St Hugh's Rise, Didcot
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St Hugh’s Rise, Didcot 10200_R06a_East Hagborne Neighbourhood Plan: Local Green Gaps Review 1.0 Introduction Scope and Purpose 1.1 This report has been prepared to support representations being made to the East Hagbourne Neighborhood Plan (the NP) on behalf of Persimmon Homes in respect of land situated off St Hugh’s Rise, Didcot (the Site). The report considers matters relating to Green Buffer Zones and Local Green Gaps proposed within the NP and the Supporting Evidence Base. The location of the Site is illustrated on Figure 1 below: Figure 1: Site Location 1.2 This report supports the proposed development of the Site for up to 50 houses, including open space and landscape buffers. A copy of a sketch masterplan for the development of the site is included at Appendix 1. 1.3 The NP defines four individual Local Green Gaps within the Parish that serve to prevent coalescence of East Hagbourne with Didcot and protect the character and setting of the communities. The location and extent of these is illustrated on the NP Policies Map, an extract of which is included at Figure 2 below: Tyler Grange LLP, Unit 430 Scott House, Custard Factory, Gibb Street, Birmingham, B9 4DT Tel: 01392 447588 www.tylergrange.co.uk Registered in England No. OC356615 Vat Reg. No. 994 2320 07 Registered Office: Marsden Estate, Rendcomb, Cirencester, Gloucestershire. GL7 7EX Birmingham ・ Cotswolds ・ Exeter ・ London ・ Manchester Figure 2: East Hagbourne Neighbourhood Plan Policies Map 1.4 As illustrated on the NP polices plan, the site does not lie within a Local Green Gap, being situated adjacent to the edge of Didcot to the north of the ‘Lower End Field’ gap. 1.5 The analysis contained in this report emphasises the limited role that the site plays in the function of the wider Green Buffer Zones around Didcot and reinforces the justification for not including the site within a Local Green Gap, as proposed by the NP. Referenced Documents 1.6 Reference is made within the report to several key published documents that provide policy and technical background information and form the evidence base to the NP as relates to the designation of Green Buffers and Local Green Gaps within East Hagbourne Parish. These include the following: • Didcot Garden Town Delivery Plan, October 2017 (the Delivery Plan); • East Hagbourne Neighbourhood Development Plan 2018 to 2033 - Submission Version, September 2018 (the NP); • East Hagbourne Village Character Assessment and Landscape Study (2018 Update) Neighbourhood Plan Appendix 2 (the Landscape Study); and • East Hagbourne Green Buffer Assessment - Neighbourhood Plan Appendix 10 (the Green Buffer Assessment) 2.0 Green Buffers and Local Green Gaps: Planning Context Green Buffer Zones Didcot Garden Town Delivery Plan and Masterplan 2.1 The site lies within an area identified by the Delivery Plan as a Green Buffer on the masterplan for Didcot Garden Town. The Delivery Plan has been adopted by South Oxfordshire Council and forms a non-statutory document that is a consideration in planning and development control matters. 2.2 The Delivery Plan sets out the principle of Green Buffer Zones around the town that prevent coalescence between neighbouring villages and protect their character. At Section 8.3, 10200_R06a_ 21 December 2018_RH_MM 2 ‘Landscape priorities, green infrastructure and open space strategy’, the Delivery Plan identifies a number of ‘Key Landscape Priorities’, including to Formalise Green Gaps. 2.3 In recognition of the development pressures on the necklace villages and the need to prevent coalescence with Didcot, the Delivery Plan recommends the provision of larger areas of woodland and realising opportunities for the buffer areas to provide a recreational resource in addition to their agricultural use, incorporating existing public rights of way. Defining extent of Green Gaps 2.4 The buffers set-out in the Delivery Plan are indicative and need to be verified to provide: “... a greater understanding of heritage assets of each village, extent of conservation areas and mapping the visual envelope of the settlement within the countryside.” 2.5 In relation to Landscape Setting of the necklace villages, the Delivery Plan states on page 257 that when establishing the extent of each green gap: “.. the objective is to define a clearly defensible boundary to the landscape setting of the village using a baseline study to include the following tasks: … Use visual assessment to analyse the visual relationship between parcels of land and check for intervening vegetation which may separate landscape compartments from the village. Where landscape compartments are contiguous and have a strong visual connection to the village in question the whole parcel of land should be included in the green buffer. Topography: where landscape compartments are broken by a change in topography, which limits the visible land only that within the view should be included.” 2.6 Once the above process has been undertaken, the Delivery Plan states that the extent and components of the green buffer should be included in the local neighbourhood plan of each village. An extract of page 257 of the Delivery Plan that sets-out the outline methodology for assessing Green Buffers is included at Appendix 2. Land uses within Village Green Buffers: Woodland Planting 2.7 The Delivery Plan identifies three broad zones around Didcot that relate to the remnant landscape structure. To the east of Didcot, remnant woodland is identified as suitable to increase the landscape structure within Green Buffers. 2.8 Woodland planting to the eastern town fringes are identified as a landscape priority for the following reasons: • Amenity benefits, as a recreational resource and visitor destination; • Providing structure to the agricultural landscape, providing enclosure; • Wildlife benefits; • Soil Protection; and • Reducing flooding 2.9 The Delivery Plan also recognises that the topography and woodland provide screening that provides separation between Didcot and the neighbouring villages. 2.10 An extract of the Proposed Landscape Plan as included in the Delivery Plan document (figure 8.8) is shown below on Figure 3. This shows the proposals for a woodland to the south of the Site that runs along the western edge of the Public Footpath 19724/10. Woodland in this location would combine with the existing topography and reinforce the physical and visual 10200_R06a_ 21 December 2018_RH_MM 3 separation of the Site from East Hagbourne that lies to the southwest, as well as defining an area to the east of New Road that would provide separation between the settlements and the basis of a Local Green Gap. Figure 3: Extract of Didcot Garden Town Delivery Plan Figure 8.8 – Proposed Landscape Plan East Hagbourne Green Buffers 2.11 The NP is supported by the ‘East Hagbourne Green Buffer Assessment’ (Appendix 10 of the NP document) that divides the land around the village into a number of Character Areas which are then assessed in relation to their landscape capacity and recommendations for conservation and management. 2.12 The Green Buffer Assessment defines a number of individual character areas and assesses these for inclusion within a Proposed Green Buffer Zone that extends within and beyond the Hagbourne Parish Boundary to the southeast of Didcot. 2.13 Although the NP does not include policies for the Green Buffer Zone as a whole, it identifies the extent of the zone as defined by the Green Buffer Assessment and identifies Local Green Gaps within it. The extent of the proposed Buffer Zone is illustrated on Figure 4 below, which shows an extract from the NP. The NP identifies the Green Buffer as including the area proposed by the Didcot Garden Town Masterplan, extending further eastwards to the south of Fulscot Manor. 10200_R06a_ 21 December 2018_RH_MM 4 Figure 4: Extract of NP Figure 4 – Green Buffer Zones around East Hagbourne Summary of the Contribution of the Site to the Green Buffer and Local Green Gap 2.14 A review and critique of the methodology and findings of the Green Buffer Assessment is included below at Section 3. This demonstrates how the Assessment has identified a larger buffer that extends beyond the visual envelope of East Hagbourne to include land beyond that required to perform the village Green Buffer purpose. Furthermore, the Assessment is inappropriate for use when identifying the suitability of individual parcels of land for development, being a strategic study that provides high-level assessment of large areas. 2.15 The Site at St Hugh’s Rise does not perform the function or share the same characteristics and relationship with the wider landscape and setting of East Hagbourne as the land to the south that is proposed for designation as a Local Green Gap. 2.16 There is also the opportunity for the development of the site to incorporate recreation / amenity functions and woodland planting that tie-in with the recommendations made within the Landscape Study and wider Didcot Green Buffer Zones as identified by the Delivery Plan. These matters are considered in further detail within this report when assessing the role of the site as part of a Green Buffer and its suitability for development. East Hagbourne Local Green Gaps Lower End Field Local Green Gap 2.17 As set-out above and illustrated on Figure 2, the NP has identified a Local Green Gap at ‘Lower End Field’ that extends eastwards from New Road to the south of the Site. When identifying Local Green Gaps, the NP states that: “… particular consideration has been given to those parts of the Green Buffer Zones lying within East Hagbourne Parish where significant development would be particularly harmful by way of causing coalescence, the loss of key views or damage to areas of special community value” (page 25, first paragraph) 10200_R06a_ 21 December 2018_RH_MM 5 2.18 As considered further in Section 4 when assessing the suitability of the Site for development and exclusion for the Green Buffer, the proposed Lower End Field Local Green Gap covers an area where development would be intervisible with East Hagbourne as it extends over the rolling landform north of the village.