by M1; environmental quality issues; may further continue out-commuting /dormitory effect. Some issues around land fill and flood plain x Additional pressure likely to be placed on M1 Junction 15; provision of station will offer modal choice; critical mass of development could improve public transport to town centre x Existing environment and character of some settlements likely to be attractive to developers 126 | NORTHAMPTON LONGER TERM GROWTH OPTIONS STUDY

9. Implementation

9.1 INTRODUCTION

This section of the report identifies how the growth options could be delivered. The proposed growth options are a large scale, complex and long term undertaking that will require robust management and co-ordination arrangements. The options are based upon a combination of land use, urban design and transportation actions that will take place in parallel and, as such, will mutually support each other to achieve both regeneration impacts and sustainable urban extensions.

This implementation plan is dependent on the level of knowledge and information available at the moment; further work is needed to gain a fuller understanding of infrastructure requirements (and costs) that would arise if the options were to be developed in the period to 2026. It therefore provides a broad framework from which more detailed delivery plans can be prepared at the local level to sit alongside the emerging LDDs.

This section is structured as follows: x Policy compliance; x Partnership arrangements; x Pre-conditions of effective implementation; x Funding; x Delivery; and x Monitoring and evaluation framework.

9.2 POLICY COMPLIANCE

There is a need to ensure that the growth plans will co-ordinate and integrate with existing policies and programmes that are active within the region. In particular: x RSS8 - Regional Spatial Strategy for the East Midlands; x MKSM - Milton Keynes and South Midlands Sub-Regional Strategy; x Local Transport Plans; and x Local Authority Plans (Joint Core Strategy and other LDDs), Economic Development and Community Strategies.

The Government’s approach to spatial planning indicates that it goes beyond traditional land use planning to co-ordinate and integrate policies for the development and use of land with other policies and programmes that influence the nature of places and how they function. Within these documents there are targets for delivery of growth, transport, health and social care, education, cultural development, economic development and environmental infrastructure. The policies contained within these documents will guide both the location and nature of growth. Therefore this Implementation Plan needs to ensure that the delivery of growth is in alignment with the policies and guidance contained in the following core policy documents, and anticipates further policy changes made in order to accommodate the growth agenda. It is possible that a version of the Milton Keynes Section 106 tariff

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mechanism will be implemented in Northampton and modified to suit the specific requirements of the growth. This may also be set at a level to meet overall infrastructure costs appropriate to delivering the level of growth identified, and will need to be adopted as planning policy before tariffs can be extracted in the growth areas. In the future, there may be a requirement for a contribution from the introduction of a planning gain supplement, assuming that the Government proceeds with this concept. This will of course depend on the form PGS takes, but it will be an active consideration as sites are brought forward.

9.2.1 RSS8 – Regional Spatial Strategy for the East Midlands (2005)

This document, currently being reviewed, provides a broad spatial strategy for the region to 2021. It sets out the planning context of the East Midlands in terms of its proximity to major urban centres in adjacent regions. The RSS highlights how Northamptonshire has been defined within the Milton Keynes and South Midlands Sub-Regional Spatial Strategy (MKSM). This Sub-Regional Strategy proposes new growth and sustainable communities in defined centres within the sub-region. In growth areas, planning should ensure that there are sufficient employment sites to support population and housing growth. In identifying new land for the proposed growth, a sequential approach should be followed according to the following priorities:

x Suitably previously developed sites in urban areas or that are well served by public transport; x Other suitable land within urban areas not already identified as having amenity value; x Suitable sites in locations adjoining urban areas which are or will be well served by public transport; and x Suitable sites outside urban areas which are or will be well served by public transport, especially if it involves previously developed land.

RSS 8 notes that when assessing the suitability of land for development the following sustainability criteria should also be considered: x The availability and location of previously developed land (PDL); x The accessibility of sites by non car modes and their potential to improve accessibility to town centres, jobs and facilities; x The capacity of existing infrastructure to absorb further development; x Physical constraints; x The impact on the region’s natural, environmental and cultural resources and health of its people; x The likelihood that the site can be viably developed; and x The suitability of the site for mixed-use development and its contribution to strengthening surrounding communities.

RSS8 identifies Northampton as a ‘Principal Urban Area’, with the growth towns of Corby, Kettering and Wellingborough identified and Daventry shown as a ‘Sub-Regional Centre. The area is identified as being the subject of a future Sub-Regional Strategy. Northampton has considerable economic and social influence over the Sub-Area however it is acknowledged that growth may be constrained by the town’s tight boundaries, its potential for flooding and its capacity to accommodate new development. The impacts of such factors on delivery have been considered in the light of the three proposed growth options in Section 8 of this report.

The RSS suggests that amongst other spatial priorities in the Southern Sub-Area, Northampton’s role as a Principal Urban Area, should be strengthened by introducing new public transport infrastructure and facilities and that there should be emphasis upon a renaissance of the town centre. RSS states that new development in Northampton should be delivered through urban regeneration, intensification and

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sustainable urban extensions to the west, east and south of the town, integrated with the development of public transport and new interchanges, including a new railway station to the south of the town.

A number of schemes have been identified which would support the delivery of the longer-term growth strategy. Amongst these are: x Improvements to east-west movement by public transport; x Improvements to the A14 including its junction with the M1/M6 motorway; x Improvements to the A45; x Improvements to the A428 east-west route; and x Improvements to West-Coast Main Line.

Of these there is a commitment to ‘Getting Northampton to Work’ on the basis of a Quality Bus network (2002-07). Consideration is to be given to the introduction of a strategic bus corridor (2007-11); for improvements to the A45 from Stanwick to Thrapston (2017-21). Future consideration is to be given to the dualling of the A43 between Northampton and Kettering, Northampton Orbital Schemes and improvements to the A45 (M1 junction 15) and the A43 to Stanwick.

There is commitment to the modernisation of the West Coast Main Line (2002-11) and Northampton Station Interchange (2007-11) with the introduction of a south of Northampton Interchange being identified for future consideration.

RSS identifies key principles that they expect to be the guiding factors of growth. These include the following: x To create sustainable communities; x To provide for growth on both brownfield and greenfield sites, but close to transport and community nodes; x To provide an adequate choice of high quality employment sites; x To reduce the need to travel by integrating land use and transport planning; x To provide for sustainable urban extensions; x To identify an appropriate number of existing and potential future District Centres (urban hubs); x To achieve better quality development; x To review and revise targets for affordable housing provision; x To consider the potential for new higher education facilities; x To provide for additional primary health and social care; and x To make appropriate provision for green infrastructure.

9.2.2 MKSM - Milton Keynes and South Midlands Sub-Regional Strategy (2005)

The Government Offices for the South East, East Midlands and the East of England published the Milton Keynes and South Midlands Sub-Regional Strategy (MKSM). This was published to ensure co- ordinated development of the MKSM growth area, and to promote inter-regional co-operation and joint working between the regional planning bodes, government agencies, local delivery vehicles, local authorities and other partners. This was prepared and published concurrently with RSS8 (discussed above). The outcomes of the RSS8 review will supersede the housing targets documented for Northamptonshire in the MKSM Sub-Regional Strategy. The objectives of the MKSM Sub-Regional Strategy are: x To achieve a major increase in the number of new homes provided in the area, meeting needs for affordable housing and a range of types and sizes of market housing;

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x To provide for a commensurate level off economic growth and developing workforce skills; x To locate development in the main urban areas to support urban renaissance, regeneration of deprived areas, recycling of land and sustainable patterns of travel; x To ensure that development contributes to an improved environment, by requiring high standards of design and sustainable construction, protecting environmental assets and providing green space and infrastructure; x To meet existing infrastructure need and provide for requirements generated by new development, investing in new and improved infrastructure and reducing the need to travel; and x To create sustainable communities by ensuring that economic, environmental, social and cultural infrastructure needs are met in line with growth.

The statement in MKSM for Northamptonshire directs development to the Northampton Implementation Area (NIA) and the neighbouring towns. In the NIA, new development will be delivered through a combination of urban regeneration and intensification and the development of new sustainable urban extensions. The following guidelines are set: x The need to meet all principles of creating sustainable communities; x Developing on both brownfield and greenfield sites, but maximising opportunities to recycle redundant and under-used urban land; x Provide an adequate choice of high quality employment sites for office and high value knowledge based industries; x Reducing the need to travel by integrating land use and transport planning and improving the attractiveness of public transport; x Providing for suitable urban extensions clearly linked to necessary associated infrastructure; x Identifying a number of existing and future district centres; x Achieving a better quality of new development throughout the urban area; x Review and set new targets for the provision of affordable housing; x Consider the opportunity for further development of higher educational facilities in Northampton; x Provide for additional primary health and social care services; and x Make appropriate provision for green infrastructure including the suggested River Nene Regional Park as a strategic recreational resource.

9.3 PARTNERSHIP ARRANGEMENTS

A pre-requisite for successful implementation and central to delivery of the growth strategy is the need to align investment decisions made by a range of organisations in Northampton and the adjoining districts. As part of this work there have been two workshops with key technical stakeholders that have enabled engagement to take place with the local community. The first workshop targeted infrastructure providers and the second the wider business community. It is important that such engagement continues in a constructive manner and that all key parties are involved in the decision making process i.e. choosing the preferred growth option. The key organisations involved in the preparation of this Long Term Growth Options Study are: x Northampton Borough Council; x Daventry District Council; x South Northamptonshire Council; x Northamptonshire County Council; and x West Northamptonshire Development Corporation. x Borough Council of Wellingborough

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In West Northamptonshire the three Councils (Northampton, Daventry and South Northamptonshire) are preparing one Joint Core Strategy that covers the entirety of the three Councils administrative areas. The output of this work will inform this process. Transport planners at the County Council have appointed Arup’s to update the Northampton Multi Modal Study. This modelling work has created base and future year scenarios. The transport model will test these long-term growth options to identify impact of proposed development on the highway network.

An urban development area (UDA) and Urban Development Corporation (UDC) - the West Northamptonshire Urban Development Corporation (WNDC) was established by the Government in December 2004. The UDA covers the three towns of Northampton, Daventry and Towcester. The WNDC as the local delivery vehicle for the town has lead responsibility for co-ordination of the delivery of local infrastructure in co-ordination with the local authorities and the relevant statutory providers. As a result it provides a special opportunity for Northampton.

9.4 PRE-CONDITIONS FOR EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION

The Implementation Plan for the growth strategy cannot be static. It needs to have an element of flexibility to respond to changing market dynamics and public sector priorities and resources. To achieve the levels of development that will be identified in the preferred growth strategy up to 2026 there are certain conditions that need to be in place to ensure effective and timely delivery. These include:

x Political commitment – This needs to be as strong as possible to ensure that momentum and commitment are not lost. Some challenging decisions will be necessary, particularly in relation to the implementation of urban regeneration projects in the urban areas and the visionary proposals for developing a high technology office led knowledge Arc incorporating the University to the north of the town. In addition there will need to be political commitment to delivering any sustainable urban extensions that identify growth outside the Northampton borough boundaries.

x Consensus building – There will be a continuing need to build consensus around the proposed growth strategy centred upon the long term benefits that will flow from its implementation for all parts of the NIA.

x Sustained levels of public sector investment and intervention – To deliver the level of growth proposed, there will need to be significant public expenditure particularly in strategic infrastructure and in relation to pump-priming of regeneration in the urban area. The WNDC, with support from the local authorities will be instrumental in this. Section 106 and Section 278 contributions as part of the planning obligations arising from development will also apply.

x Increased private sector contributions – Private sector investment is central to the implementation of the Growth Strategy and will be supported by complementary public funding of key developments and infrastructure. In the future this will be potentially influenced by the Government’s proposals for a new Planning Gain Supplement (PGS). The general principle should be that developers should be responsible for mitigating all of the impacts of their development proposals. It is accepted, however, that in certain circumstances it may be necessary for the public sector to initially ‘pump prime’ infrastructure funding with this paid back in accordance with an agreed formula once the private sector developer(s) starts to achieve returns from development. It is likely that private sector investment will be key to the success of the growth in Northampton. The optioning and purchase of land around the town’s periphery by developers shows, if nothing else a confidence that the market will deliver the proposed growth. The schemes that are currently in development in Northampton and those that have been built out to the south and west of the town over the last 20

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years show the commitment of the private sector to the town. As noted in the previous chapter this has led to uplift in land and property values in these areas.

x Behavioural changes – A key dimension of delivery of the growth strategy will be the need to secure behavioural change in a number of policy areas. These changes will be critical if sustainable development principles are to be adhered to and the more effective use of resources fully integrated into lifestyle choices in the town. Key areas for action include travel behaviour, namely restructuring the travel system to encourage use of non-car modes; reducing consumption and use of water; reducing production of waste and reducing consumption and use of energy.

9.5 INFRASTRUCTURE REQUIREMENTS

Achieving sustainable development requires the provision of a range of strategic and more local infrastructure, services and facilities to be delivered in parallel with the growth trajectory. Through this study a number of spatial growth options have been identified. As part of the process of refinement it will now be important to test these spatial options against the need for infrastructure and services and to identify a programme of provision which will allow the housing and employment growth trajectories to be met. Given the considerable lead in time for the provision of certain physical infrastructure it will be important as part of this analysis to identify any particular show stoppers and solutions for overcoming them.

At the strategic level progress has already been achieved in regard to identifying key transport infrastructure requirements to support the delivery of growth. The knowledge base in other areas, particularly in the complex areas of utilities and socio-economic infrastructure requirements such as education, health provision and learning is understandably less well developed at present as these are dependant on the spatial solution. The Spatial Strategy will accordingly need to continue to evolve as the relevant strategic studies and local infrastructure studies are undertaken during the course of 2007 so that the public sector brings forward in tandem the spatial solution with a plan and programme for the related infrastructure and service requirements.

Consequently, over the forthcoming months, to ensure that the identified spatial option will deliver the required MKSM growth trajectories, it will be important to work alongside the range of public and private agencies involved in infrastructure and service provision to firstly understanding the key infrastructure and service requirements and then how they can be procured and funded to meet the required growth trajectory.

Although this study has not examined these requirements in any depth, based on our work to date we believe the current situation is as follows:

x Roads: The extensive road building programme to support the growth trajectories in West Northamptonshire has recently been identified by the County Council (see Appendix C). This program will require further detailed transport testing of the spatial options. In particular the cumulative impact of these emerging proposals along with the growth proposed around Wellingborough on the A45/Junction 15 of the M1 will need to be investigated and properly understood. In addition this program is highly dependant on substantial public sector funding. The current annual LTP allocation for the county is around £6m per annum which will be insufficient to finance these works which even with an increased LTP allocation. Delivery of the roads building programme will be dependant on significant DFT financial support along with developer contributions. The indicative timing of these funding commitments will consequently have implications for the release of the areas for growth.

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x Public transport: The new targets to achieve the 20% modal shift for new housing development and 5% for existing development besides attracting potential developer contributions are very challenging and are dependant on a number of high level proposals which will need to be worked up in detail. Fundamentally, achieving the modal shift will depend on increasing public transport accessibility to the town centre. Understanding how this can be achieved for each of the options will be vital in delivering the overall modal shift targets and an important consideration in working up the options (see Appendix C).

x Rail: Linked to the modal targets are priority works to Northampton Rail Station along with possible longer term rail based park and ride solutions (see Appendix C).

x Economic regeneration: The implementation of complimentary economic development activities will be vital in achieving balanced employment growth. A detailed plan that is based on a cocktail of funding including GAF, LSC, SIF and private developer contributions will need to be developed.

x Town Centre regeneration: Besides the town wide public transportation works, maintaining the momentum for town centre regeneration and step change may require public sector support to facilitate activities such as land assembly or public realm works. As the detailed plans for Northampton town centre are refined (including the station works) over the forthcoming year detailed bids for GAF funding along with contributions from other sources will need to be developed.

x Green infrastructure: traditionally 10% of GAF funding is top sliced into green infrastructure projects. It will be important to ensure that this funding is channelled into projects which compliment the overall growth trajectories.

x HE / FE: Delivering the employment growth associated with the University Arc is an important element common to each of the options. It will therefore be important to build on the current momentum provided by the University of Northampton, Moulton College and Northampton College in developing the HE/FE sector by looking to work with the education sector to expand the knowledge economy based industries.

x Acute health: Although the current health model for acute service provision is being refocused it is assumed that future provision will be dependant on major financial contributions from developers/landowners.

x Utilities: Experience from elsewhere in the Growth Areas has demonstrated that the provision of water and sewerage infrastructure could be major constraint in achieving the growth trajectories. In taking this forward it will be important to initiate water cycle studies to identify future infrastructure requirements and then ensure that these are included in the Utilities Asset Management Plans (AMP programme). As part of this process it will be important to ensure that these AMP programmes bring forward the funding to meet trajectory timing assumptions.

9.6 FUNDING

Key funding sources to deliver growth could include: x A sustained level of private sector investment, which will naturally be influenced by market and other factors; x Developer contributions, either through S106 and S278; future bespoke land value capture tariff mechanism or Planning Gain Supplement;

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x A sustained level of public sector investment through WNDC, local authority programmes, NHS funds (including NHS Trust and the local PCT), higher and further education funding, Highways Agency funding, and other sources; and x A contribution from the introduction of a Planning Gain Supplement (assuming that the Government instates the PGS system).

Other potential sources could include: x Growth Area Funds – largely covering infrastructure investment to help deliver housing growth; x Local Transport Plan; and x Transport Innovation Fund – designed to support delivery of transport measures, especially demand management.

In summary, the possible sources of public funding that will need to for the Infrastructure broken down by broad category are detailed below:

Table 9.1 Element Principal Funding Source GAF Funding

Roads DFT,LTP Limited funding contribution Public transport, including town LTP GAF Significant funding contribution centre schemes Railway Network Rail, Franchisee Limited funding contribution Economic Regeneration LSC, DTI, GAF Medium funding contribution Town Centre regeneration GAF Limited funding contribution Green Infrastructure GAF Limited funding contribution Education-HE/FE LSC Medium funding contribution Health-Acute/mental Developer contributions and PCT Limited funding contribution Utilities AMP Limited funding contribution

9.7 DELIVERY

The West Northamptonshire Development Corporation (WNDC) has powers within the urban development area in Northampton. This incorporates land on the periphery of the urban area and goes west as far as the M1 motorway. For any proposed growth that falls outside the urban development area the responsibility for delivering such growth will fall to the relevant local planning authority.

The WNDC as the local delivery vehicle for the town has lead responsibility for the delivery of local infrastructure in co-ordination with the local authorities and the relevant statutory providers. The WNDC management statement issued by the then ODPM (now DCLG) provides the broad framework within which the WNDC operates. Its overall aim is:

“To promote and deliver the sustainable regeneration and growth of West Northamptonshire, within the context of the national policy set out in the Sustainable Communities Plan, the plans for the wider Milton Keynes and South Midlands sub-region and the East Midlands as a whole.”

The WNDC whilst not having plan/ policy making powers does have the following toolbox at its disposal for delivering regeneration: x Land assembly powers – including the ability to compulsory purchase; x Development control powers and the ability it gives WNDC to extract a proportion of the land value created by development – its is expected that WNDC to work in partnership with Northampton Borough Council in using these development control powers;

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x Programme funding and resources made available to WNDC direct form the Government; x A dedicated team; x Resources that can be made available to partner organisations to build capacity; x Influence with Central Government as one of only three UDCs in the UK; and x A mission to deliver and an ability to focus solely on delivery.

The WNDC can engage in the following activities to deliver regeneration: x Bringing land and buildings into effective use; x Encouraging development of existing and new industry and commerce; x Creating an attractive environment; and x Ensuring that housing and other social facilities are available to encourage people to live and work in the area.

To ensure delivery WNDC can: x Acquire, hold, manage, reclaim and dispose of land and other property; x Carry out building and other operations; x Procure provision of water, electricity, gas, sewerage and other services; x Carry out any business or undertaking for the purposes of regenerating its area; and x Generally do anything necessary or expedient to secure regeneration, or for purposes incidental to the need to secure regeneration.

WNDC as the Local Delivery Vehicle works closely with the local authority to bring forward improvements. Such a ‘vehicle’ provides focus and most importantly, a dedicated resource to achieve the priority attached by Government to the early implementation of proposals set out in the adopted and emerging statutory planning framework for the area.

By use of its land assembly including CPO and development control powers it is able to ‘kick start’ both regeneration and development in the town. It will often intervene where demonstrable benefits can be shown to the economic, social and environmental well-being of the area and the proposals accord with the objectives and policies of the Local Plan, the emerging Core Strategy and other LDDs and this Long Term Growth Options Study.

9.8 PHASING

Prior to a decision being made on the preferred option/ directions for growth and a detailed understanding of the infrastructure requirements and funding/procurement plans, it is premature to identify a detailed plan. The following gives an indicative view on how development could be phased in each option. It must be noted that this is based on the planning and market views provided in Chapter 8 and the desktop analysis that has been undertaken as part of this Longer Term Options Study:

Option 1

x Early phases of development to incorporate land bordering the existing urban area to the south of the town as this would be perceived as a sustainable urban extension; x Residential led growth is likely to come forward in an early phase of development on land to the east of the A45 at Wootton and Grange Park. This is due to a large proportion of the area already being in freehold ownership and the land being identified as most suitable for development. These residential developers may have already started to undertake the preliminary statutory searches and survey work which and may even have started to develop indicative schemes. Therefore, as a

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result such identified land in freehold ownership could be seen as an ‘early win’ in the first phases of development; and x Similarly the land to the west of the A45 at Collingtree (that currently has been optioned up) could provide a second phase of residential growth in this area for the reasons discussed above.

Brackmills employment area x Employment led growth in this area could come forward in an early phase of development due to the fact that a large proportion of the land to the south is already in freehold ownership by developers. The land suitability work (indicates that the majority of this land is the most suitable for development. These factors are likely to be the reasons why developers will have either purchased the freehold to ‘land bank’ for future development opportunities.

University Arc x The delivery of land in this arc is likely to be a later phase of development as suitable sites within this Arc falling within the urban area would need to be identified and feasibility studies undertaken prior to any development proposals being brought forward.

Option 2 Southern Extension x Phasing as described In Option 1 above.

Western Extension x Early phases of development to incorporate land bordering the existing urban area to the west of the town and to the north of the South West district as these would be perceived as sustainable urban extensions; x Land around the former hospital to be a later phase due to the need to create a ‘landscape buffer’ between the hospital and the proposed residential led growth to ensure that both uses can be delivered in close proximity; and x The land suitability work indicates that the majority of this land is of medium quality in terms of suitability for development. Whilst we do not envisage that these constraints will be ‘show stoppers’ as there is a lot of developer interest due to success of other local schemes e.g. South West District these constraints could lead to delays in bringing some sites (with constraints) to the market. These constrained sites would be a latter phase of development.

Option 3 x The land suitability work identifies that the majority of the land to the south of Moulton is the most suitable for development. As a result we would identify this land as the most likely to come forward in an early phase of development; x The developability analysis raises a key delivery concern regarding development as the land to the west and east of Boughton is identified in our desk top work as being the most constrained. These constraints would need to be subject to further detailed analysis and survey work to identify whether these constraints would become ‘show stoppers’. Due to these constraints this land would be seen at best as a latter stage of growth; and x The proposed residential led mixed use development to the south of Boughton and Moulton whilst also in close proximity to compatible residential uses will need to mitigate any development that is

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located in close proximity to the industrial estates at Moulton Park and Round Spinney. It is therefore more likely that development that has to mitigate incompatible uses will come forward as a latter phase of development and at a time when the local planning authority are satisfied that there is an adequate ‘buffer’ between uses.

Mixed use/ residential growth in the Northeast, to the West of Ecton

x In light of a number of constraints such as land suitability (see Chapter 8) we perceive that when combined these constraints could become ‘show stoppers’ that would raise significant problems in delivering this growth sector for residential led development. This would only be a latter phase of development when these constraints have been removed.

Supplementary Option 4

Southern Extension x Phasing as described In Option 1 above.

Mixed use to the south of the M1 x A phase of development that could only be deliverable if the necessary infrastructure (including the new rail facility and roads works associated with the M1) to connect the south of the M1 to the main urban area of Northampton had been approved and a construction programme outlined.

9.9 MONITORING AND EVALUATION FRAMEWORK

This section focuses upon the broad approach to be adopted by local authorities (the WNDC measures its performance/ progress against objectives outlined in its Business Plan), rather than upon the creation of a specific framework itself. The comments draw heavily upon the most recent Government guidance and best practice.

9.9.1 Government Policy

Review and monitoring are central to the success of the Government’s ‘Plan, Monitor, Manage’ approach to the planning system. They help local authorities to measure the delivery of the spatial vision and objectives of the local development framework and should be carried out on a continuous and pro-active basis. Given that this Longer Term Growth Options Study aims to provide a framework within which the local planning authority can produce the Joint Core Strategy and other LDDS, it is appropriate therefore to consider in general terms the role of review and monitoring of the Strategy in this report. Government policy attaches significant weight to identifying outputs and trends from monitoring techniques thus developing an evidence base that will allow the planning authorities to measure the success of LDD policies and implementation mechanisms.

9.9.2 Annual Monitoring Report

In order to present the results of the process, local planning authorities are required to produce an annual monitoring report which should assess actual plan progress compared with targets and milestones (further advice on this aspect is provided in the Local Development Framework Monitoring: A Good Practice Guide, ODPM, 2005).

It is important that local authorities and regional planning bodies co-ordinate monitoring activities to ensure that regional, sub-regional and local monitoring frameworks operate together thus avoiding duplication and to reduce the burden on data collection. In this case the LDFs of Northampton Borough, Daventry District and South Northamptonshire Councils will take the lead from the monitoring framework in the East Midlands RSS, which, in itself, will be assessed through information provided by the local authorities on local core output indicators.

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Similarly – and a key point in this context – it is important that local planning authorities seek to integrate their approach to monitoring and survey with other local initiatives including their community strategies. Their annual monitoring reports should reflect how LDD policies fit with wider community and local objectives. Identification of targets common to these policies and the emerging LDDs and integrated monitoring of these aspects will help ensure effective data collection and a comprehensive approach to monitoring of common targets and indicators.

It follows that it will also be a priority for the plan making authorities to integrate their current approaches to review and monitoring in line with Government guidance. This will require a joint approach and in practice will involve an evolution of their approach to monitoring from that used in their current local plans. This is for several reasons. x The Core Strategy and other LDDs that will be informed by this Longer Term Growth Options Study will provide a more comprehensive and specific set of policies and objectives drawing upon those identified in the East Midlands RSS; x PPS12 emphasises the need for a stronger focus upon implementation in LDDs and this means that links between monitoring and delivery will have to be strengthened; and x There is now a statutory requirement to integrate Sustainability Appraisal monitoring into the monitoring system for LDDs.

Best practice indicates that the Local Planning Authorities in taking this Longer Term Growth Options Study forward into their LDDs should take an objective-led approach to the selection of targets and indicators for use in their monitoring frameworks. This will enable a direct link to be made between the key targets and indicators and the performance and/or delivery of their plans.

Monitoring and review of the Implementation Plan will need to be taken forward through the RSS and future Local Development Documents (LDDs). These will need to be responsive to progress in the implementation of the strategy. Given the range of influences, external and internal, that can influence delivery, monitoring is seen as critical to the success of the overall process. The LDF process annual monitoring reports will comment upon progress against agreed targets and indicators set out in the monitoring frameworks.

Progress in the implementation of this longer term growth options strategy will need to be assessed in the context of the key topic areas identified in the Draft RSS. These include housing, health, culture and recreational facilities, crime, biodiversity, natural, cultural, environmental and archaeological assets, natural resources, waste, energy, transport, employment opportunities and developing an enterprise culture and modern economic structure. Within each of these topic areas, suitable targets will need to be identified and monitored.

This structure clearly has a resonance in terms of the implementation of the proposed longer term growth options strategy. It will no doubt be refined but the principles will remain pertinent. One particular issue to be resolved will be the need to agree an approach to delivery with the adjoining authorities to Northampton (Daventry, South Northamptonshire and Wellingborough) bearing in mind that when the Northampton Implementation Area (NIA) boundary is determined, land in the vicinity of it is likely to be affected. It will be important to agree a set of common principles based around development standards and phasing of infrastructure.

9.10 SUMMARY

The designation of the NIA to take forward the growth recommendations of the MKSM for the South Midlands is important in establishing a base policy framework for the strategy. The establishment of the Urban Development Corporation for the area strengthens it, but is also reliant upon the co-operation of the local authorities involved.

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The decision by the authorities to adopt a Joint Core Strategy is encouraging for the future implementation of the longer term growth options strategy. However, it is also important for the authorities to provide a clear framework of how infrastructure will be funded in order to support growth. The example of Milton Keynes ‘Tariff System’ may be helpful in creating a supportive growth mechanism for the NIA. The NIA should also consider the mechanism it will use to ensure the delivery of the growth strategy. The use of a joint LDF will support this approach, but it may be appropriate for the Local Authorities to consider other frameworks to encourage joint and participative working within the NIA to support the Urban Development Corporation. This Implementation Plan provides a broad framework within which more detailed delivery plans can be prepared at the local level to sit alongside LDDs.

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10. Conclusions and Next Steps

10.1 INTRODUCTION

Northampton has been identified by Government as a major centre for significant development in the longer term within the Milton Keynes and South Midlands (MKSM) growth area. The MKSM Sub- Regional Strategy (which is contained within RSS8, 2005) provides strategic guidance on the scale and distribution of dwelling and employment growth and associated infrastructure requirements to 2021, and also provides a longer-term perspective in terms of an uncommitted planning assumption to 2031. It specifies that Northampton’s growth area will be defined by a Northampton Implementation Area (NIA) and that ‘new development will be delivered through a combination of urban regeneration and intensification and the development of new sustainable urban extensions, integrated with the development of enhanced public transport and new public interchanges.’ RSS 8 is currently being reviewed and once revised and finalised will supersede the relevant components of the MKSM SRS.

The scope of this study was to establish options for how growth could be accommodated through a combination of urban intensification and sustainable urban extensions to 2026 with a perspective on longer term growth to inform the emerging Joint Core Strategy for West Northamptonshire and subsequently the local development frameworks of the Councils. The outcome of this study is therefore a perspective on how the NIA may be defined.

As indicated throughout this report, the approach taken to determining the NIA must be underpinned by different layers of analysis, starting from an understanding of the potential for development to be accommodated within the existing urban area; appreciating the spatial elements of an emerging Vision and best practice urban design and planning principles; considering the suitability of land for development, and by taking account of delivery requirements. Integrating the outcomes of the various strands of analysis provides a reasonably sound evidence base for commencing the Issues and Options consultation. However, it is recommended that further more detailed work occur in parallel to consultation to refine the potential strategic directions / locations for growth in order to fast track the local development framework process. In particular, it is recommended that Northampton Borough Council’s Urban Housing Capacity Study be revisited in light of the community’s emerging vision, recent government policy and to look at opportunities for urban intensification beyond 2022. It is also recommended that a Spatial Investment Plan be prepared to ensure infrastructure provision occurs in step with or ahead of development.

This study presents three potential options for growth. As described in the previous Section, each option has advantages and disadvantages. Options 1 and 2 may be considered a more pragmatic solution and achieve immediate delivery. Option 3 on the other hand may maximise the achievement of the community’s vision in the longer term, although this would require a radical approach. The further Supplementary Option 4 that was evaluated on the grounds of potential land suitability and market interest may not be as sustainable as the other options.

The opportunity exists to assemble a preferred option based on extracting the best elements of each option. It will be the task of the local authorities to examine the outcomes of consultation and in partnership with key stakeholders determine the preferred directions / locations for growth (i.e. the exact boundary of the NIA).

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10.2 PLANNING FOR GROWTH TO 2031 AND BEYOND

The options presented in this study are based on the dwelling and job requirements to 2021 and then to 2026 in accordance with regional policy. However, it is also important to understand what the land budget needs would be for growing Northampton to 2031 and beyond in order to plan for longer term transport, social and other infrastructure investment and to better understand the implications for growing the town in particular direction or directions.

10.2.1 Dwelling Requirements

Table 10.1 shows the number of dwellings that would be required from 2001 to 2026 and then to 2031. Scenario B rolls forward the MKSM Panel’s recommended target of 31,500 dwellings to be delivered between 2001 and 2021 and takes account of the uncommitted planning assumption of 1,750 dwellings per year between 2021 and 2031. The shortfall deducts off completions, outstanding permissions and approvals in principles as of April 2006. Scenarios A and B show a difference variation of 10 per cent. Refer to Section 3 for more detail.

By following Scenario B, the study team therefore predicts that approximately 8,750 more dwellings will need to be accommodated between 2026 and 2031.

Table 10.1: Dwelling targets for the Northampton Implementation Area 2001/2006 to 2026 and 2031 Dwelling Requirements 2001-2026 2001-2031 Scenario A: TARGET 36,225 44,100 Shortfall (from 2006) 22,118 29,993 Scenario B: TARGET 40,250 49,000 Shortfall (from 2006) 26,143 34,893 Scenario C: TARGET 44,275 53,900 Shortfall (from 2006) 30,168 39,793

10.2.2 Land Budget

Table 10.2 shows the amount of land required for growing Northampton to 2026 in comparison to 2031. It includes current site allocations and is the amount of land that would be required in addition to the sites identified for intensification in the Urban Housing Capacity Study. By following the assumptions of this study (which includes following the median urban capacity model as shown in Scenario 2) it is expected that 26,575 dwellings will need to be accommodated from 2006 to 2031. This results in an approximate additional 350 hectares of land needed from 2026 to 2031. Thus, the amount of land required to deliver housing growth in the longer term (following the median figure of urban capacity) is roughly equivalent to following the Urban Housing Capacity study’s optimistic approach. These requirements could be reasonably delivered within the scope of the current options.

If the Urban Housing Capacity Study is rolled forward to 2031, it is expected that the land take requirements shown to 2031 would substantially reduce. It should be noted, however, that the employment land requirements for the longer term need to be revisited in light of more detailed assessment of job trajectories. Likewise, transport and other infrastructure requirements will need to be considered further in terms of the longer term period to 2031.

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Table 10.2: Land budget for the Northampton Implementation Area 2006 to 2031 NIA Growth 2006 - 2026 NIA Growth 2006 - 2031 Scenario 1 Scenario 2 Scenario 3 MAXIMUM Land Take (ha) MEDIAN Land Take (ha) MINIMUM Land Take (ha) Longer Term Scenario 25,248 dwellings 17,825 dwellings 10,401 dwellings 26,575 dwellings Residential 631.2 445.6 260.0 664.4 Community 186.2 131.2 76.7 195.1 Industry 62.6 62.6 62.6 62.6 Warehouse/Distribution 21.2 21.2 21.2 21.2 Office 38.1 38.1 38.1 38.1 Retail 17.6 17.6 17.6 17.6 Leisure and Visitor Attractions 11.1 11.1 11.1 11.1 Open Space 207.0 146.2 85.3 217.9

Total Land Required 1,175.2 873.7 572.7 1,228.1

10.3 DETERMINING THE NORTHAMPTON IMPLEMENTATION AREA (NIA)

This study identifies the spatial components of a long term spatial vision for the area based around the following spatial vision themes:

10.3.1 Spatial Vision Themes

x Urban renaissance x Sustainable movement x Protection and enhancement of the environment x Thriving economy x Provision for more learning opportunities x Balancing the delivery of infrastructure with development x Quality designed development

These themes and principles and the outcomes of land suitability analysis indicated particular areas more suitable for growth, and others which were more constrained. A desire to avoid satellite settlements, create cohesive and sustainable communities which relate to Northampton’s centre, required growth to be identified in areas contiguous to the urban boundary of Northampton. In order to avoid the creation of remotely established communities, the study examined areas which were no more that one administrative ward beyond the urban boundary.

In respect of making a final recommendation about the exact nature and extent of the NIA, it is the conclusion of this study that in the immediate term that the NIA be considered as an area where growth may potentially be accommodated, subject to testing against principles derived from the above themes and informed by land suitability appraisal. In order to establish this spatially it is recommended that this area is defined as within one ward beyond the urban boundary. This does not mean the entirety of this area is appropriate for development as the land suitability analysis and GIS baseline have identified a range of constraints. Equally, some constraints, such as areas actively used for mineral extraction or areas of landfill may change over time; and, given the length of the implementation period it is appropriate to examine potential for development flexibly, but through a rigorous process of testing against key principals.

10.4 PREPARING FOR CONSULTATION

The purpose of this study is to inform the statutory Joint Core Strategy process and the wider consultation which needs to take place on these complex and far-reaching issues. It is the recommendation of this report that any consultation on the spatial implications of growth begins with the principals of such growth and establishes with the wider Northampton community, exactly what the long term vision of its future should be, and what is required to deliver it successfully. Such considerations should hopefully inform the concepts around promoting urban intensification and the need to support

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and develop activity centres prior to and in conjunction with sustainable urban extensions. Discussion of a future vision and how to achieve it could be aided by some of the visual material included in this report and previous presentations to key stakeholders which will prompt consideration of some of the key issues, such housing typologies and relative densities; a future for skills, learning and employment; community support and cohesion. Some of the constraints to development or key assets to be retained and enhanced could also be illustrated to demonstrate why some areas have not been put forward.

Presentation of graphic material should emphasise that the areas proposed for growth are indicative in terms of relative land take and that diagrams do not show the precise extent of growth e.g. field boundaries. Additionally, it should be acknowledged that the sector analysis and appraisal of options has by necessity been high level; the purpose of the consultation should be open and to engage all communities and stakeholders in debate and information exchange, which could also include further information on physical constraints and opportunities.

It is for the commissioning client to decide whether the options shown are shared as the basis of consultation on the Joint Core Strategy as complete choices, or whether there should still be an element of a menu based approach which allows consultees to express preferences for growth in particular areas, which may result in composite options. If this approach is taken, it is even more important that consultees understand aspects of delivery and impact. For example, the pros and cons of dispersing development; the requirement for critical mass to make major public transport investment feasible and deliverable; and the overall nature of the place they are creating as a result.

It is important therefore that the commissioning client group and local Members understand and are confident about the purpose and potential outcomes of a public consultation exercise, and as stated above, the key criteria for judging such issues.

10.5 FURTHER ISSUES TO BE ADDRESSED

This study report together with the Long Term Growth Options for Northampton Baseline Report (November 2006) provides a strategic view on where and how Northampton may grow and identifies important issues for delivery. Below we set out the next steps that should be addressed in moving the outcomes of this study forward through the statutory planning system.

The study team recommends that as a priority the Northampton Borough Council, South Northamptonshire Council and Daventry District Council work with the County Council, WNDC and Government and the private sector to jointly prepare a Spatial Investment Plan for the area. Significant support is needed for delivering the strategic and local infrastructure requirements that come with growing Northampton to a substantial size in the short, medium and longer term. In planning for the sustainable growth of Northampton there is a definite need to ensure that infrastructure provision occurs in step with or ahead of development in order to address community needs.

Detailed analysis of all options should occur in parallel to the Issues and Options Consultation including: x Undertaking transport modelling to establish how modal shift targets may be met. x Measuring the environmental and natural resources. x Considering the feasibility of upgrading Weston Favell to become a major district centre and approximately the location for a new major district centre to the west of Northampton town centre.

In addition, it is recommended that the following issues are taken into consideration as this Study is progressed:

x The Northampton Urban Housing Capacity Study that approximates the number of new dwellings that could be accommodated within the existing urban area from 2002 and 2022 needs to be revisited in light of Planning Policy Statement 3: Housing (PPS3). It should be rolled forward to

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2031 and consideration be given to the capacity for not only new dwellings to be accommodated within the urban area but also new business development and supporting community services. x In November 2006, BDP completed the Northampton Central Area Design, Development and Movement Framework that establishes a vision and strategy for the town centre including intensification. This will inform the Central Area Action Plan which is being prepared in parallel with the Joint Core Strategy. A district centres strategy would be helpful as well. x There is a need for an ongoing process of engagement between relevant public sector partners and with local communities in the areas of change to ensure that their views are taken into consideration and the implications for them fully explained. x The issues around making strategic choices are relative benefits and disbenefits associated with higher and lower risk strategies, and the key more required to engender transformational change. x Where there is significant development proposed outside of Northampton Borough Council boundaries there will need to be commensurate levels of facilities and services provided across all areas to support this growth. The preparation of one or more joint local development documents between the neighbouring authorities will help resolve this concern. This should aim to ensure that new developments are designed to provide the same (high) standards of design, open space, affordable housing, community facilities etc in all of the districts affected. x Concerns over the speed of delivery of new urban development means that there will be a need to consider ways in which peripheral development could be phased and linked to the release of regeneration sites to secure an integrated planning framework. This will require an effective monitoring and review framework to ensure a flexible approach, which makes sure that development takes place in the right place at the right time to meet growth strategy objectives; and x It will be important to ensure that greenfield land is sensitively planned around existing settlements in order to limit the impact on the countryside and coalescence. This strategy identifies elsewhere the role of, for instance, strategic landscape ‘buffers’, possibly combined with new policy tools, to minimise these impacts. x Further appraisal and technical testing of the options will be required, particularly in respect of the implications for the regional road and rail network, which will require transport modelling and further evaluation of the implications of the outcomes. x Masterplans for individual growth areas will need to be progressed in the medium term in order to refine key issues raised by the land budget and take into account detailed aspects of topography and physical constraints which will no doubt emerge. Community representation will also be a crucial part in shaping the development of these areas.

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Appendices

A – Sustainability Appraisal B – Key Stakeholder Findings C – Transport Documentation 1. Summary of Northamptonshire County Council’s (NCC) Transport Strategy 2. NCC Cabinet Notes, Transport Strategy for Growth (8 January 2007) 3. Transport Vision for Northampton

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Appendix A – Sustainability Appraisal

EDAW PLC PLANNING, DESIGN AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT WORLDWIDE Sustainability Assessment of the Northampton Growth Options

Introduction EDAW has undertaken an assessment of the options for Northampton’s growth. Based upon the statutory Sustainability Appraisal methodology, this report does not cover the requirements of a Strategic Environmental Assessment or formal Sustainability Appraisal. This assessment adds value by being integrated into the thinking and decision making at an early stage, and will be used to help define and recommend the preferred options. The relevant Sustainability Appraisal (SA) Framework objectives have already been utilised for the sector analysis, which has ensured the integration of sustainability within the option preparation.

Key sustainability issues The key sustainability issues relevant to Northampton’s growth have been identified from PPE’s, baseline data and consultation responses, and in summary are: x Taking the sequential approach to accommodating growth within the urban area on brownfield sites and by redevelopment, before taking peri-urban, surburban and rural sites. The urban capacity study shows less than a third of growth can be accommodated within the existing urban area to 2022; x Preserving and enhancing the valuable aspects of the town’s rural setting (ecology, landscape, recreation, flood management etc); x Creating economic diversity, as economic activity and employment rates are above average but a few large sectors dominate; x Providing community infrastructure to support existing residents and attract new; x Increasing skill levels and aspirations of residents and businesses; x Breaking the cycle of car dependence, by location and public transport infrastructure; x Providing energy and water efficient development, that provides some if not all of its own energy and water through efficient and renewable means; x Building community involvement and ownership over key decisions.

Methodology Using the Sustainability Appraisal objectives developed by the Councils, the three options have been compared with a baseline option, which represents what would happen without the growth agenda or other policy intervention. This baseline is based upon the median level of growth identified in the urban capacity study coming forward to 2021, largely on brownfield sites or sites adjacent to existing urban areas. Informed by an understanding of the baseline, key sustainability issues and the outcomes from the various stages of consultation, the following table shows an assessment of the options, compared to the baseline. The broad transport assessment has provided analysis of the transport implications.

The four options appraised are: 1. Development within sectors 1, 2, 7 and 8: a) Mixed use / Residential growth in the south, including Collingtree, Wootton and intensification of Grange Park (245.4ha residential, 73ha community, 1.4ha office, 6.3ha retail, 4ha leisure and attractions, 82.2ha open space). b) Intensification and extension of Brackmills (62.6ha industry, 37.7ha warehouse/distribution, 19.3ha office). c) University Arc (5ha residential, 9.6ha office) 2. Sectors 1, 2, 17, 20, 21 a) Mixed use / Residential growth in the south, including intensification of Wootton (163.7ha residential, 48.7ha community, 1.4ha office, 4.2ha retail, 2.6ha leisure and attractions, 54.8ha open space). b) Mixed use / Residential growth in the northwest, adjacent to Duston (81.8ha residential, 24.3ha community, 1.4ha office, 2.1ha retail, 1.3ha leisure and attractions, 27.4 open space). c) Intensification and extension of Brackmills (62.6 industry, 37.7ha warehouse/distribution). d) University Arc (5ha residential, 9.1ha office) 3. Sectors 11, 12 and 13 a) Mixed use / Residential growth in the North, to the East of Boughton (49.8ha residential, 14.6ha community, 4.2ha industry, 2.5ha warehouse/distribution, 2ha office, 1.3ha retail, 0.8ha leisure and attractions, 16.4ha open space). b) Mixed use / Residential growth in the North, to the Southeast of Moulton (87.1ha residential, 25.6ha community, 7.3ha industry, 4.4ha warehouse/distribution, 3.5ha office, 2.2ha retail, 1.4ha leisure and attractions, 28.8ha open space). c) Mixed use / Residential growth in the North, to the Southeast of Moulton (87.1ha residential, 25.6ha community, 7.3ha industry, 4.4ha warehouse/distribution, 3.5ha office, 2.2ha retail, 1.4ha leisure and attractions, 28.8ha open space). d) Mixed use / Residential growth in the North, to the Southeast of Overstone (112ha residential, 32.9ha community, 9.4ha industry, 5.6ha warehouse/distribution, 4.6ha office, 2.8ha retail, 1.8ha leisure and attractions, 37ha open space). e) University Arc (5ha residential, 41.8ha industry, 25.1ha warehouse/distribution, 20.3ha office) 4. Sectors 2, 3, 4 and 6. The same quantum of development, provided from Collingtree to the railway line, south of the M1

Sustainability Appraisal Framework We have used the NIA SA Framework objectives, and based assessment questions on the objectives. The assessment questions take into account the strategic nature of the options, so some SA objectives are not appropriate for assessment questions at this stage. The assessment questions are as measurable as possible and remove the repetition within the SA objectives. Finally the questions are worded so that a positive answer denotes a positive assessment: eg “Will the option ameliorate air pollution?” rather than “Will the option increase air pollution?”. Assessment Many aspects of the options are the same. They all contain the ‘University Arc’, and they all assume the same level of development is contained within the existing urban area. The same land budget is applied as stated in the main body of the report. The ratio of community development and open space provision is similar across the proposed housing in all the options. All the options depend on the intensification of existing centres, which will improve public transport accessibility, walkability and access to community and CLR (culture, leisure, recreation) facilities. All the options provide opportunities for microgeneration as part of new-build and regenerated development, and leave large areas of countryside suitable for biomass production and wind powered projects. This assessment assumes the new Code for Sustainable Homes will be applied to all growth, so current proposals mean all new build will be zero carbon by 2016. This increases the relative impact of transport carbon emissions.

The transport infrastructure implications of the options differ significantly. Certain improvements, particularly to existing highways and public transport, will probably be commonly required across all the options. The potential for a new station south of the M1 has been identified, and could be a feature of any of the options. Priorities and phasing across the options will certainly differ. Development of the appropriate transport infrastructure is an iterative process, for development types and quantum, and what is possible transport terms. Therefore bespoke transport solutions have not been assessed at this stage, as this will be taken forward by Arup as the multi-modal study is extended. Broad implications for transport sustainability have been assessed.

Table of assessment SA Framework Assessment questions Baseline Option 1 – south Option 2 – south Option 3 – north Option 4 – objectives eastern extension eastern and western eastern extension extension south of extension the M1 Biodiversity Will the option protect and All development This option will This option will This option will This option will SA1 To not enhance existing would be within certainly permanently certainly permanently certainly permanently certainly permanently damage key and designated wildlife sites? existing urban areas, impact upon impact upon impact upon impact upon designated wildlife Will the option maintain and so wildlife sites woodland, some BAP woodland, some BAP woodland and other woodland and BAP sites and protected enhance Biodiversity Action would not be sites and other areas sites and other areas areas of County sites in the medium to species. Plan habitat and species, in impacted. of County importance of County importance importance in the long term. SA2 To value, line with BAP targets and in the medium to long in the medium to long medium to long term. protect, maintain, priorities? term. It includes the term. It includes the and increase our Will the option support potential for potential for understanding of, green infrastructure Brackmills Wood to Brackmills Wood to biodiversity. initiatives, especially contribute towards contribute towards SA3 To restore the waterside schemes? public open space public open space SA Framework Assessment questions Baseline Option 1 – south Option 2 – south Option 3 – north Option 4 – objectives eastern extension eastern and western eastern extension extension south of extension the M1 full range of provision. provision. characteristic habitats (floodplains, woodlands etc) & manage the ecological processes on which they depend. Population and Will the option avoid The baseline Closer to the town Closer to the town New housing would This option features a human health sensitive development in development within centre, this expansion centre, this expansion enjoy easier access to small amount of SA4 To protect and noisy and air-polluted urban areas would area is close to area is close to the countryside, development closer to enhance human areas? be more congested congestion hotspots congestion hotspots however development the town centre, so it health & amenity Will the option promote and polluted. and also existing and also existing is distant from is close to congestion through safe, healthy lifestyles through Existing housing is cycleways. Further cycleways. Further Northampton centre hotspots and also crime-free, clean, access to: less healthy than away from the existing away from the existing and also from existing existing cycleways. pleasant Walking, cycling and public new build. urban area, this urban area, this district centres. Further away from the environments. transport? situation is reversed. situation is reversed. Journeys to centres existing urban area, SA5 To decrease Green infrastructure? Some highway Some highway would need to be this situation is noise & vibration. Healthcare infrastructure? improvements and improvements and undertaken through reversed to a great SA6 To plan & Leisure infrastructure? public transport are public transport are congested suburban degree as promote available to parts of available to parts of and urban areas. development moves preventative health the area via the A45. the area via the A45. south of the M1. New care practice. New housing would New housing would housing would enjoy enjoy easier access to enjoy easier access to easier access to the the countryside. the countryside. countryside. However, proximity to However, proximity to However, proximity to the M1 will impact air the M1 will impact air the M1 will impact air SA Framework Assessment questions Baseline Option 1 – south Option 2 – south Option 3 – north Option 4 – objectives eastern extension eastern and western eastern extension extension south of extension the M1 quality and quality and quality and accessibility accessibility. accessibility. Public transport use will be promoted by a new urban railway station with a new mixed-use centre built around it. Water and soil Will the option protect the All development This area contains This area contains This area contains This area contains SA7 To limit water loss of the best and most would be within good quality good quality good quality good quality pollution to levels versatile (BMV) agricultural existing urban areas, agricultural land, agricultural land, agricultural land, agricultural land, a that do not damage land? so agricultural land mineral extraction mineral extraction mineral extraction substantial area for natural systems. Will the option preserve will not be used. areas, and landfill areas, and landfill areas, and landfill mineral extraction, SA8 To reduce, landfill and mineral Water infrastructure sites. It adjoins the sites. It adjoins the sites. The Ecton and landfill sites. It reuse, recover & extraction opportunities? would become floodplain, but closer floodplain, but closer Brook area is adjacent adjoins the floodplain recycle waste Will the option promote overloaded and to the town centre it is to the town centre it is to floodplain to the and over the M1 is through brownfield land could prove difficult also closer to existing also closer to existing south and is also poorly supplied by composting, energy development? to renew. water infrastructure. water infrastructure. close to existing infrastructure. recovery and Will the option protect Further away from the To the west there is a sewage works. bioremediation. surface and groundwater, town, there are no proposed site for new Further away from the SA9 To maintain and recharge water constraints relating to water infrastructure. town, there are no water abstraction, supplies? powerlines and Further away from the constraints relating to run-off and Will the option minimise landfill. town, there are no powerlines and recharge within mains water use and new constraints relating to landfill. carrying capacity water infrastructure? powerlines and (including future Will the option reduce the landfill. carrying capacity). risk of flood damage? SA10 To reduce (Waste questions not contamination & appropriate at this stage.) SA Framework Assessment questions Baseline Option 1 – south Option 2 – south Option 3 – north Option 4 – objectives eastern extension eastern and western eastern extension extension south of extension the M1 safeguard soil quality and quantity. Air Will the option result in a Less development, Where development Where development Development does A small part of SA11 To limit air decrease in motor vehicle solely within the lies closer to the town lies closer to the town not benefit from development in the pollution to levels trips and car dependence? urban area would centre the option centre the option current proximity to options lies closer to that do not damage Will the option improve improve public benefits from the benefits from the cycle routes and the town centre, so natural systems. access to public transport? transport use, and proposed road and proposed road and public transport. the option benefits SA12 To reduce Will the option improve the development public transport links public transport links However potential somewhat from links the need to travel access to cycling? would probably be along the A45, along the A45, public transport to the train station by encouraging Will the option improve displaced to proximity to the train proximity to the train improvements as part and cycle routes. The necessary access access to walking? elsewhere, creating station and links to station and links to of the University Arc impact of this option to facilities, Will the option relieve traffic more car dependent cycle routes. Further cycle routes. Further would support parts of largely depends on services, goods congestion? development overall. from the town centre, from the town centre, the town which are whether the station and other people in Will the option support the these benefits lessen. these benefits lessen. currently isolated for would be parkway ways that make objectives of local air Development distant The proximity of the pedestrians and style, depending on less use of the car quality action plans? from the centre is M1, CVLR and public transport users. vehicle movements, and minimise more likely to be potential parkway The option is relatively or a new urban environmental Please refer to the dependant on station may also lead distant from the train station with a new impact. transport evaluation of vehicular transport, to development being station. Development mixed-use centre built SA13 To develop options for more detail. especially as the more car dependent. further from the M1 around it. Access transport potential parkway and CVLR offers the across the M1 will be infrastructures that station will be road potential to be less difficult, especially for are forward-thinking dependant. car dependent. pedestrians and enough to embrace However, if car cyclists. new alternative dependence forms of transport, continues, there will including systems be more through SA Framework Assessment questions Baseline Option 1 – south Option 2 – south Option 3 – north Option 4 – objectives eastern extension eastern and western eastern extension extension south of extension the M1 integrated with new traffic for the town. development, that improve the current levels of transport efficiency. Climatic factors Will the option provide Development within The single large The large The smaller The single large SA14 To reduce opportunities for efficient the urban area will development area development areas development areas development area greenhouse gas energy generation? be more constrained provides an excellent provide an excellent provide a less obvious provides an excellent emissions by Will the option provide in terms of efficient opportunity for a heat opportunity for a heat opportunity for heat opportunity for a heat planning for energy opportunities for renewable and renewable network. network. networks. network, though it will efficiency. energy generation? energy supply. be difficult for utilities SA15 To reduce infrastructure to cross vulnerability to the the M1. effects of climate change e.g. flooding, disruption to travel by extreme weather etc. SA16 To encourage the use of renewable technology in the planning and design of new development. Material assets Will the option ensure the The baseline option All the options provide All the options provide All the options provide All the options SA17 To ensure housing stock meets the will not meet housing the same housing the same housing the same housing provide the same access to housing, housing needs of the area need. Growth would numbers, to meet numbers, to meet numbers, to meet housing numbers, to SA Framework Assessment questions Baseline Option 1 – south Option 2 – south Option 3 – north Option 4 – objectives eastern extension eastern and western eastern extension extension south of extension the M1 wholesome food, in terms of quality, quantity occur elsewhere, predicted need. predicted need. The predicted need. There meet predicted need. water, amenity and and affordability? weakening option covers are some proposed The option is largely fuel at reasonable Northampton’s opportunities close to residential distant from any cost. position regionally the new south west developments within proposed SA18 To meet local and nationally. district that integrates the area covered by development needs locally considerable social the option. opportunities. wherever possible. and affordable housing. It also includes sites proposed as residential by NBC. Cultural heritage Will the option protect and The baseline options There may be Roman The option covers The option impacts on The option impacts and landscape enhance sites, areas and stays within the remains under parts notable historic some scheduled on landscape and SA19 To preserve features of historic, cultural, boundaries of the of the area. buildings, a site of ancient monuments villages with and enhance archaeological and existing urban area. acknowledged and historic buildings important built historic buildings architectural interest? architectural value, and has the potential environments and and archaeological Will the option improve scheduled ancient for coalescence with historic buildings such sites and to access to buildings, monuments and villages. as Milton Malsor conserve other townscapes and adjoins an area of Conservation Area. culturally important landscapes of historical and locally important features/areas and cultural value? landscape. their settings. Will the option protect and SA20 To create enhance landscape quality, diverse, character in line with durable places, current landscape spaces and character assessments? buildings that are Will the option protect and human in scale and enhance local SA Framework Assessment questions Baseline Option 1 – south Option 2 – south Option 3 – north Option 4 – objectives eastern extension eastern and western eastern extension extension south of extension the M1 form. distinctiveness? SA21 To enhance Will the option provide the quality of opportunities for linking landscapes, the green infrastructure into countryside, development and for townscape locating strategic open character and local space? distinctiveness. SA22 To improve the quantity and quality of publicly accessible open space. Social Will the option ensure that The baseline, and all This option develops This option develops Apart from focussing All options have the inclusiveness there is adequate provision the other options Wooton, which would a new district centre activity around the same ratio of SA23 To improve of education facilities? provide regeneration improve the facilities east of Wooton. A University Arc, this community and CLR access to skills & Will the option support through available and include completely new centre option does not facilities. Providing a knowledge needed University expansion? development on existing residents. All could provide fewer propose provision of new centre around to play a full part in Will the option maintain or previously options have the social inclusion any new or intensified the new railway society. improve access to developed sites. The same ratio of benefits but would district centres. station will create a SA24 To make community services and baseline option does community and CLR provide all new Clustering of useful and accessible local facilities and culture/leisure/recreation not include the facilities. modern facilities. All community and CLR new community hub. opportunities for (CLR) facilities for all? University Arc. This options have the facilities around the The location of the culture, leisure & Will the option provide is a missed same ratio of University and option provides recreation readily opportunities to enhance opportunity, which community and CLR associated minimal opportunities accessible for the social, economic and does not capitalise facilities. developments could to improve the everyone including physical environment of on the benefits provide more inclusive environment for those most in need. deprived communities? available from solutions, but this deprived SA Framework Assessment questions Baseline Option 1 – south Option 2 – south Option 3 – north Option 4 – objectives eastern extension eastern and western eastern extension extension south of extension the M1 SA25 To enable all University expansion needs to be communities. sections of the and related investigated further. community to clustering of This approach would participate in businesses. not promote provision decision-making & of accessible facilities social enterprise so for new and existing to help encourage a communities to the sense of eastern edge of the community identity expansion. Edge extensions could utilise and improve existing disparate edge facilities, providing more social inclusion. All options have the same ratio of community and CLR facilities, so existing communities would not be overloaded with demands from the new communities. Economic Will the option maintain and The existing urban The option provides The option provides The option intensifies The option is closer to SA26 To give improve existing area does not the opportunity to the opportunity to employment employment access to satisfying employment levels within contain sufficient expand and intensify expand and intensify opportunities at Crow opportunities at and rewarding work the Borough? opportunities for Brackmills, Rushmills Brackmills and other Lane, L&H Polymers, Roade, Grange Park, and to reduce Will the option provide employment sites. and the Northampton employment Round Spinney and Pineham, Swan unemployment appropriate, high quality Business Park, and opportunities across other employment Valley and Milton SA Framework Assessment questions Baseline Option 1 – south Option 2 – south Option 3 – north Option 4 – objectives eastern extension eastern and western eastern extension extension south of extension the M1 SA27 To increase and well located other employment the area. areas. Ham, but some areas investment in employment land for the opportunities close to of this option are people, equipment, development of future these sites and across distant from any infrastructure and economic activity, the area. employment other assets to particularly in the opportunities. This enhance the knowledge-based sector? would increase business image of transport impact and the area would encourage SA28 To increase further employment the efficiency of growth distant from transport and public transport economic activities nodes. without compromising the social and environmental performance of the economy

Findings to be carried forward

Transport implications needs to be thoroughly tested, particularly the joint decision between land use and transport planning for the location of a new rail station and its relation to a new or existing centre. Unless new Greenfield development successfully incorporate and establishes zero or very low carbon technologies, it will have a net effect of increasing climate change emissions. The less self-sufficient new Greenfield neighbourhoods are, in terms of services and especially employment, the more pronounced this effect will be, due to increased travel while fossil fuel powered road transport remains the travel mode of choice. 162 | NORTHAMPTON LONG TERM GROWTH OPTIONS STUDY

Appendix B – Key Stakeholder Feedback

B1. INTRODUCTION

Northampton Borough Council, Daventry District Council and South Northamptonshire Council are working in partnership to bring forward options for residential and job growth in the Northamptonshire Implementation Area (NIA) to 2026, as advised by the Milton Keynes South Midlands Sub-Regional Strategy (MKSM SRS). In preparing the options, the partnership felt it was important to look to a range of technical experts and stakeholders to identify issues and priorities, inform choices and options for growth and develop an innovative and forward-looking plan. In particular, expertise from utility and service providers and council officers was sought to ensure the production of realistic growth options. Consultation with these stakeholders, therefore, was viewed as a crucial stage in options creation, as the resulting report will form part of the background evidence that will underpin the Joint Core Strategy and other Local Development Documents.

As explained in the Northampton Borough Council’s Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) (June 2005), the Joint Core Strategy will set out the vision for the development of the NIA. An initial six-week community consultation period on an Issues and Options Report has taken place to inform the drafting of the Joint Core Strategy. The Issues and Options Report, published 20 June 2005, posed a number of questions to the public regarding how they envisaged the NIA developing. Overall, respondents felt it crucial for future development to be sustainable, particularly that infrastructure and jobs (especially those geared towards more high tech / knowledge based industries) be provided in step with house building. A balanced approach to supplying brownfield and greenfield land was advocated, and people generally supported the ‘sequential approach’ to development and the notion that the town centre remains the focus of the community. Achieving modal shift was discussed, and people encouraged referencing specific public transport plans and other transport links such as cycling and walking paths. The community felt it crucial to also protect and enhance the quality of the environment and support the creation of liveable local centres.

The vision for the Core Strategy will continue to be developed with public input and will take reviews of the Community Strategies of Northampton, Daventry and South Northamptonshire LSPs into account. The technical consultation regarding growth options taking place as part of this study is also meant to precede and inform further rounds of extensive community engagement. During this period of engagement, the vision for the NIA and the proposed options for growth (at the publication of a Draft Preferred Options and Proposals Document) will be studied and critiqued by the public. The preferred option for development, to be included in the Joint Core Strategy, will result from community scrutiny and feedback.

The principal points gleaned from the technical workshops, convened to inform the Northampton Long Term Growth Options Study, are described below. Each workshop is summarised and attendees listed as well.

This technical feedback has been taken into account in developing the spatial vision, principles and options for how and where the NIA will grow to 2026. It will also be considered in determining the preferred option for development.

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B2. KEY MESSAGES

The key messages ascertained from the workshops include:

x Planning for future growth should not simply concern allocating residential and employment uses; rather, the impact on utilities and other infrastructure needs to be considered in parallel.

x Transport is a primary concern in the NIA, particularly in regards to easing current levels of congestion. Care must be taken not to exacerbate existing problems; rather, greater emphasis should be placed on modal shift and the development of alternative routes.

x The NIA needs to develop as a centre for education and learning, exploiting its key further education and higher education facilities. Because competing locales such as Milton Keynes lack such assets, Northampton’s universities can help cement its strategic role in the region as a quality place to live and work.

x Community cohesion is an important aspect to shaping the NIA’s identity. Villages and other settlements should be respected and sprawl avoided. The ‘hierarchy of centres’ principle should be maintained in the growth options, with increased business and retail development in the town centre, with district and local centres playing supporting roles.

x Having in place a variety of ‘quality of life’ amenities such as a range of local infrastructure facilities, parks and quality transportation choices is essential to attracting a highly-skilled population and more high-tech, R & D-focussed businesses.

B3. WORKSHOPS B3.1 Utilities and Service Providers Workshop – 18 September 2006

A workshop to determine the infrastructure requirements for growing Northampton and to discuss the long term Vision was held in September to inform the baseline utilities and service capacity issues facing the area today and in the future, and to set out priority action areas for delivery. The agenda for the half-day session was as follows:

x The Study – to convey the context of the study and its relationship to the Growth Agenda x Questions x Break Out Session – to learn from service and utilities providers about capacity issues and how to deliver their spatial vision for the NIA x Feedback and Conclusions

In the presentation, the current demographic and projected profiles for Northampton was described to provide insight into the kind of services and facilities that will likely be required in the future. Based on this analysis, it was determined that community services would need to be provided for the area’s current young population as well as an increasingly aging community. To encourage business (and therefore decrease the likelihood of out-commuting), Northampton’s environment would have to be cared for to make it a more attractive place to live. Education opportunities need to be strengthened to grow the skills base of its population. Transport links also need to be improved and alternative modes of travel invested in due to increasing congestion.

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Future trends in infrastructure provision discussed include: x Education – an aim to increase access, quality and range of childcare, and locations for expanding the capacity of higher and further education are desired; x Health – need to expand health and social care services to accommodate growth, particularly via new primary care centres and expanded hospital provision x Leisure and Recreation – River Nene is envisaged to be a strategic recreational resource x Transport – major road (e.g. A43, A45, A508) improvements including addition of high occupancy vehicle lanes and the promotion of rail network to cater for commuters; increase access to public transportation x Utilities – need new water and foul sewage treatment facilities, plus long-term infrastructure plans for gas and electricity; need for new waste facilities

Three break-out groups discussed the implications for growth that the provision of these and other services would entail. Groups were focussed on service providers’ areas of expertise and were divided into themes of access and connectivity, community services and utilities. During the hour-long session, they were asked to consider the following questions:

x Are there any gaps in the baseline review so far? x What are the current challenges and opportunities for service providers? x What are the barriers to delivery? x Are there any best practice or preferred models of delivery? x Are there any long-term programmes in place? x How can service providers contribute to the successful growth of Northampton?

The main points arising from these roundtable discussions were:

x Access and Connectivity  Participants concurred with the baseline that congestion is already a problem in Northampton as the majority of residents currently depend on car use. The significant amount of out- commuting raised concern.  Major constraints exist particularly to the east of the urban area where North Northamptonshire growth towns are exerting particular stress on the road networks.  The need for modal shift was emphasised. Proposed projects included a park and ride station near Upton (possibly funded through developer contributions) or Riverside (possibly funded through a CIF bid); new link roads at Sandy Lane North, a Sandy Lane Relief Road and the Cross Valley Link Road (CVLR); peripheral parking as described in a report by BDP; and an improved railway station with interchange.  Delivery of these projects (and therefore to a large degree modal shift) will depend on how well transport and land use planning is integrated. A strategic transport framework, being developed now, should link into the Core Spatial Strategy to give it weight.  The need to work collaboratively to bring forward policies and strategies (particularly those that are forward-looking and visionary, such as improved cycling and walking strategies) was stressed. Developer buy-in would be equally important to achieving goals.

x Community Services  The community services group discussed new ways to envisage service delivery of education, healthcare and other social services. Of particular concern was ensuring access to new

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facilities to the existing community and that current residents’ needs were taken into consideration as well, as there is a degree of ‘catch-up’ taking place at the moment to get service provision up to the standard where it should be today. Co-locating facilities, or combining old and new services, was suggested as a possible way to achieve this.  Education provision needs to be addressed to help inspire a culture of learning in the community. It was noted that aspirations of the community needed to be lifted to propel their employment prospects ahead.  The phasing of infrastructure provision needs to be in step with housing growth, and ideally will be in place before the growth occurs. Early investment is crucial for this. Forward plans need to be prepared to facilitate investment.  The group discussed how proper facility provision can help attract and retain people. For example, good education facilities will help attract people with higher skills base. Quality education facilities will also be critical to attracting families to live in the area. Provision of culture and leisure-related facilities will also help economic development and prevent leakage to other centres.  A clear vision and identity for Northampton will underpin the image which will help attract people to the area. It was discussed how greater cohesion was needed amongst settlements to help cement its identity. The need to capitalise on assets such as the University, the River Nene and Northampton’s history was raised, necessary to set the area apart from neighbouring Milton Keynes in particular.  It was recognised that strong political leadership is critical to make this and other visionary changes come to fruition. Strong political leadership would enable representative government steer future change rather than developers.  It was felt that services (particularly community-based and voluntary) were already ‘doing more with less’, and people wondered how they could cope with further growth.  Strategic direction is required to ensure an integrated approach. x Utilities  Water: includes planning for water resources, the local water network, waste water treatment and local sewerage networks. While water resources are considered over a 25-year programme, the remaining water works infrastructure is considered and funded under more immediate 5-year programmes.  Sewage treatment works are very close to capacity now. Concerns were raised regarding the length of time necessary to secure developer contributions to pay for these works in the future.  When planning for water infrastructure, higher costs for decontaminating brownfield land must be taken into consideration to avoid surprises.  Waste: two studies are helpful references – University of Northampton county-wide study and the Waste Local Plan.  Electricity and gas: over the past 25 years, planning of electricity and gas has been reactive rather than proactive.  Though funding is largely customer and developer-based, the group felt there was a need to have Government provide up-front funding to allow early provision. It was suggested that partnerships to provide early funding, such as with English Partnerships, could be investigated as well.  Data sharing between councils is poor and needs to be improved to help ensure an integrated approach to infrastructure provision.  It was felt best to locate new development as close to existing utilities as possible as capacity is limited in Northampton, and funding streams and timing of infrastructure provision is unsure.

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The overriding message derived from the research and discussions was that new homes and jobs are not the only elements which need to be carefully planned for to deliver the Growth Agenda. Opportunities for forward-funding infrastructure provision should be investigated to allow it to occur in step with residential development. Of particular concern was encouraging strategies and projects capable of achieving modal shift; creating a culture for learning; providing quality facilities to attract a higher skills base; identifying utilities at capacity (e.g. water resources); and ensuring that a strong identify for Northampton was created through new growth. A central theme was also that infrastructure provision in the future should be sustainable and well-integrated. To ensure the most useful facilities and services are developed, plans should be drawn up in collaboration with the community. A detailed account of the topics covered is included in a copy of the presentation included below.

EDAW PLC PLANNING, DESIGN AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT WORLDWIDE Structure of this Workshop

10.10 am - The Study 10.40 - Questions 11.00 - Coffee Break 11.15 - Break out session 12.15 pm - Feedback and Conclusions 12.30 - Close and Lunch Longer Term Growth Options for Northampton Utilities and Service Providers Workshop

Presentation prepared for Northampton Borough Council, Daventry District Council and South Northamptonshire Council

18 September 2006 Alison Young, Director – EDAW ([email protected])

Introduction This Study

• Sustainable Communities Plan • Study commissioned in August 2006 to identify potential • MKSM Sub-Region identified as a Growth Area long term growth options for Northampton Implementation • Northampton identified for approx 30,000 new dwellings Area and approx 37,000 new jobs to 2021 • Study builds on the work undertaken so far • Local Development Frameworks underway • Need to take account of other studies / strategies in • ‘Issues and Options’ Consultation undertaken June 2005 preparation (e.g. Review of the Regional Spatial Strategy) • Preliminary SA/SEA undertaken September 2005 • Stakeholder involvement crucial. • Joint Core Strategy – West Northamptonshire (Northampton BC, Daventry DC and South Northamptonshire Council).

Purpose of this Workshop Project Team Daventry Northampton South District Borough Northamptonshire Council Council Council • Inform stakeholders of the study and its relationship to

the Growth Agenda Member Group • Close any gaps in the baseline information including identifying any potential infrastructure capacity issues Officer Steering Group • Identify the emerging components of a Spatial Vision for

Northampton Implementation Area Consultant Team • Confirm the actions required to deliver the Spatial Vision.

EDAW GVA Grimley Atkins Project Management Planning Market Appraisal Transport Economic Development Implementation Utilities Sustainability Urban Design GIS and Graphics

1 Study Objectives

Daventry

• To review the housing baseline position Wellingborough • To identify factors that could influence the location and form of development • To determine the most sustainable directions of growth Northampton to 2021 and then 2031 • To identify implementation requirements including the availability and need for strategic infrastructure • To recommend an appropriate boundary for the NIA • To demonstrate how the study outcomes meet regional requirements for Growth South Northamptonshire • To provide the evidence base for preparing the joint Core Strategy.

Study Area

1. Baseline Context

¾ Housing ¾ People ¾ Economy ¾ Environment

Methodology

Northampton Dwelling Requirements to 2021 Existing Population Highlights:

• Young population 2001- 2006- 2011- 2016- Total 2006 2011 2016 2021 • Population projections indicate decrease in youth and Annual Dwelling Completions increase in 75+ population. This will have clear Figures in 1,050 1,450 1,750 1,750 30,000 implications for service delivery MKSM SRS • BME population above regional comparators (8% Adjusted 1,050 1,450 1,900 1,900 31,500 compared to 2% in South Northamptonshire) Figures • Two thirds of net in-migration are couples and families • Growth likely to bring in more young families

2 Economy Highlights: Economy Highlights:

• Higher than average business start ups • Employment concentrated in public administration, • Economic activity above national average education and health (27%), transport & communications (11%) and banking, finance & insurance (16.5%) • Employment above national average • High skills levels (32% compared to 29% national • Above average associate professional/technical average) but also significant population without employment qualifications (29% compared to 23% South • Economic vision is to have inward investment of high Northamptonshire) reinforcing dichotomy of main tech knowledge based industries and diversify occupations

Environment Highlights: What does this mean for Services Provision?

• Northampton is predominantly urban, but has a high quality • Need to provide a range of community services to meet needs: landscape. ¾ aged care services • Contaminated sites (e.g. the former footwear industry, ¾ children’s services tanneries, breweries) ¾ Support for people from ethnic minority groups • The River Nene flows through the centre of Northampton & is • Make it an attractive place to live, work, do business and visit a source of flooding ¾ Places to recreate • Importance of protecting the character of villages ¾ Supply the right kind of housing (affordable, quality, choice & sustainable) ¾ Further & higher education, lifelong learning and workforce training necessary to further strengthen labour force ¾ Improved local and regional transport access and links

2. The Future of Services Provision Community Services Sectors

Sector Area

• Community Services Children, Young People, Education & Learning ƒ Nursery Education & Childcare ƒ Primary & Secondary Education • Access & Connectivity ƒ Further & Higher Education ƒ Lifelong Learning •Utilities ƒ Libraries Health & Social Care ƒ Primary Care ƒ Intermediate Care ƒ Acute Care ƒ Mental Health ƒ Social Services Leisure & Recreation ƒ Parks & Open Spaces ƒ Leisure Centres, Sports Halls & Playing Pitches ƒ Community Facilities Emergency & Essential Services ƒ Police Service ƒ Fire Service ƒ Ambulance Service Voluntary & Community Sector ƒ Voluntary Service Providers

3 Education Health and Social Care

• Government’s vision is to increase access, quality and range of childcare • Government’s vision to deliver services at times and ¾ By 2010, out of school childcare places between 8am and 6pm locations convenient to patients available every weekday for all children from the ages of 3-14 One Stop Primary Care Centre ¾ Development of ‘extended schools’ ¾ ¾ Flexible ‘educare’ that unites education and childcare2 ½ hours • Growth will result in the need to expand the capacity of free support per week for children aged 3-4 years health and social care services • Reorganisation of school tier system and introduction of • At present, hospitals in Northampton are under pressure independent specialist schools • Need for additional hospital provision ¾ Some school sites could be examined for redevelopment • Locations for expanding the capacity of higher and further education • Need to examine scope for existing surgeries and health provision to be found. centres to expand

Leisure & Recreation Emergency Services

• Provision of leisure and cultural facilities contribute to • Crime and health are linked – crime and disorder people’s health and well-being reduction partnerships • Growth brings greater demand for leisure space and • Fire Service is going through significant change green infrastructure • Ambulance Services transforming from acute care • Potential for River Nene Regional Park to be a strategic towards a mobile health resource recreational resource • Joint planning of emergency services • Need to identify and fund facilities where people can meet (e.g. shared places of worship; community space; community centres etc.)

Potential Implications for Growth:

• Community standards and requirements will need to be meet • Services and facilities will need to be readily accessible to all regardless of social status, ethnicity or physical or mental disability • Potential for flexible service provision and ‘future proofing’ • Benefits of integrating and co-locating facilities • Role of Voluntary & Community Sectors could be strengthened • Method of funding infrastructure to be determined • Need to safeguard land for community facilities and locate in areas with good access to public transport

Access & Connectivity

4 Distance Travelled To Work of those who Work in the Area Travel to Work 35

England and Wales Bus Car Rail Walk Cycle Other 30 East Midlands Northamptonshire Northamptonshire 4.9% 78.8% 1.4% 10.5% 2.5% 2.0% 25 Daventry 7.7% 74.9% 1.4% 11.1% 3.1% 1.8% Northampton 20 Northampton South Northamptonshire South 2.1% 84.9% 1.8% 7.9% 1.8% 1.6% 15 Northamptonshire Daventry 2.0% 82.9% 1.3% 10.2% 1.7% 1.8% 10

5

0 Works Less than 2km-5km 5km-10km 10km-20km 20km-30km 30km-40km 40km-60km 60km+ mainly at or 2km from home

Travel to Work

Local Capacity & Improvements Local Capacity & Improvements Northampton Northampton • Adopted Local Plan provides for the greatest • Car based trips however remain dominant mode, therefore concentration of development located west of the town in ¾ Improvements to A43, A45 and A508 necessary to be approached in Southwest District and north of Kings Heath sustainable way including high occupancy vehicle lanes • A45 route of strategic importance therefore necessary to ensure • Range of improvements identified within the urban area, development does not have negative impact. main aims: – To promote network control through intelligent Daventry • Generally operates well with minimal congestion transport system to encourage model shift • Key network constraint is at Flore and at the junction of the A45 and A5 – To integrate railway station with town centre and rest of public transport network to cater for commuters Towcester • Bypass and junction improvements on A5 – To focus access to station on public transport

Main issues identified by the NCC Multi-Modal study Possible Implications for Growth: (2002): • Substantial increase in both car based and public transport journeys – Traffic congestion & poor road access to regeneration areas over next 20 yrs both related to housing and employment. – Poor pedestrian access to some retail/ employment areas • Increased congestion due to delays expected on both local and – Low cycling modal share; network severance & poor provision in certain national road network areas • The sub-region suffers from a significant level of out-commuting – Low frequency of inter-urban, rural, evening & Sunday bus services & a (22% of Northampton’s labour force out-commute) lack of orbital bus services • Promote model shift - public transport, walking & cycling – Inadequate interchange facilities. opportunities in order to reduce car dependency – Insufficient lorry parking facilities • Encourage regeneration of urban centres to sustain public transport use – Increased parking facilities needed at railway station • Improve access on the urban fringe – Improve signage; encourage modal shift to rail & other transport means • Need to recognise it will take time to change people’s travel habits – Need to improve mobility/accessibility for people with disabilities

5 Water Electricity & Gas

• Anglian Water Services Ltd (AW) provides potable water and foul sewage treatment for • At present Northampton suppliers have no long term domestic and non domestic purposes plans to supply gas and electricity to MKSM growth • There is limited or no capacity within the levels existing system • Northampton has no spare electricity capacity • Ability to receive payment from developers is • Construction of two new overhead line pylons from the highly regulated Gredon Switching Stations in Central and South West • Need for new reservoir capacity to supply Northampton have been identified to supply 52,000 new demand is pressing homes at a capital cost of: • To meet development AW will import water by major increase in water from River Trent and – £30m for overhead lines construction of one or more raw storage – £15m for 12 new primary substation reservoirs

Waste Possible Implications for Growth:

• Northamptonshire produces over 2 million tonnes a year • Need for new water and foul sewage treatment facilities of waste: • Need for long-term infrastructure plans for gas and ¾ commercial and industrial waste (974,000 tonnes) electricity ¾ municipal solid waste (352,000 tonnes) • Need for new local/neighbourhood waste facilities ¾ construction and demolition waste (758,000 tonnes) • Change people’s behaviour with waste management • Reduce the amount of waste going to landfill sites, increase recycling & raise awareness about waste minimisation

Towards a Spatial Vision

• Sustainable • Choice • Well-Integrated • Community Collaboration Questions and Answers

6 Break Out Groups Group Questions

Group 1: Access & Connectivity • Are there any gaps in the baseline review so far? • What are the current challenges & opportunities for service providers? Group 2: Community Services • What are the barriers to delivery? • Are there any best practice or preferred models of Group 3: Utilities delivery? • Are there any long-term programmes in place? • How can service providers contribute to the successful growth of Northampton?

Next Steps

• Review outcomes of today’s workshop • Provide copy of Baseline Report • Stakeholder consultation on preferred directions for Feedback growth – Nov 2006 • Final Report – Dec 2006

Thank You and Close

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B3.2 Technical Workshop: Growth Scenarios – 20 November 2006

The technical workshop was convened to ascertain key stakeholders’ views regarding possible future growth scenarios for the NIA. As part of the analysis to determine potential sustainable land development opportunities in and around Northampton, technical feedback on emerging scenarios was considered an integral stage in the process. Stakeholder expertise was essential to ensure that a robust baseline document be produced that will withstand scrutiny, as the Longer Term Growth Options study will form part of the background evidence that will underpin the joint Core Strategy and other Local Development Documents.

The agenda for the half-day workshop was as follows:

x Presentation: Northampton Growth Scenarios – describing the genesis of and rationale behind the three thematic growth scenarios x Discussion x Testing the Growth Scenarios: Towards Deliverable Options – describing how to evolve theoretical schemes into options which can be delivered x The Way Forward

In the presentation, workshop participants were asked to consider the implications for delivering the Growth Agenda, and what that entailed in terms of land use. The emerging process taken by the study team to determine where and how these elements (such as housing, office land, warehousing and distribution land, retail, green space, community facilities and visitor attractions) are delivered was explained. Generally, the approach was described to be integrated and holistic, bearing in mind deliverability and sustainability and underpinned by planning and design principles.

These basic growth principles were presented and described through the creation of three thematic scenarios for future development to promote debate about different types of growth. Rather than presenting hard-fast locational options for future growth, these scenarios emphasised solely social, economic and environmental outcomes. These high-level descriptive scenarios were designed to ascertain the characteristics and values of development which stakeholders found to be most important to guide ‘real’ deliverable option creation.

The scenarios presented were as follows:

x Scenario 1: Focus on Neighbourhood Centres – meant to highlight the importance of activity centres, accessibility to and improvement of local facilities and promote the distinct identity of neighbourhoods and villages around Northampton;

x Scenario 2: Urban Renaissance – meant to highlight the benefits of focussing development in the urban area and / or brownfield land (such as attracting and retaining investment in the town centre) and capitalising on natural assets, creating sustainable living environments; and

x Scenario 3: Employment and Skills Base Led – meant to convey characteristics of an ideal environment for attracting investment in knowledge-based industries and reducing out-migration, providing opportunities for skills development, attractive environments to live and work in and developing employment clusters to allow industry to flourish.

After the presentation, break-out groups were asked to consider the pros and cons of the above scenarios, guided by these questions:

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x What are the strengths and weaknesses of each scenario? x How should we prioritise the positive elements identified for each one? x What is needed to bring the desired elements forth? x Are there any initiatives in place to achieve what is desired? x What might affect the timing of potential growth areas? x Are there any ‘show stoppers’?

Key points arising from these conversations were recorded on a thematic basis:

Scenario 1: Focus on Neighbourhood Centres x Strengths  Potential to develop community cohesion  Ensures Northampton’s growth does not result in new areas being dormitories (i.e. live and work in Northampton)  Mixed use activity could enable greater vibrancy to be achieved  Potential to regenerate declining areas x Weaknesses (including ‘show stoppers’)  Service agencies are not joined up which questions the ability to deliver this scenario (e.g. community safety and design issues)  The market may not deliver out of town services  Ignores Northampton’s USP / weakened identity for Northampton  Doesn’t minimise the need to travel if employment is out of Northampton  If there is too much focus on other centres it could result in a dead town centre, and the people living around the other centres might not feel part of Northampton  Growing the centres to the north may not work with the lack of a ring road  High use of car transport with this option  Due to the spread, there may not be enough of an economic critical mass to be successful  Small villages would be extremely affected by the development  May be difficult to counteract long-established commuting patterns on the A43 / A45 / M1. The South is already heavily congested – the A45 / M1 are ‘show stoppers’ (north of Roade). Twenty years is not a very long to improve major roads.  Public transport could be an issue  Potential lack of diversity of development x Emerging Opportunities with ‘Neighbourhood Centres’ Lead of Growth  To concentrate on facilities already there  To create centres as a focus for a wider catchment (i.e. change the hierarchy of centres)  To bring housing and employment back into the town centre  To use it to promote more community facilities for youth provision  To link vital transport infrastructure to the centres and to centre growth around public transport links. In near future, there is an opportunity to add a railway station.  To provide more local facilities  To create a new development with unique identity rather than sprawl  To improve bus services and improve modal shift

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Scenario 2: Urban Renaissance x Strengths  Enables Northampton’s town centre to become more vibrant – to be a ’24 hour city’  Achieves efficiency through maximising opportunities for the re-use of land  Encourages walkability  Less out of town business  Cheaper ways of living through higher densities  A larger core would make it easier to locate central services such as hospitals x Weaknesses (including ‘show stoppers’)  Too dense  Potential lack of housing diversity to meet different housing needs  The market may not deliver concentrated city-centre development within a non-car based environment and therefore housing numbers may not be delivered  May be difficult for local facilities to take the extra growth  Unsure if the community would be willing to achieve significant ‘cultural change’  Difficult to achieve within a 20-year period x Emerging Opportunities with ‘Urban Renaissance’ Lead Growth  To create ‘Bristol’ feel  To improve community safety within the town centre  To provide a range of high density accommodation (e.g. four bedroom units)  To counteract the declining retail focus of the town centre in comparison to other more vibrant regional centres  To achieve inward investment in the town centre  To establish high quality and modern architecture  To minimise the need to travel  To expand the universities  To create a different identity to Milton Keynes (e.g. specialist retail)  To bring forward the community’s vision for waterfront development  To deliver the aspirations of Northamptonshire Enterprise  To enable public sector intervention (i.e. role of WNDC) through a regenerative framework  To make better and more sustainable use of the disused railway lines  To enhance and create new cultural assets within the centre of town to attract more visitors  To regenerate deprived communities  To bring forward the proposed extension to the ring road

Scenario 3: Employment and Skills x Strengths  Attract economic investment  Raise profile of Northamptonshire  Cater for diverse economic base (e.g. medium tech companies with head offices)

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x Weaknesses (including ‘show stoppers’)  Attract distribution companies / warehousing at junctions  Impact on highways and could cause cross-town commuting problems  Could encourage out-commuting  Creation of ghettos within the existing urban area because of the lack of investment  Attracts investment away from the town centre which currently is not an employment hub  Encourages development further south – and competing with Milton Keynes x Emerging Opportunities with ‘Employment and Skills’ Lead Growth  To provide high quality public transport to the north  To improve highways infrastructure  To create better designed development  To achieve a better public transport system for the outer areas  To create high tech business parks  To develop around the possible new parkway station  To focus on the county rather than just West Northamptonshire  To do something different and achieve a new vision  To create an attractive environment for R & D and highly skilled workforce – ‘quality of life’ offer  To avoid creating seas of car parks around business units to reduce the need to drive

Participants felt particularly strongly about several aspects of the above scenarios, and prioritised the following as key characteristics they would like to see guide future growth. Similarly, stakeholders highlighted key risks to realising this growth.

Priorities included: x Developing community cohesion x Linking vital transport infrastructure to the centres and to centre growth around public transport links x Creating new development with unique identity

Risks associated with achieving growth that would support the above priorities which were identified included: x The market may not deliver out of town services x The market may not deliver concentrated city-centre development within a non-car based environment and therefore housing numbers may not be delivered x Impact on highways; could cause cross-town commuting problems

The results of this consultation on general growth scenarios and principles were critical to developing the options, as stakeholders added specialist quantitative and qualitative analysis on a local level. The next section of this paper describes how the consultation fed directly into the options development. For further detail regarding the growth scenarios consultation in particular, however, the presentation is included below.

EDAW PLC PLANNING, DESIGN AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT WORLDWIDE Purpose of this Presentation

• To update you on the process to establish growth options for Northampton • To present the emerging growth scenarios • To gain your feedback on the priorities for creating the preferred options Longer Term Growth Options for Northampton • To inform you of the next Growth Scenarios Workshop steps required to finish the

Presentation prepared for Northampton study Borough Council, Daventry District Council and South Northamptonshire Council

20 November 2006

Introduction Project Team Daventry Northampton South District Borough Northamptonshire Council • Sustainable Communities Plan Council Council • MKSM Sub-Region identified as a growth area Member Group • Northampton identified as a major centre for growth capable of accommodating approx 31,500 new dwellings Officer Steering and approx 37,200 new jobs to 2021 Group • Preparation of Joint Core Strategy for West Northants to 2026 is underway Consultant Team • Study of long term growth options commenced in August EDAW to inform the Core Strategy Issues and Options GVA Grimley Atkins Project Management Planning Market Appraisal Transport • Study is being led by EDAW with GVA Grimley and Atkins Economic Development Implementation Utilities Sustainability Urban Design GIS and Graphics

Study Objectives

• To review the housing baseline position • To identify factors that could influence the location and form of development • To determine the most sustainable directions of growth to 2026 and then 2031 • To identify implementation requirements including the availability and need for strategic infrastructure • To recommend an appropriate boundary for the NIA • To demonstrate how the study outcomes meet regional requirements for Growth

Project Stages

1 BASELINE How many new homes are we planning for?

DETERMINE IDENTIFY DEFINE DEV & DESIGN LAND USE BUDGET GROWTH SECTORS PRINCIPLES • Approx 40,250 new dwellings from 2001 - 2026 GROWTH SECTORS APPRAISAL • Approx 14,121 dwellings have already been completed, have

FORMULATE POTENTIALGROWTH OPTIONS outstanding permissions or are in the pipeline 1 2 3 • We are therefore planning for about 26,129 new dwellings from 2006 - STAKEHOLDER FEEDBACK 2026 • Approx 5,000 to 12,000 of these

DETERMINE PREFERRED JOINT CORE STRATEGY dwellings could be located within the GROWTH OPTIONS & ISSUES & OPTIONS IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY CONSULTATION existing urban area up to 2022

Options Development Process

What else are we planning for? What are the land budget requirements? • It’s not just the new homes and jobs that we need to plan for Land Use Hectares • We need to understand what future Residential 366 services and infrastructure will be required to support growth Community 106 • How much land is needed for: Industry 14 – Dwellings – Office, warehouse/distribution, Warehouse/Distribution 8 industry Office 31 – Schools and higher education facilities Retail 13 – Heath and other community service Leisure and Visitor Attractions 5 facilities Open Space 116 –Retail – Open space Total Land Required 658 – Leisure and visitor attractions

How do we determine Where and How to grow Progress to date Northampton? • Workshop held with utility and service providers – Sept • Holistic and integrated approach • Draft Baseline Report prepared covering: • Underpinned by planning policy, urban design principles, ¾ population and housing community values and what can ¾ environment realistically be delivered ¾ economy and employment • Sustainability assessment: ¾ community infrastructure ¾ environmental protection ¾ transport ¾ utilities ¾ enhanced social well-being • Sustainable urban design principles explored ¾ economic development • Sequential approach: consider • Existing community visions reviewed brownfield before greenfield • Analysis is underway of potential land development areas

2 Principles for Sustainable Growth Emerging Growth Scenarios

• Achieving social diversity • Three themed and diagrammatic growth scenarios have • Encouraging sustainable movement been established to promote debate about different • Enhancing cultural and natural assets types of growth • Strengthening the role of activity centres • The scenarios are not ‘real’ locational based options – Why? • Encouraging mixed use activity ¾ Because at this stage we want to generate ideas on • Promoting a healthy living environment different models for growth • Creating safe, welcoming & inclusive places • The scenarios present the way Northampton could grow • Using land efficiently emphasising solely social, economic and environmental outcomes • Strengthening Northampton’s unique identity • Please note that ‘real’ deliverable options will be • Commit to long term success and develop presented for public consultation long lasting places

How will the Scenarios evolve into Options? Scenario 1: Focus Growth on Neighbourhood Centres

• Attendees at today’s workshop will be asked what each scenario means for Northampton • The ‘pros’ and ‘cons’ of each scenario will be extracted • A ‘menu’ for growth will be created by selecting the best elements of each scenario • Different realistic and deliverable options will be generated and tested against a range of land suitability criteria • These will be represented as either potential directions or areas for growth and will form the basis of public consultation on the Core Strategy ‘Issues and Options’.

Scenario 1: Focus Growth on Neighbourhood Centres

Aims: • To establish a hierarchy of activity centres • To promote mixed use activity • To invest in improving local facilities including health, schools, leisure and shops • To maximise accessibility to local facilities through encouraging walking, cycling and using public transport • To promote the distinct identity of Northampton’s neighbourhoods and surrounding rural villages • To create sustainable community living and social cohesion

Neighbourhood Centres

3 Scenario 1: What are the Advantages and Scenario 2: Urban Renaissance Disadvantages?

Advantages: • Better defined character and function of centres • Promotes social cohesion • Encourages more sustainable living through locating homes closer to jobs and facilities • Opportunity to attract investment to rural communities • Opportunity to upgrade existing community facilities

Disadvantages: • Potential loss of the character of some villages and settlements • Constrained sites / complex land assembly for delivery • Wider distribution of growth across Northampton affecting more communities

Scenario 2: Urban Renaissance

Aims: • To bring vitality and life to poor quality or under-used areas • To attract and retain investment in the town • To make best use of existing natural features and cultural assets • To use land more efficiently • To promote more sustainable living environments – maximising opportunities for walking, cycling and using public transport to reach destinations – innovative ‘green’ buildings

Urban Renaissance

Scenario 2: What are the Advantages and Scenario 3: Employment and Skills Based Disadvantages?

Advantages: • Seeks to minimise the environmental impacts of growth • Safeguards valuable resources, especially attractive rural hinterland • Protects the character of villages • Opportunity to attract investment to existing urban communities

Disadvantages: • High density living – not as many detached homes • Potential re-development of some existing estates? • Limited locations for future business parks • Non-car based environment may not be attractive to new businesses • Dramatic cultural change for Northampton residents?

4 Scenario 3: Employment and Skills Based Led

Aims: • To cluster development around key nodes of employment and skills development opportunities • To create the ideal environment for attracting investment in knowledge-based industries: – maximise strategic locations (with efficient transport links to other regional centres, London and Europe) – establish high quality attractive living environments – close to leisure and cultural opportunities. • To minimise out-migration through encouraging people to live and work in Northampton • To provide opportunities for skills development and ongoing learning • To retain current population – far reaching legacy for today’s youth

Employment and Skills

Scenario 3: What are the Advantages and Bringing it all Together: Towards a Hybrid Disadvantages? Advantages: • Identifies and builds distinct economic clusters • The potential directions / options for growth will most • Attract significant economic investment in Northampton likely be a hybrid of applying environmental, social and • Northampton self-sufficient and not a dormitory town economic drivers • Strengthen role as a regional economic centre in the Oxford to Cambridge Arc • Options need to be holistic and integrated • Growth consolidated in discrete areas • What makes sense? Disadvantages: • Limited benefits for new community provision / social cohesion • May not minimise environmental impacts • Potential loss of the character of some villages and settlements • Continues to encourage car-based behaviour and attitudes • Ignores areas potentially requiring revitalisation

Next Steps Break Out Group Questions

• Discuss growth scenarios at Technical Workshop 20 Nov 2006 • What are the strengths and weaknesses of each scenario? • Prepare draft potential directions / options for growth Late Nov • How should we prioritise the positive elements identified for each one? • Gain feedback from Officer Programme Board on draft • What is needed to bring the desired elements forth? potential directions / options for growth • Are there any initiatives in place to achieve what is Late Nov/ Early Dec desired? • Gain feedback from Member Steering Group on draft • What might affect the timing of potential growth areas? study report • Are there any ‘show stoppers’? Dec 2006 • Finalise study report Late Dec 2006

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B4. IMPLICATIONS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF GROWTH OPTIONS

Consultation played a fundamental role in formulating the various options for growth detailed in the main body of this report. Recurring messages and priorities which emerged from both workshops which helped shape the options include:

x Encourage modal shift – Participants highlighted the road congestion problems that exist at present and desired a change in travel patterns to alleviate this stress. The development of improved public transport systems and new link roads were encouraged. It was suggested that one or two key centres link public transport. It was recommended that growth nodes also be balanced with the dispersal of traffic in mind;

x Create a ‘culture of learning’ – Universities and other higher / further education institutions were noted as some of Northampton’s key assets which should be exploited. If these facilities were augmented or given higher priority, there opportunity exists to grow a more highly-skilled population and attract high-tech industries to the area, helping facilitate economic development. It was suggested that one key employment area be located around the universities, with linked B1 and B2 uses creating a business / science park;

x Focus growth around core of the town centre – It was felt that the town centre should support a significant amount of the new business and retail development to reinforce its role as the NIA’s primary centre. Diversity in activity and intensification should be promoted here. It was reasoned that a larger core would also make it easier to locate central services such as hospitals. Outside the centre, only four or five major development areas should be proposed, following the principles regarding hierarchy of centres; and

x Employment-led growth is critical – Though it was recognised that the delivery and sustenance of economic growth relies on the creation of sustainable, attractive, well-connected and well-served residential communities, stakeholders felt that the opportunities for growth options with strong employment elements were key to realising a step-change for the strategic role of the NIA. Attracting high-tech industries and R & D to the area – balancing the role of the core and urban extensions - would help raise the profile of Northampton and cement its identity.

Bearing these key messages in mind, options were created with a strong emphasis on potential public transport connections and to support proposals for the creation of alternative routes, such as the Cross Valley Link Road. Development around the network of universities and higher education facilities in the north (i.e. ‘the University Arc’) was developed as an aspect to each option to highlight the institutions which represent some of Northampton’s significant assets and to encourage economic development around these key nodes. The town centre and other centres in the urban area are intensified in each option as well, stressing the importance of the ‘hierarchy of centres’ principle. Finally, engendering a higher ‘quality of life’ was treated as an implicit aspect of each option to help attract a highly-skilled population and businesses. Locations for new employment centres were considered inside and outside the urban core with transport and infrastructure capacity in mind, but were regarded overall as key elements to creating sustainable communities as a whole.

B5. WORKSHOP ATTENDEES Utilities & Service Providers Stakeholder Event, 18 September 2006

Gill Howe, Northamptonshire Central Library Manager

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Giles Hughes, Government Office for the East Midlands

Mick Woodcock, Government Office for the East Midlands

Christine Allen, Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust

Karen Britton, Daventry District Council

Terry Begley, Daventry District Council

Claire Berry, Northampton Borough Council

Alan Fitz, Northamptonshire County Council - Schools

Serena Carmichael, Highways Agency

Environment Agency (two representatives)

Andrew Dutton, Northamptonshire County Council - Social Care

Ray Starkey, Northampton College

Philip Hill, Central Networks

John Toby, Northampton PCT

Lesley Hamilton, Northampton PCT

Ian Achurch, Northamptonshire County Council - Growth Management

Chetna Modi, Northampton PCT – Health & Social Care Project Manager for Milton Keynes & South Midlands

Mick Galey, Anglian Water - Developer Services

Llewelyn Morgan, Northamptonshire County Council - Sustainable Transport

Andy D’Arcy, South Northamptonshire Council

Richard Strugnell, South Northamptonshire Council

Richard Wood, Daventry District Council

Mick Lorkins, Northampton Borough Council – Economic Intelligence

John Coyles, East Midlands Ambulance Service

James Cushing, Northamptonshire Enterprise

Technical Workshop: Growth Scenarios, 20 November 2006

(To be provided by NBC)

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Appendix C – Referenced Transport Documents

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C1. SUMMARY OF TRANSPORT STRATEGY On 8th January 2007 a report was taken to Northamptonshire County Council Cabinet detailing a Transport Strategy to link with the MKSM Growth Agenda. This report details the likely interventions that will be necessary to manage the impact of growth across the County both from a highway and public transport perspective. Of particular note for the work on the Longer Growth Options is Appendix 11 of this report, which outlines very briefly the approach to be adopted in Northampton. This includes key elements such a completion of the outer ring road and the work needed to develop the public transport within the town and will be developed into a detailed transport strategy over the next year.

The main report sets the context for the approach to be adopted both in Northampton and the rest of the County. This has been summarised below together with the key tables outlining the proposed initiatives. Those of particular note to the Longer Growth Options Study are highlighted (in blue).

C2. SUMMARY OF COMMITTEE PAPER ‘TRANSPORT STRATEGY FOR GROWTH’ The County Council’s ‘Transport Strategy for Growth – Transport Prioritisation Framework’ was written by MRC Mclean Hazel to identify transport requirements to ensure that growth related objectives derived from existing policy documents can be met over the coming years. The strategy has been developed to ensure that Northampton can develop as a vibrant and viable county town centre and maintain and grow its place competitiveness.

The strategy adopted a top-down approach, inspired by DfT’s Surface Infrastructure of National Economic Significance (SINEI) objective-led framework where objectives from policy documents are pulled together to form generalised key objectives. Northamptonshire’s objectives were identified as:

x Growth and Diversification of the economy x Improving Quality of Skills and Jobs x Sustainable Communities x Accessibility and Connectivity

Using an objective-led framework, transport and connectivity investments are seen in context, rather than purely transport solutions to transport problems. The framework process was supported through a mixture of workshops, seminars and meetings with key stakeholders to generate ‘buy in’ to the framework.

The strategy framework proposes a set of principles against which individual transport interventions, initiatives and projects can be selected and prioritised. The aim is to make sure that the projects that come forward both meet the objectives of the various plans and strategies outlined.

Deliver the Housing Growth Requirement

x Access to regional and local transport networks and quality of this provision and maintenance x High quality public transport, walking a cycling networks x Access to local services, jobs and virtual connectivity

Economic Stability Diversification and Growth

x Predictable, reliable journey times on road and rail links to airports and significant conurbations x Access to key strategic road and rail network x High quality secure parking at gateway PT interchanges

To create high quality safe and secure communities for all members of society

x High quality public transport, walking and cycling networks x Traffic calming and road safety engineering

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To maintain and enhance the built and natural environment

x Demand management x Minimise traffic intrusion into countryside with high landscape value x Use of sustainable construction techniques

Promote Northamptonshire as a great place to live and do business

x A modern sustainable reliable transport network

Any schemes will be evaluated against meeting this in the future.

The Strategy feeds into Creating Last Modal Shift targets

x a reduction of 5% in predicted single occupancy car journeys to work from the existing town; and x a reduction of 20% in predicted single occupancy car journeys to work from new developments

Tables 1, 2 and 3 list the schemes and interventions that have a high priority based on the framework assessment. The majority of specific schemes identified are inter-urban in nature and whilst some will have an impact on Northampton the town strategy, which will hold the most important elements, still has to be developed. For the purpose of this report the other key issue is the new station on the Northampton Loop. This appears in Table 2 as a scheme requiring further investigation.

C3. SCHEMES PROPOSED BY TRANSPORT PRIORITISATION FRAMEWORK

Table 1 Prioritised Schemes for Inclusion in the Growth Strategy

Road M1 M1 J16 – Section 278 Capacity improvements at Junction 16 M1 J19 Junction rebuild, proposed start date 2007/2008 Complete reconstruction of the M1/M6/A14 junction to remove current capacity and safety concerns including the currently impossible A14 to/from M1 (South) movement A5 Towcester Bypass (A5 SW Relief Road) including new junction on A43 – County Council scheme, developer led. Construction of a new road between the A5 near Towcester Racecourse and the A43 north of the A413 junction, providing a bypass to Towcester. A14 A14 Kettering Bypass Collector Distributor Roads Provision of a separate carriageway to take ‘local’ traffic between junction 7 (A43 Northern Bypass) and junction 9 (A509) of the A14, together with widening to dual 3 lanes of the section from junction 9 to junction 10 (A6). As part of the schemes the east-facing slip roads at junction 7 would be closed, junction 8 (A43 Northampton) would be closed entirely and at junction 9 the west-facing slip roads would be closed. Traffic wishing to make these movements would use the Collector Distributor Roads. A43 A5/A43 Roundabout Improvements (probably a flyover on the A43) at the junction of the A43 with the A5 north of Towcester, combined with similar improvements to the A43/Brackley Road junction. A43 Round Spinney Grade-Separation Provision of a grade-separated (fly-over or dive-under ) junction where the A43 crosses Talavera Way (Northampton) A43 Moulton Bypass Provision of a bypass to the A43 at Moulton.

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A43 Northampton to Kettering Dualling Dualling of the A43 between the end of Moulton Bypass and the A14 Collector-Distributor Road at Kettering A43 Corby link road and dualling Construction of a dual-carriageway linking the A6003 between Kettering and Corby with the A43 near Stanion, inter-alia providing a bypass to the village of Geddington A45 A45 Weedon, Flore and Upper Heyford Bypass (and dualling thro’ to Daventry) Provision of a bypass to Weedon, Flore and Upper Heyford. This would probably be constructed as a dual-carriageway and could be continued through to Daventry. A45 Wilby Way Junction Grade-Separation Provision of a grade-separated (probably fly-over) junction on the A45 to the west of Wellingborough where it joins the A509 North-West Bypass (Wilby Way). A45 Stanwick to Thrapston dualling and grade separated junctions – not committed, RSS8 timetable 2011/2016 Dualling of the A45 (Trunk Road) between the end of the current dual-carriageway section at Stanwick and the A14 at Thrapston. Including provision of grade separated junctions. A361 A361 Daventry – M40 traffic management and downgrade to B road Downgrading of the A361 to a B road together with traffic calming/management measures to discourage use by through traffic and limit impact on villages of Byfield, Chipping Warden and Wardington) A427 A427 Weldon Bypass Link road to the north-east of Weldon between the A43 (near the Priors Hall development) and the A427 to the east of Weldon. A509 A509 Isham Bypass and Isham to Wellingborough Improvement Provision of a dual carriageway between Kettering and Wellingborough bypassing the villages of Isham and Great Harrowden B4036 B4036 (A5-Long Buckby station) road improvements Improvements to Long Buckby railway station and the road linking it to the A5 to improve access from Daventry to the rail network - Wellingborough Eastern Distributor Road Provision of a new road serving the West development and providing a link between the A509 and A45 to the east of Wellingborough using parts of the existing North-West Bypass and Northern Way - Rothwell Link Road Construction of a link road between Rothwell and the A6 bypass. Car Parks Review of rail station parking Consideration of the need for increased parking facilities at all Northamptonshire rail stations. Bus Quality Inter-Urban Bus Network Improvements to the bus network linking Northamptonshire’s main towns including such as enhanced frequencies, improved marketing, new vehicles, bus priority measures and enhanced stop infrastructure. Development of rural service routes (current daily, but less than hourly) Improvements to the network of bus services to Northamptonshire’s villages, raising frequencies and providing services to villages which currently have none. This may involve ‘feeder’ services linking in to the core Inter-Urban network. Provision of evening and Sunday services on all core bus routes Provision of bus services (particularly on core Urban and Inter-Urban routes) during the evenings and on Sundays when there is currently little or no service.

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Real Time information Provision of information to give passengers information on the expected likely arrival times of buses. This may include displays at bus stops, web information and information accessed via mobile phones. Rail WCML Provision of 2-fast rail services from Northampton to London Euston in under 45 minutes Enhancement of rail services between Northampton and London so that journey times and frequencies are comparable with other towns at a similar distance from London. Restoration of half-hourly service to Birmingham New Street Increase of frequency of service between Northampton and Birmingham back to 2 per hour, restoring a previous service cut. (This increase is specified in the new West Midlands franchise for December 2008) Restoration of through services between Long Buckby and London Euston Provision of an (at least) hourly through train throughout the day between Long Buckby and London. (This is specified in the new West Midlands franchise for December 2008 as part of a new London – Crewe service) Provision of hourly through services between Northampton and North-West England (A new hourly London – Crewe via Northampton service is included in the specification of the new West Midlands franchise from December 2008 with the possibility of extension through to Liverpool. However, convenient connections with Manchester and Anglo-Scottish services are currently uncertain). MML Provision of additional capacity on Midland Main Line services calling at Kettering and Wellingborough Provision of additional seating capacity on services serving Kettering and Wellingborough, particularly in the morning peak when London-bound services can already be full. Proposals are included in the new East Midlands rail franchises. Infrastructure improvements, such as restoration of third track between Kettering and Wellingborough (and possibly fourth track between Kettering and Bedford) may also be required. Re-opening of Kettering to Corby Passenger Rail, through services to St Pancras, new station at Corby Restoration of through railway services between Corby and London. (Proposals for an hourly Monday to Saturday service are included as a priced option in the new East Midlands rail franchise with a possible start date of December 2008). - Re-opening of Northampton – Wellingborough rail line Re-opening of closed rail line, probably served by passenger rail service linking Northampton, Wellingborough, Kettering and Corby. - Northamptonshire Airport Rail Links improvements with high quality PT hubs Enhancements of rail links to Airports (such as Birmingham, Luton, East Midlands, etc) through improved interchange facilities at Northamptonshire stations TDM Measures TDM at journey origins and destinations – new housing developments, employment, retail and leisure locations – marketing, information, smartcards, travel plans, incentives and/or road charging Provisions of a range of measures (as outlined in Guidance on Creating Lasting Modal Shift) that will lead to a reduction in the proportion of trips made by the private car. Joint parking strategy for all Northampton parking Joint strategy with Northampton Borough Council and West Northamptonshire Development Corporation to consider the scale, price and nature of provision of town centre parking, including park & ride. Buzz smartcard – integrated ticketing Expansion of the existing multi-operator Northampton Buzz card bus ticket to provide a multi-modal multi-use Smartcard for a range of uses (not just transport) across the county. HOV priority on A45

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Provision of a dedicated lane for High Occupancy Vehicles (buses and cars with more than a specified number of occupants) to speed their progress past queues leaving the westbound A45 at the Barnes Meadow (A428) interchange in Northampton. Town Strategies Wellingborough Town Strategy The strategy identifies a range of improvements to serve development to the north and west of the existing town, including bus priority measures to serve the WEAST development and railway station. Changes to the inner ring road facilitate additional traffic, but also enable an expansion of the town centre. Kettering Town Strategy The town strategy proposes improvements to the road, bus and walking and cycling networks to serve development to the east of Kettering, together with measures to improve the operation of the town centre and railway station. Corby Town Strategy The town strategy proposes improvements to existing junctions and new roads to serve development areas together with improvements to walking, cycling and public transport. Northampton Town Strategy The Northampton town strategy still has to be developed in detail. However an outline Transport Vision includes the completion and improvement of the outer ring road and extensive improvements to public transport, walking and cycling within the existing built up area. Daventry Town Strategy The Daventry town strategy needs to be finalised once a preferred development option is known. However, it is likely to include junction improvements, limited road widening and a small amount of new road construction. Public transport, walking and cycling improvements will also be required. Towcester Town Strategy Minor highway works, public transport, walking and cycling improvements will be required in addition to major improvements to the A5 (bypass) and A43 (junctions) listed as separate schemes.

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Table 2 Schemes that Require Further Evidence and / or Investigation

Road M1 Upgrade M1 J14-J19 (to D4M) Widening of the M1 through the county to provide 4 lanes in each direction. (This scheme would require a wider justification than just growth in Northamptonshire). M1 J15a new south-facing slips Provision of south-facing slips to reduce conflicting movements on A43 – prioritisation awaits outcome of modelling work in West Northamptonshire to determine justification in terms of likely traffic flows A45 A45 London Road widening to D3AP in Northampton Widening of road between Queen Eleanor (A508) junction and M1 junction 15 to 3 lanes in each direction – prioritisation awaits outcome of modelling work in West Northamptonshire to determine justification in terms of likely traffic flows A361 A361 Improvements North of Daventry Improvements to the A361 between Daventry and Kilsby to accommodate additional traffic – prioritisation awaits outcome of modelling work in West Northamptonshire to determine justification in terms of likely traffic flows A422 A422 Farthinghoe Bypass Provision of a bypass to the A422 at Farthinghoe – prioritisation awaits outcome of modelling work in West Northamptonshire(and possibly Milton Keynes) to determine justification in terms of likely traffic flows A508 A508 Roade Bypass Provision of a bypass to Roade – prioritisation awaits outcome of modelling work in West Northamptonshire to determine justification in terms of likely traffic flows. A508 Upgrade from Northampton NW bypass to A14 Upgrading and possible dualling of the A508 between Northampton and the A14 – prioritisation awaits outcome of modelling work in West Northamptonshire to determine justification in terms of likely traffic flows A605 A605 (A14-A1) Dualling Dualling of the A605 between the A14 at Thrapston and the A1 west of Peterborough – justification requires further consideration of future strategic role of A605 versus A43. - Northampton: Eagle Drive to Ransome Road link New link connecting Ransome Road redevelopment area to the A45 and providing new linkage towards town centre – prioritisation awaits outcome of modelling work in West Northamptonshire to determine justification in terms of likely traffic flows Bus Feeder Services around the rural service spine Provision of feeder bus services around rural service spine proposed in East Northamptonshire – prioritisation requires further detailed work Rail New rail freight terminal in Northampton area Prioritisation requires further evidence of strategic need. New rail freight terminal in Wellingborough area Prioritisation requires further evidence of strategic need. New station on Northampton Loop south of Northampton (M1 Park & Ride) New station serving as Park & Ride site for south of Northampton and possibly as strategic relief to M1 – prioritisation awaits outcome of modelling work in West Northamptonshire and possibly strategic examination of possible relief of traffic from M1. Corby to Peterborough/Leicester Passenger Rail re-opening Extension of rail services northwards from Corby to either Peterborough or Leicester – need and

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justification for the scheme uncertain – further work required. Cycling Extend cycle network to rural areas Extend existing and proposed cycle networks in the urban areas to serve surrounding villages – requires further examination of likely use to determine justification. TDM Measures A14 Road user charging at Kettering Introduction of road user charging to prevent local traffic using A14 around Kettering – unlikely to be required if other proposed measures are successful

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Table 3 Schemes that Do Not Deliver Wider Objectives

Road M1 M1 J17 northern access to M45 New slip roads to provide access from M45 to M1 (North) – no links to Northamptonshire growth as only serves traffic from further a field. A6 A6 Finedon Bypass Future traffic flows do not justify provision of a bypass. A14 A14 Upgrade – M1 to Kettering (D3) Widening of A14 to 3 lanes in each direction – preliminary analysis suggests that scheme is unlikely to be economically justified. A14 Kettering to Ellington including Kettering Bypass (D3) – not committed, timetable 2016-2021 Widening of A14 to 3 lanes in each direction – preliminary analysis suggests that scheme is unlikely to be economically justified. Proposed Collector Distributor Roads provide more ‘affordable’ solution for the Kettering Bypass section. A43 A43 Weldon Bypass Scheme proposed by developers – no strategic justification as Weldon already bypassed. Not required for development in CSS preferred options. A43 on-line improvements between Corby and Stamford Existing road is of good alignment and predicted traffic flows do not justify further improvement. A43 Collyweston/Easton on the Hill Bypass Bypass to remaining two villages on A43 between Corby and Stamford – existing flows are relatively low and predicted future flows at some distance from growth towns are unlikely to justify bypasses A428 A428 Harlestone Bypass Not justified as A428 does not provide a strategic link. Proposed improvements to Sandy Lane and Northern Orbital Route will reduce need for traffic to travel through Harlestone. A510 A510 Finedon Bypass Future traffic flows do not justify provision of a bypass. - Northern Wellingborough Access Road (access to proposed Pulse Park and link to WEAST) New road to serve development site that is not one of the CSS preferred options. Rail Provision of ‘high-frequency’ local rail service between Corby and Wellingborough Rail stations in Corby, Kettering and Wellingborough are too far from town centres and employment sites to create sufficient demand to justify a high-frequency service in addition to existing services. Need more effectively met by inter-urban bus improvements.

EDAW PLC PLANNING, DESIGN AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT WORLDWIDE Agenda Item No: A1 NORTHAMPTONSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

CABINET

8 January 2007

Report by the Head of Sustainable Transport

Cabinet Member for Environment: Councillor Ben Smith

Subject: Transport Strategy for Growth

Advice: Cabinet are asked to agree that the Transport Strategy Framework and associated strategy documents are: a. included in Core Spatial Strategies being prepared by the joint planning units; b. approved as indicative County Council strategy pending the conclusion of the planning process; and c. consulted upon as required.

1. Planned outcome of reports

1.1 As the County’s highway and transport authority, the County Council needs to identify the improvements necessary to accommodate sustainably the growth outlined in the Milton Keynes and South Midlands Sub-Regional Strategy. This report seeks approval for documents which will inform the preparation of the Core Spatial Strategies for West Northamptonshire and (particularly, at this stage) North Northamptonshire. It also includes reference to other documents in slightly earlier stages of production so that a clear view of the evolving Transport Strategy for Growth can be obtained. The report also seeks to identify some of the further stages in strategy development that need to be carried out by the Council.

2. Relevant Council Strategic Goal and Priority

The Medium Term Plan vision is ‘one organisation focussed on customers and community leadership’. The proposals in this report will help to achieve the following strategic goals and priorities:

Medium Term Plan and Strategic Goals Council Priority Communities A safer, freer and more Roads and footpaths are better prosperous County maintained and a modernised strategic road network is developed. A cleaner and greener The built, natural and public environment county is better developed and maintained.

3. Background

3.1 The Milton Keynes and South Midlands Sub-Regional Strategy, published in March 2005, set out major plans for growth up to 2021. In Northamptonshire, approximately 101,000 dwellings and 81,000 new jobs are proposed. The majority of this growth will be directed towards the larger urban areas, including Northampton, Corby, Kettering, Wellingborough, Daventry and Towcester. 3.2 The Northamptonshire Local Transport Plan was published in March 2006 and acknowledges the need to ensure that necessary infrastructure requirements are in place prior to the completion of developments. As well as roads, this includes facilities for walking, cycling and public transport to link new developments to existing facilities, based on actual need. This will ensure that people have a range of alternative options available to them, in order to maximise modal shift from the car.

3.3 The Local Transport Plan highlighted the need to develop a Transport Strategy for Growth to examine in more detail the longer term transport impacts of the growth proposals. Two area-wide transport models were established – one for the North Northamptonshire and one for West Northamptonshire. The West Northamptonshire model was a development of the existing Northampton traffic model. The models have been used to test development options provided by the Joint Planning Units.

3.4 Historically, car traffic in the county has grown much faster than the national rate. The capacity of the road network to absorb additional traffic is quite limited. The growth proposed in the Sub-Regional Strategy is likely to lead to traffic growth rates of up to 50% in the period to 2021. This can only be accommodated if there is a substantial shift away from travel by the private car.

3.5 To meet the requirements of the growth agenda, a Transport Strategy Framework has been established to look at how transport impacts on key objectives such as the economy and jobs growth, social impacts and housing delivery. Together with information on scheme need and deliverability, this has been used to draw up a prioritised list of transport interventions outside the main towns.

4. Consultation

4.1 In developing the Transport Strategy for Growth the County Council worked in close partnership with a range of key partners including the Department for Transport, Department for Communities and Local Government, East Midlands Development Agency, East Midlands Regional Assembly, the Highways Agency, the Joint Planning Units, West Northamptonshire Development Corporation, North Northants Development Company, Borough and District Councils and local representative bodies. These partners were fully involved in developing the prioritisation methodology used for the Transport Prioritisation Framework.

4.2 The strategies have also been developed from wide ranging consultation with individuals, and public and private bodies. The Local Transport Plan published in March 2006 was subject to extensive consultation in 2005/06 taking into account people’s views on our approach to the growth of the county.

5. Proposal

5.1 Cabinet is asked to agree that the Transport Strategy Framework and associated strategy documents are:

a) included in core spatial strategies being prepared by the joint planning units;

b) approved as indicative County Council strategy pending the conclusion of the planning process; and

c) consulted upon as required

5.2 The Transport Strategy for Growth consists of a number of discrete documents: x Transport Strategy Framework; x Guidance on Creating Lasting Modal Shift; x Town Strategy for Corby; x Town Strategy for Kettering; x Town Strategy for Wellingborough; x Design Guide for Residential Developments; and x Public Transport Guidelines for New Developments.

5.3 The following additional documents still need to be written and consulted upon:: x Town Strategy for Daventry; x Town Strategy for Northampton; and x Town Strategy for Towcester

5.4 This report also makes reference to the Northampton Town Centre Masterplan, which is a key element of the developing Northampton Town Strategy.

5.5 Cabinet is also asked to note that the Head of Sustainable Transport will bring a further report to Cabinet proposing what steps should be taken to take forward priority infrastructure schemes identified in the Transport Strategy Framework and Town Strategies

6. Transport Strategy Framework

The Transport Strategy Framework provides an overarching view of the transport requirements for meeting (or contributing to) growth related objectives derived from existing policy documents. The process for developing the framework was developed with national, regional and local partners and reflects, as much as possible, a common view. This means that the prioritised projects have already passed one of the ‘tests’ put forward by, for example, funding bodies, as the contribution to objectives can be readily identified.

The framework establishes a method of assessing the contribution of transport measures to objectives relating to the economy, safer and stronger communities, housing delivery and the environment. It also addresses the need for the county and individual growth towns to have good connectivity at international, national, regional, sub-regional and local levels. Starting with a list of 200 possible transport interventions, these were refined and a prioritisation process is used to select those which would contribute to strategic objectives.

The prioritisation in the framework does not take the place of democratic decision- making nor does it replace the standard cost-benefit assessment tools. It is the first phase of the assessment process. Any transport proposal can go through the prioritisation process at any time, so that the list of prioritised projects will be regularly reviewed. The prioritised projects and justifications for them will be included in an amended Local Transport Plan, with Department for Transport agreement.

The need and deliverability of schemes Is also examined. The recommended list of schemes is at Appendix 1. The full report forms Appendix 2. A number of schemes remain to be finally determined pending gathering of a more complete evidence base. This mainly relates to schemes in West Northamptonshire where the traffic modelling work is delayed pending the production of growth options. An example of a delivery plan based on these principles is that currently being developed for the A14 at Kettering. A joint working group, including the Highways agency, Department for Transport, Department for Communities and Local Government, North Northamptonshire Development Company and East Midlands Development Agency, now has broad agreement on a possible way forward that includes a smaller scale improvement to the A14 and public transport and highway improvements in Kettering.

7. Guidance on Creating Lasting Modal Shift

To accommodate growth on the scale proposed in the Sub-Regional Strategy it will be necessary for there to be a substantial reduction in the predicted proportion of trips made by the private car. The Guidance on Creating Lasting Modal Shift (Appendix 3 of this report) has drawn from best practice both in the UK and abroad to outline how two targets may be achieved. These are:

x a reduction of 5% in predicted single occupancy car journeys to work from the existing town; and

x a reduction of 20% in predicted single occupancy car journeys to work from new developments

8. Other associated strategy documents

Town strategies have been drafted for Corby, Kettering and Wellingborough. The town strategies provide an overview of transport requirements to facilitate growth. They form part of the Transport Strategy Framework and will be included in the core spatial strategies.

Town strategies for Northampton, Daventry and Towcester are being developed. The Northampton strategy will follow from the Northampton ‘vision’ for transport which will contribute to the current study on longer term growth options, take account of the Northampton Town Centre Masterplan and form the basis for the town strategy.

Transportation Design Guide for Residential Developments and Public Transport guidelines for developers have also been drafted.

Copies of these documents form Appendices 4-11 of this report.

9. Timetable

9.1 North Northants Joint Planning Unit will be publishing their draft Core Spatial Strategy in February 2007. This will be followed by a 6 week period of public consultation; an Examination in Public in September and October 2007 and adoption in April 2008. The Submission of this Plan to the Secretary of State has been delayed to await the completion of these transport strategies.

9.2 The draft timetable for preparation of the Core Spatial Strategy for West Northamptonshire starts with an issues and options consultation in January – February 2007 and proceeds through to adoption in March 2009. The transport strategies proposed in this report will feed into the programme of growth in West Northants.

9.3 The Transport Strategy for Growth will need to be regularly updated in the coming years, and dependant upon discussions with the Department for Transport it may be appropriate to revise the Council’s Local Transport Plan before the next edition is produced to cover the period 2011-2016.

10. Alternative Options Considered

10.1 A significant number of alternative options were considered in developing the various strategies. Some of these are referenced in the strategies. Schemes were rejected for a variety of reasons such as: x Not meeting strategic objectives; x Not being deliverable; x Not being affordable; x Having an excessive environmental impact; and x Having no justification in terms of need.

11. Financial Implications

11.1 There are no direct financial implications of this report. Although the strategies include a number of schemes and proposals which will need significant levels of funding, this is a strategic report and possible sources of funding still need to be examined as part of the further development of the strategies.

11.2 Alternative funding sources are being investigated as part of growth proposals, and the strategies include plans to improve the process for assessing and receiving Section 106 monies from developers. These monies will assist in meeting the cost of growth related transport infrastructure.

12. Risk Management

Risks associated with the proposals in this report are the uncertainty around whether the proposals contained therein will actually deliver the required objectives. Mitigating that risk is one reason that an objective-based and an analytical assessment have been used to prioritise the measures included. Further mitigation will come from continuing to review the measures in light of any proposed growth, and also monitoring the effectiveness of such measures as are implemented.

The risk associated with are not carrying out the proposals is that the Core Spatial Strategies would be prepared without transport input. This would almost certainly result in the transport system becoming considerably more congested than would otherwise be the case,

13. List of Appendices

Appendix 1: Schemes proposed by Transport Prioritisation Framework

Copies of appendixes 2 to 11 are available in the group rooms at County Hall for councillors or on request from Paul Hanson (telephone 01604 236813 or email [email protected]). Copies are also available via the Northamptonshire County Council website. Please note that the document bundle is c.400 pages long.

Appendix 2: Transport Prioritisation Framework (full report) Appendix 3: Guidance on Creating Lasting Modal Shift Appendix 4: Town Transportation Strategy for Corby Appendix 5: Town Transportation Strategy for Kettering Appendix 6: Town Transportation Strategy for Wellingborough Appendix 7: Transportation Design Guide for Residential Developments Appendix 8: Public Transport Guidelines for New Developments Appendix 9: Town Transportation Strategy for Daventry – Position Statement Appendix 10: Town Transportation Strategy for Towcester – Position Statement Appendix 11: Transport Vision for Northampton

Author: Name: Sue Flack Team: Sustainable Transport Contact details: Tel: 01604 654401 Fax: 01604 654455 Email: [email protected] Background Papers: Northamptonshire Local Transport Plan 2006/07-2010/11 Milton Keynes and South Midlands Sub- Regional Strategy Is this report proposing a key decision is NO taken? If yes, is the decision in the Forward YES Plan? Is this report proposing an amendment to NO – but the report contains advice that will the budget and/or policy and framework? contribute to the preparation of the Core Spatial Strategies which form part of the Development Plan (part of the policy framework). Have the financial implications been YES cleared by the strategic finance manager Name of SFM: Eric Symons (SFM)? Has the report been cleared by the YES relevant Service/Board Director? Name of Director: Danny Brennan Have any legal implications been cleared NA by Legal Services? Equal Opportunity implications: None apparent Environmental implications: The Core Spatial Strategies will be the subject of an environmental assessment. Environmental assessment will also be required for many of the individual schemes proposed at later parts of their development. Human Rights implications: None apparent Constituency Interest: Countywide This report is subject to an assessment No under the Race Relations Act 1976 Appendix 1

SCHEMES PROPOSED BY TRANSPORT PRIORITISATION FRAMEWORK

Table 1 Prioritised Schemes for Inclusion in the Growth Strategy

Road M1 M1 J16 – Section 278 Capacity improvements at Junction 16 M1 J19 Junction rebuild, proposed start date 2007/2008 Complete reconstruction of the M1/M6/A14 junction to remove current capacity and safety concerns including the currently impossible A14 to/from M1 (South) movement A5 Towcester Bypass (A5 SW Relief Road) including new junction on A43 – County Council scheme, developer led. Construction of a new road between the A5 near Towcester Racecourse and the A43 north of the A413 junction, providing a bypass to Towcester. A14 A14 Kettering Bypass Collector Distributor Roads Provision of a separate carriageway to take ‘local’ traffic between junction 7 (A43 Northern Bypass) and junction 9 (A509) of the A14, together with widening to dual 3 lanes of the section from junction 9 to junction 10 (A6). As part of the schemes the east-facing slip roads at junction 7 would be closed, junction 8 (A43 Northampton) would be closed entirely and at junction 9 the west-facing slip roads would be closed. Traffic wishing to make these movements would use the Collector Distributor Roads. A43 A5/A43 Roundabout Improvements (probably a flyover on the A43) at the junction of the A43 with the A5 north of Towcester, combined with similar improvements to the A43/Brackley Road junction. A43 Round Spinney Grade-Separation Provision of a grade-separated (fly-over or dive-under ) junction where the A43 crosses Talavera Way (Northampton) A43 Moulton Bypass Provision of a bypass to the A43 at Moulton. A43 Northampton to Kettering Dualling Dualling of the A43 between the end of Moulton Bypass and the A14 Collector- Distributor Road at Kettering A43 Corby link road and dualling Construction of a dual-carriageway linking the A6003 between Kettering and Corby with the A43 near Stanion, inter-alia providing a bypass to the village of Geddington A45 A45 Weedon, Flore and Upper Heyford Bypass (and dualling thro’ to Daventry) Provision of a bypass to Weedon, Flore and Upper Heyford. This would probably be constructed as a dual-carriageway and could be continued through to Daventry. A45 Wilby Way Junction Grade-Separation Provision of a grade-separated (probably fly-over) junction on the A45 to the west of Wellingborough where it joins the A509 North-West Bypass (Wilby Way). A45 Stanwick to Thrapston dualling and grade separated junctions – not committed, RSS8 timetable 2011/2016 Dualling of the A45 (Trunk Road) between the end of the current dual- carriageway section at Stanwick and the A14 at Thrapston. Including provision of grade separated junctions. A361 A361 Daventry – M40 traffic management and downgrade to B road Downgrading of the A361 to a B road together with traffic calming/management measures to discourage use by through traffic and limit impact on villages of Byfield, Chipping Warden and Wardington) A427 A427 Weldon Bypass Link roa dto the north-east of Weldon between the A43 (near the Priors Hall development) and the A427 to the east of Weldon. A509 A509 Isham Bypass and Isham to Wellingborough Improvement Provision of a dual carriageway between Kettering and Wellingborough bypassing the villages of Isham and Great Harrowden B4036 B4036 (A5-Long Buckby station) road improvements Improvements to Long Buckby railway station and the road linking it to the A5 to improve access from Daventry to the rail network - Wellingborough Eastern Distributor Road Provision of a new road serving the WEast development and providing a link between the A509 and A45 to the east of Wellingborough using parts of the existing North-West Bypass and Northen Way - Rothwell Link Road Construction of a link road between Rothwell and the A6 bypass. Car Parks Review of rail station parking Consideration of the need for increased parking facilities at all Northamptonshire rail stations. Bus Quality Inter-Urban Bus Network Improvements to the bus network linking Northamptonshire’s main towns including such as enhanced frequencies, improved marketing, new vehicles, bus priority measures and enhanced stop infrastructure. Development of rural service routes (current daily, but less than hourly) Improvements to the network of bus services to Northamptonshire’s villages, raising frequencies and providing services to villages which currently have none. This may involve ‘feeder’ services linking in to the core Inter-Urban network. Provision of evening and Sunday services on all core bus routes Provision of bus services (particularly on core Urban and Inter-Urban routes) during the evenings and on Sundays when there is currently little or no service. Real Time information Provision of information to give passengers information on the expected likely arrival times of buses. This may include displays at bus stops, web information and information accessed via mobile phones. Rail WCML Provision of 2-fast rail services from Northampton to London Euston in under 45 minutes Enhancement of rail services between Northampton and London so that journey times and frequencies are comparable with other towns at a similar distance from London. Restoration of half-hourly service to Birmingham New Street Increase of frequency of service between Northampton and Birmingham back to 2 per hour, restoring a previous service cut. (This increase is specified in the new West Midlands franchise for December 2008) Restoration of through services between Long Buckby and London Euston Provision of an (at least) hourly through train throughout the day between Long Buckby and London. (This is specified in the new West Midlands franchise for December 2008 as part of a new London – Crewe service) Provision of hourly through services between Northampton and North- West England (A new hourly London – Crewe via Northampton service is included in the specification of the new West Midlands franchise from December 2008 with the possibility of extension through to Liverpool. However, convenient connections with Manchester and Anglo-Scottish services are currently uncertain). MML Provision of additional capacity on Midland Main Line services calling at Kettering and Wellingborough Provision of additional seating capacity on services serving Kettering and Wellingborough, particularly in the morning peak when London-bound services can already be full. Proposals are included in the new East Midlands rail franchises. Infrastructure improvements, such as restoration of third track between Kettering and Wellingborough (and possibly fourth track between Kettering and Bedford) may also be required. Re-opening of Kettering to Corby Passenger Rail, through services to St Pancras, new station at Corby Restoration of through railway services between Corby and London. (Proposals for an hourly Monday to Saturday service are included as a priced option in the new East Midlands rail franchise with a possible start date of December 2008). - Re-opening of Northampton – Wellingborough rail line Re-opening of closed rail line, probably served by passenger rail service linking Northampton, Wellingborough, Kettering and Corby. - Northamptonshire Airport Rail Links improvements with high quality PT hubs Enhancements of rail links to Airports (such as Birmingham, Luton, East Midlands, etc) through improved interchange facilities at Northamptonshire stations TDM Measures TDM at journey origins and destinations – new housing developments, employment, retail and leisure locations – marketing, information, smartcards, travel plans, incentives and/or road charging Provisions of a range of measures (as outlined in Guidance on Creating Lasting Modal Shift) that will lead to a reduction in the proportion of trips made by the private car. Joint parking strategy for all Northampton parking Joint strategy with Northampton Borough Council and West Northamptonshire Development Corporation to consider the scale, price and nature of provision of town centre parking, including park & ride. Buzz smartcard – integrated ticketing Expansion of the existing multi-operator Northampton Buzz card bus ticket to provide a multi-modal multi-use Smartcard for a range of uses (not just transport) across the county. HOV priority on A45 Provision of a dedicated lane for High Occupancy Vehicles (buses and cars with more than a specified number of occupants) to speed their progress past queues leaving the westbound A45 at the Barnes Meadow (A428) interchange in Northampton. Town Strategies Wellingborough Town Strategy The strategy identifies a range of improvements to serve development to the north and west of the existing town, including bus priority measures to serve the WEast development and railway station. Changes to the inner ring road facilitate additional traffic, but also enable an expansion of the town centre. Kettering Town Strategy The town strategy proposes improvements to the road, bus and walking and cycling networks to serve development to the east of Kettering, together with measures to improve the operation of the town centre and railway station. Corby Town Strategy The town strategy proposes improvements to existing junctions and new roads to serve development areas together with improvements to walking, cycling and public transport. Northampton Town Strategy The Northampton town strategy still has to be developed in detail. However an outline Transport Vision includes the completion and improvement of the outer ring road and extensive improvements to public transport, walking and cycling within the existing built up area. Daventry Town Strategy The Daventry town strategy needs to be finalised once a preferred development option is known. However, it is likely to include junction improvements, limited road widening and a small amount of new road construction. Public transport, walking and cycling improvements will also be required. Towcester Town Strategy Minor highway works, public transport, walking and cycling improvements will be required in addition to major improvements to the A5 (bypass) and A43 (junctions) listed as separate schemes. Table 2 Schemes that Require Further Evidence and / or Investigation

Road M1 Upgrade M1 J14-J19 (to D4M) Widening of the M1 through the county to provide 4 lanes in each direction. (This scheme would require a wider justification than just growth in Northamptonshire). M1 J15a new south-facing slips Provision of south-facing slips to reduce conflicting movements on A43 – prioritisation awaits outcome of modelling work in West Northamptonshire to determine justification in terms of likely traffic flows A45 A45 London Road widening to D3AP in Northampton Widening of road between Queen Eleanor (A508) junction and M1 junction 15 to 3 lanes in each direction – prioritisation awaits outcome of modelling work in West Northamptonshire to determine justification in terms of likely traffic flows A361 A361 Improvements North of Daventry Improvements to the A361 between Daventry and Kilsby to accommodate additional traffic – prioritisation awaits outcome of modelling work in West Northamptonshire to determine justification in terms of likely traffic flows A422 A422 Farthinghoe Bypass Provision of a bypass to the A422 at Farthinghoe – prioritisation awaits outcome of modelling work in West Northamptonshire(and possibly Milton Keynes) to determine justification in terms of likely traffic flows A508 A508 Roade Bypass Provision of a bypass to Roade – prioritisation awaits outcome of modelling work in West Northamptonshire to determine justification in terms of likely traffic flows. A508 Upgrade from Northampton NW bypass to A14 Upgrading and possible dualling of the A508 between Northampton and the A14 – prioritisation awaits outcome of modelling work in West Northamptonshire to determine justification in terms of likely traffic flows A605 A605 (A14-A1) Dualling Dualling of the A605 between the A14 at Thrapston and the A1 west of Peterborough – justification requires further consideration of future strategic role of A605 versus A43. - Northampton: Eagle Drive to Ransome Road link New link connecting Ransome Road redevelopment area to the A45 and providing new linkage towards town centre – prioritisation awaits outcome of modelling work in West Northamptonshire to determine justification in terms of likely traffic flows Bus Feeder Services around the rural service spine Provision of feeder bus services around rural service spine proposed in East Northamptonshire – prioritisation requires further detailed work Rail New rail freight terminal in Northampton area Prioritisation requires further evidence of strategic need. New rail freight terminal in Wellingborough area Prioritisation requires further evidence of strategic need. New station on Northampton Loop south of Northampton (M1 Park & Ride) New station serving as Park & Ride site for south of Northampton and possibly as strategic relief to M1 – prioritisation awaits outcome of modelling work in West Northamptonshire and possibly strategic examination of possible relief of traffic from M1. Corby to Peterborough/Leicester Passenger Rail re-opening Extension of rail services northwards from Corby to either Peterborough or Leicester – need and justification for the scheme uncertain – further work required. Cycling Extend cycle network to rural areas Extend existing and proposed cycle networks in the urban areas to serve surrounding villages – requires further examination of likely use to determine justification. TDM Measures A14 Road user charging at Kettering Introduction of road user charging to prevent local traffic using A14 around Kettering – unlikely to be required if other proposed measures are successful Table 3 Schemes that Do Not Deliver Wider Objectives Road M1 M1 J17 northern access to M45 New slip roads to provide access from M45 to M1 (North) – no links to Northamptonshire growth as only serves traffic from further afield. A6 A6 Finedon Bypass Future traffic flows do not justify provision of a bypass. A14 A14 Upgrade – M1 to Kettering (D3) Widening of A14 to 3 lanes in each direction – preliminary analysis suggests that scheme is unlikely to be economically justified. A14 Kettering to Ellington including Kettering Bypass (D3) – not committed, timetable 2016-2021 Widening of A14 to 3 lanes in each direction – preliminary analysis suggests that scheme is unlikely to be economically justified. Proposed Collector Distributor Roads provide more ‘affordable’ solution for the Kettering Bypass section. A43 A43 Weldon Bypass Scheme proposed by developers – no strategic justification as Weldon already bypassed. Not required for development in CSS preferred options. A43 on-line improvements between Corby and Stamford Existing road is of good alignment and predicted traffic flows do not justify further improvement. A43 Collyweston/Easton on the Hill Bypass Bypass to remaining two villages on A43 between Corby and Stamford – existing flows are relatively low and predicted future flows at some distance from growth towns are unlikely to justify bypasses A428 A428 Harlestone Bypass Not justified as A428 does not provide a strategic link. Proposed improvements to Sandy Lane and Northern Orbital Route will reduce need for traffic to travel through Harlestone. A510 A510 Finedon Bypass Future traffic flows do not justify provision of a bypass. - Northern Wellingborough Access Road (access to proposed Pulse Park and link to WEAST) New road to serve development site that is not one of the CSS preferred options. Rail Provision of ‘high-frequency’ local rail service between Corby and Wellingborough Rail stations in Corby, Kettering and Wellingborough are too far from town centres and employment sites to create sufficient demand to justify a high- frequency service in addition to existing services. Need more effectively met by inter-urban bus improvements. Appendix 11

TRANSPORT VISION FOR NORTHAMPTON

Since the Northampton Multi-Modal Study reported in December 2003 we have made good progress in implementing the recommendations, both through the Local Transport Plan and the Getting Northampton to Work major scheme.

But a lot has changed in the last three years. While the study did consider the impact of the additional growth proposed by the Milton Keynes and South Midlands Sub-Regional Strategy, it was able to do so only in a very preliminary work. Northampton Borough Council have recently commissioned work to define the long term growth options for the town. When that work is complete we will be able to carry out a full update of the Multi-Modal Study.

But in the interim, we need to update our strategy to react to the many proposals and initiatives which are circulating at present. This paper is intended as the start of a consultation process with key stakeholders that will allow us to do this.

Town Centre

Many of the current initiatives centre around the town centre. West Northamptonshire Development Corporation, Northampton Borough Council, English Partnerships and the County Council have commissioned consultants Building Design Partnership (BDP) to produce a Design, Development and Movement Framework (DDMF) for the town centre. The transport vision for Northampton embraces the objectives of the DDMF and it is recommended that the authority supports the principles of the DDMF subject to informed consultations with the partners and other stakeholders. All of the partners are committed to the regeneration of this area to make it once again the main focus for retail and office development in the town. Alongside a growing town, the town centre is expected to grow, particularly towards the railway station.

A growing and vibrant town centre will have more people travelling towards it. There is a limit to how much additional car traffic the approaches to the town centre can accommodate. In addition many of the existing surface car parks are likely to be developed for other uses. While some new multi-storey car parks will replace them, it is unlikely that they will lead to a significant increase in the amount of car parking available. In future many more people will need to access the town centre on bus, by cycle or on foot.

Key challenges: x To improve the public realm through improvements to the streetscape that make the town centre and its environs a more attractive place. x To make it easier for pedestrians and cyclists to access the town centre, particularly from the immediately adjacent areas. x To provide a high-quality new interchange facility to replace the existing bus station. x To make it easier and quicker for buses to access the town centre along the key radial routes.

Transport Vision for Northampton 1 x To provide new park & ride sites on the outskirts of the town to supplement the parking available in the town centre. x To promote the area around Castle Station as a major redevelopment site that supports increased use of the railway.

The existing urban area

The existing urban area is already largely built up. There will be some further redevelopment of brownfield sites. The large sites around Nunn Mills and Ransome Road are already being tackled, but there are many smaller sites which are likely to come forward as well. This will lead to some intensification of traffic flows, but more will come from people in new developments on the edge of town who wish to access existing facilities, particularly the town centre. Since there is limited scope to provide additional road capacity, the main focus will be on better management of the existing network to accommodate additional movement.

Key challenges: x To improve capacity at key junctions x To make it easier and quicker for buses to travel along the key radial routes. x To improve the frequency of bus services, including a significant expansion of services in the evenings and on Sundays. x To expand the walking and cycling network, removing existing barriers to travel, particularly by improving linkages with employment and retail centres

Greenfield Development Sites

While a large amount of development will take place on brownfield sites, there is still likely to be a need for some expansion of the existing urban area onto greenfield sites. Because these are totally new developments, these offer the greatest opportunity to facilitate more sustainable patterns of transport and break the cycle of car dependency.

Key challenges: x To apply the principles of non-car oriented land use planning x To provide high quality frequent bus services to serve the development x To design new developments so that all properties are within reasonable walking distance of a bus stop x To manage parking supply to level the playing field between the car and other travel options x To provide good pedestrian and cycle linkages both within the development and connecting to the existing surrounding area x To have robust travel plans for all new developments x To provide a conveniently located travel choices centre providing advice on and access to alternatives to the car

Transport Vision for Northampton 2 The Ring Road

Northampton currently has an incomplete ring road focused on the southern part of the town and incorporating Lumbertubs Way, Nene Valley Way, Mereway, Danes Camp Way and Upon Way. The ring road will play an increased role in future, particularly in terms of removing through traffic from the town centre. Large sections of the ring road are already congested at peak times. Efficient operation of the ring road will be important to ensure continued movement of cars around the town.

Key challenges: x To work with the Highways Agency to balance the strategic role and local uses of the A45. x To improve key junctions on the existing route x To replace Sandy Lane with a new alignment of an appropriate standard for all users, including heavy vehicles. x To promote the Northern Orbital Route both to serve any future development at Dallington Grange and also to remove through traffic from other parts of the town x To examine options for completing the ring road around the northern part of town. x To provide new park & ride sites close to the ring road to supplement the parking available in the town centre.

For Northampton as a whole

Alongside these developments, there will be further improvements needed for the town as a whole, both to develop the existing networks and to accommodate growth.

Key challenges: x To promote integrated ticketing initiatives, including Smartcard technology x To develop further high quality sources of travel information and marketing, embracing new communications technology. x To manage the movement of heavy freight vehicles so that they use the most appropriate routes. x To continue to promote Green Travel Plans whether for schools, workplaces or new developments. x To address current and potential air quality problems, helping to make the town a healthier place to live x To continually improve road safety, through engineering, education and enforcement.

Transport Vision for Northampton 3 Connections with the wider world

Northampton’s role as a sub-regional centre requires it to have good links: to the surrounding villages, the neighbouring towns and the wider world. Many of the road links to Northampton are already dual carriageways. There are half-hourly inter-urban bus links to many surrounding towns. The M1 and West Coast Main Line are the main routes for longer-distance traffic, but the A43 and (via the A45) A14 also provide key links to adjoining regions and to ports.

Key challenges: x To improve the image of Castle Station and other gateways to the town. x To continue to press for improved rail services to the town, both through the new West Midlands franchise and in the longer term. x To continue improvements to inter-urban bus services, including the provision of evening and Sunday services. x To expand bus services to surrounding rural areas, including the use of demand-responsive services linking into core routes. x To improve the A43 between Northampton and Kettering, with the first stage being a detailed examination of the need and options.

What happens next

Following the 8th January cabinet meeting, officers will undertake further consultation with key stakeholders, including West Northamptonshire Development Corporation and Northampton Borough Council.

Once the results of the Longer Term Growth Options Study are available, further work will be commissioned to examine in detail the transport impacts of the growth proposals. This will contribute to the development of the Core Spatial Strategy for West Northamptonshire, which is due for adoption in March 2009.

Transport Vision for Northampton 4 A508 A43

A428

A45

M1

16 A45 A428

15 KEY Rail Built up area Rail Station New housing Outer Ring Road River Nene Inner Ring Road Park and Ride Sites Primary Bus Pedestrian Access Priority Public Realm Secondary Bus 15 Priority Town Centre A43 Strategic Access A 50 8

Transport Vision for Northampton 5