Hart District Council Local Plan Site Assessment: Stage 2 – High Level Site Assessment – SHL023 – Land West of Marsh Lane, Eversley Cross Confidential Draft - 1.1 – April 2015 High Level Site Assessment Proforma Site Reference SHL023 Site Name Land West of Marsh Lane Parish Eversley Site Address Land West of Marsh Lane, Eversley Cross Capacity Assessment and Categorisation Site Size (ha) 7.44ha Estimated Capacity 134 Comments on capacity The capacity was calculated using a dph figure of 18 (in accordance with gross-to-net ratio of 60%). Housing Strategy Category(s) Strategy 2 (Dispersal strategy) Land Supply Category Category C: Large and ʻlocal strategicʼ sites adjoining existing urban areas Key to Site Assessments: No overriding constraint to development of the site Constraint requiring further detailed assessment Major constraint undermining suitability of site Site Assessment Assessment Criteria Assessment comments Coloured assessment Accessibility to o Bus Stop – (Fox Lane, services: 82, and 83) 0.86km Employment and o Railway Station – (Sandhurst) 4.89km services o Employment Centre – (Blackbushe Business Park) 3.12km o Public Open Space – (Eversley Recreation Ground) 0.86km o Health Facility – (Monteagle Surgery, Yateley) 1.67km o Primary School – (Charles Kingsleyʼs Primary School) 1.8km o Secondary School – (Yateley School) 2.15km o Supermarket – (Waitrose, Yateley) 1.51km Infrastructure • Schools: There is a pressure for places at Primary education level. Although there are no identified deficits in provision capacity at Primary, Junior or Infant Schools within the Eversley/Yateley/Frogmore area they are full or close to full. Additional housing will exacerbate this situation. There are no planned expansions of any of the schools in the area, if there is any significant development that is not forecast will cause increased pressures on the local primary, junior and infant schools. Charles Kingsleyʼs Primary in Eversley is a 1 FE school with little if any anticipated capacity to provide additional places. There are no planned expansions to the Yateley Secondary School however Calthorpe Park School in Fleet has a planned expansion. Adams Hendry Consulting Ltd 1 Hart District Council Local Plan Site Assessment: Stage 2 – High Level Site Assessment – SHL023 – Land West of Marsh Lane, Eversley Cross Confidential Draft - 1.1 – April 2015 • Retail: Eversley has a Londis convenience shop but apart from this there are no other retail shops within the village. The closest supermarkets are Waitrose in Yateley or Morrisons in Elvetham Heath, which are much more likely to service the Eversley area; The retail study shows that these stores are currently overtrading, and additional large developments within the Hart District will place more pressure on these retail services and further floorspace will be required to meet the demand. It is acknowledged however that Farnborough is more likely to draw shoppers for comparative shops than Fleet due to the wider variety and additional leisure facilities available. • Health: The closest health facilities are in Yateley. There are no planned expansions of health facilities in the Yateley area, but it is likely that any significant level of development will require additional provision. There are a series of expansions planned at the Frimley Park Hospital, Frimley (outside of Hart) including a new emergency department and regional cardiology centre which will improve the current level of access to these services for the eastern areas of the Hart District area. • Transport (road): There are few improvements being planned locally to roads within the village including junction improvements to Webbʼs Corner (Warbrook Lane/St Neots Road), and the A3272 and B3016 junction; as well as a study to investigate how to reduce the rat runs along the B3016 and B3272. The A30 stretch between the A327 and A331 at Blackwater where a new roundabout and a left only priority will help traffic accessing the A30 from Eversley. There will also be improved access to junction 4a of the M3. • Transport (other): There is a proposal for a new 2.5km cycle link between Eversley and Yateley with traffic- free sections. An upgrade to a boardwalk for footpath 24 has been proposed due to the regular flooding of the route. The local bus services in Eversley (no.s 82/83) are restricted to one or two services a day on weekdays only. The bus times are tailored towards school transport. Blackwater railway station waiting facilities are being improved along with a new platform footbridge. • Green Infrastructure: The Hart SANG catchment area map shows that this site is located outside of the Hawley Meadows and Blackwater Park SANG Catchment area. Therefore it is unlikely that there will be a sufficient enough infrastructure for a development of this size. There is a lack of provision in certain types of infrastructure in the area and development on the site will only increase the pressure on existing services. It is unlikely that the site is of sufficient size to provide all of the supporting infrastructure onsite. Current Use and This site is currently used as agricultural land. There is one outstanding case found in the siteʼs planning history: Relevant Planning 15/00554/EIA, EIA screening opinion request in respect of proposed residential development, comprising 120 History dwellings, access, open space (inc. SANG) and landscaping. Adams Hendry Consulting Ltd 2 Hart District Council Local Plan Site Assessment: Stage 2 – High Level Site Assessment – SHL023 – Land West of Marsh Lane, Eversley Cross Confidential Draft - 1.1 – April 2015 Nature Conservation Site is within the 5km Thames Basin Heaths SPA Zone of Influence. A site of this scale will not be within the capacity of the Hawley Meadows and Blackwater Park SANG to mitigate its potential impact on the TBH SPA. Therefore, the potential for delivering new SANGs provision on or off site would need to be investigated. There are two trees to the western edge of this site, which are subject to TPOs. There are no additional nature conservation constraints or sites in close proximity with protected status. Minerals Resources The Hampshire Minerals and Waste Plan Policies Map indicates that there are no areas within the site that are subject to minerals safeguarding. Landscape HCC Integrated LCA (2012) Landscape type: Lowland mosaic heath associated Landscape character: Northeast Hampshire Plantations and Heath Hart District LCA 1997: Landscape type: fragmented farmland and woodland Landscape Character Area: Firgrove Main features of the Firgrove LCA: A distinctively healthy character woods, hedges and verges with oak, birch, pine, gorse and bracken which indicate a former heathland character. The LCA is rural with localised suburbanising influences of roads and development around the fringes of Yateley, Blackwater and ribbon development along the B3272. There is also intrusion from overhead power lines. The LCA contains the attractive villages of Eversley Cross and Up Green with their vernacular dwellings, traditional village greens and nucleated form. Summary Assessment: This is a relatively large site to the east of Up Green and stretch north towards Eversley Cross. The site is adjacent to existing homes to the west and the south whilst Brooklands Farm lies to the east. The site is largely flat and has some tree screening at each of its boundaries, although these are sometimes intermittent and not considered sufficient to prevent development at the site from having a visual impact on the countryside to the east or potentially causing visual intrusion to properties on Up Green and New Road. Although there may be some visual impact, development of the site would not necessarily cause significant harm to the landscape character, although this would need to be considered further if the site is taken forward. Agricultural Land A mixture of Grade 3 Agricultural land and Urban land. The agricultural land might be ʻbest and most versatileʼ. Adams Hendry Consulting Ltd 3 Hart District Council Local Plan Site Assessment: Stage 2 – High Level Site Assessment – SHL023 – Land West of Marsh Lane, Eversley Cross Confidential Draft - 1.1 – April 2015 Heritage Assets Approximately two thirds of this site falls within the Up Green Conservation Area, which poses a constraint to development and would require further detailed analysis. Additionally there is a small cluster of Grade II Listed Buildings in close proximity to the southwest corner of the site along Chequers Lane, and also Firgrove Manor historic parkland, which is in close proximity to the southeast corner of the site, and is locally listed park ground. Water resources and There are no Groundwater Source Protection Zones or licensed water abstraction points in close proximity to the quality site. Air Quality There are not believed to be any Air Quality Management Areas in close proximity to this site. There are two nearby aggregate quarries, which could potentially cause localised air pollution or dust, one to the northeast of the site around 0.48km away, and a second to the south 1.3km away. Flood risk The whole site is located within Flood Zone 1, and has a minimal risk of surface water flooding. However, to the immediate east of the site the land is all within Flood Zone 3. Location and scale of The site is greenfield land and is not within a local or strategic gap. The Eversley Cross / Up Green settlement development boundary is adjacent to the western boundary of the site, and Marsh lane marks out the eastern boundary of the site. On this basis, it would appear that the site fits into the envelope of the developed area of Eversley Cross. The surrounding land uses are made up of the large, low-density dwellings associated situated on substantial plots of land, particularly to the south of the site. To the east of the site there are fields and a few scattered farm buildings. Given the size of this site, any development would potentially have an adverse impact on the character of Eversley Cross.