Limepit Lane, Huntington
Vision Document December 2019
Page 1 Barton Willmore / 9th Floor / Bank House / 8 Cherry Street / Birmingham / B2 5AL tel: 0121 711 5151/ email: [email protected] Desk Top Publishing and Graphic Design by Barton Willmore Graphic Design This artwork was printed on paper using fibre sourced from sustainable plantation wood from suppliers who practice sustainable management of forests in line with strict international standards. Pulp used in its manufacture is also Elemental Chlorine Free (ECF). \\srvslvfiles1\Files\30000 - 30999\30500 - 30599\30589 - Limepit Lane, Huntington\A5 - Reports & Graphics\ Graphic Design\Documents\Draft\30589 Vision 10 © The contents of this document must not be copied or reproduced in whole or in part without the written consent of The Barton Willmore Partnership. All plans are reproduced from the Ordnance Survey Map with the permission of the Controller of HMSO. Crown Copyright Reserved. License No. 100019279. Date 12/12/2019 Status - FINAL Author - DW Checked by - LH
Page 2 Contents
1. The Vision 4
2. Introduction 6
3. Planning Context 8
4. Site Location & Context 10
5. Key Opportunities 14
6. The Proposals 18
7. Development Benefits 20
Page 3 1. The Vision
to provide a sustainable development offering a range of high-quality housing of “approximately 130 dwellings for the local community, within walking distance of
Huntington Village Centre. The development seeks to use best practice urban design principles to promote a high-quality“ living environment that is responsive to its surroundings and local context.
Page 4 A development which knits into the existing community fabric
The development will work to work with the existing community through the improvement of the existing rugby club facilities, the provision of new public open space and the creation of new pedestrian and recreational routes.
A development which creates a new, well defined settlement edge
The development will utilise existing topography and vegetation and reinforce existing field boundaries to create an enhanced new defensible Green Belt boundary to Huntington and soft transition to the countryside, preserving views and the setting of the AONB.
A development which retains and enhances existing green infrastructure
The development utilises and expands existing green infrastructure on site and retains it where possible to inform new green links whilst enhancing the character and setting of new homes and public open space.
The delivery of new homes within a high- quality living environment
The development will extend the Huntington residential community creating high quality new homes within the framework of a carefully considered, site sensitive design approach.
Page 5 2. Introduction
The Vision Document has been prepared by Barton Willmore on behalf of IM Land, a subsidiary of IM Properties PLC. IM land is working with landowners to support proposals for residential development at Limepit Lane, Huntington. Site Location
The purpose of this document is to support the promotion The site is located to the east of Huntington Village, of the site at Limepit Lane to accommodate residential Staffordshire. Huntington is a village and civil parish in the development. The key aims and objectives of the document district of Staffordshire, located on the outskirts of Cannock are to: Chase AONB.
• present a vision and design framework to guide and Huntington Village is located 2 miles north of Cannock and shape the proposals 2 miles west of Hednesford providing wider facilities and services. It lies on the A34 road just north of Cannock . • review the site in the context of current Planning Policy The village is easily accessible from the adjacent A34, which • present an initial understanding of the site and the provides excellent connectivity to the wider strategic road local context, and network – A5, A460 and A449, M6/M6 (toll) and M54. The strategic road network provides access to Stafford, Lichfield • present the emerging concept masterplan, supported and Wolverhampton respectively. by an explanation of the key design principles that have informed it. Hednesford Railway Station can be reached via a 5 minute drive or 30 minute walk and Cannock Railway Station can be reached via a 10 minute bus journey. Both provide regular services to Birmingham.
Aerial site plan
Page 6 Wider Location Plan
Page 7 3. Planning Context
Existing Development Plan
The existing Local Plan comprises the adopted Core Strategy The current lack of available and suitable non-Green Belt and Site Allocations Document, which set out the planned options is in the context of a housing target currently set at level and distribution of growth for South Staffordshire up 175 dwellings per year. However, the Core Strategy is over to 2027. Core Policy 6 (Housing Delivery) adopted a housing five years old and therefore the future housing target adopted target of ‘at least’ 3,675 dwellings to be delivered between through the development plan review will be based on the 2006 and 2027, at an annual rate of 175 dwellings per year. local housing need using the standard methodology. Core Policy 1 (Spatial Strategy) identifies Huntington as a ‘Local Service Village’ where limited development would Core Policy 4 (Promoting High Quality Design) and Policy be supported. The limited opportunities for development EQ11 (Wider Design Considerations) set out the range of within Huntington, under the current development plan, are criteria to be applied to all development proposals in order further constrained by a tightly drawn Green Belt boundary to achieve high quality design in South Staffordshire. This that envelopes the settlement. Consequently, the current includes the need for proposals to be consistent with design development plan does not allocate any land for immediate guidance set out in the adopted Village Design Guide SPD. release for new development at Huntington, including housing land, up to 2027. There are no specific environmental or heritage designations directly affecting Huntington, or the site in particular. However, the Core Strategy recognised the need to consider Nonetheless, the site abuts the Area of Outstanding Natural the release of some Green Belt land at the Main and Local Beauty AONB) to the east (Policies EQ1 and EQ4) as Service Villages in order to deliver the adopted development shown in the Site Allocations Policies Map Inset Plan 19 strategy, and that a review of the Green Belt (Policy GB1) (Huntington), extract set out below: would accompany the Site Allocations Document (SAD). Whilst only identifying a small area of ‘safeguarded’ land within the Green Belt at Huntington settlement, the SAD did establish ‘Exceptional Circumstances’ in support of some Green Belt release in other parts of the District. The key justification for this being the lack of non-Green Belt sites suitable for development in South Staffordshire.
This was an argument accepted by the Local Plan Inspector who examined the SAD, as stated in his final report:
“61. The NPPF (¶ 83-85) requires exceptional circumstances to be demonstrated in order to justify amending Green Belt boundaries and releasing land from the Green Belt.…SSC [South Staffordshire Council] has fully examined all reasonable non-Green Belt options to accommodate the required scale and distribution of development, but given that over 80% of the district is covered by Green Belt, it is clear that there is insufficient suitable, available, deliverable and viable non-Green Belt land in the district which would provide sustainable patterns of development….” (South Staffordshire Council – Site Allocations Document - Inspector’s Report: May 2018).
Site Allocations Policies Map - Inset Plan 19 (Huntington)
Page 8 Emerging Local Plan
South Staffordshire Council is currently progressing the In terms of the spatial distribution of growth, Huntington review of the Local Plan (the Core Strategy and Site is identified as a ‘Tier 2’ settlement within the District’s Allocations Document) and has carried out an Issues settlement hierarchy. Tier 2 settlements have a range of and Options and Statement of Community Involvement services and facilities, as well as access to public transport consultation that ran for eight weeks in October / November connections to higher tier settlements. The Issues and 2018. Options Document includes six spatial options; including two options (A & B) which would focus a proportion of future The South Staffordshire Site Allocations Document growth on the rural settlements. The Council is currently (SAD) committed South Staffordshire to carrying out consulting on seven Spatial Housing Options to inform an early review of the Local Plan in order to respond to the Council’s preferred distribution of growth. This will be the increasing need for development, both within South consulted on as part of the Council’s proposed draft Plan, Staffordshire, and in neighbouring authorities across the which is likely to happen during Summer 2020. wider housing market area. Agreeing to an early review of the Local Plan was an essential requirement of the Consideration will therefore need to be given to the release Government’s Planning Inspector who examined the SAD of further Green Belt land in sustainable locations to assist in and was largely in response to unmet housing needs in both meeting the preferred level of growth, given the step-change South Staffordshire and the wider region. This means that in local housing delivery required over an extended period the council must submit a reviewed Local Plan by 2021, up to 2037. A Green Belt Review has now been published. which is earlier than previously anticipated. In this context, it is already recognised that there is a lack of available brownfield land in the District to meet the likely The new Local Plan will set out how much development scale of growth to be planned for. Consequently, there is is required in the district up until 2037. This will include need to consider development in sustainable locations that do residential (including Gypsy, Traveller and Travelling not undermine the purposes of the Green Belt in line with Showpeople accommodation), retail and employment uses. the ‘Exceptional Circumstances’ test, in the context of higher The Local Plan will allocate the sites required to deliver the emerging housing target. For the reasons explained within identified level of development needed. this Vision Document the site at Limepit Lame, Huntington is well placed to deliver that. Under the new standard method approach for calculating local housing need, the Spatial Housing Strategy document, published for consultation in October 2019, now identifies a minimum local housing need of 254 dwellings per annum (dpa), equating to 4,845 dwellings between 2018 and 2037. However, the Council feels it is right to continue to test a contribution of up to 4,000 dwellings towards the unmet needs of the wider GBHMA. This means that the Local Plan Review needs to plan for a housing target of 8,845 dwellings between 2018. This represents a significant uplift on past delivery rates with a level of growth that is significantly higher than the current adopted strategy based on the delivery of 175 dwellings per year.
Page 9 4. Site Context
Access & Movement
The site is split into two land parcels either side of Limepit Public Transport Lane which are both accessed from Limepit Lane. The closest bus stops to the site are located: Limepit Lane On Stafford Road, serving the 2 Sapphire, 74 and 75B Limepit Lane is approximately 1.2km long connecting the routes. Stafford Road (A34) roundabout to the east (beyond which the road becomes Cocksparrow Lane) and Pye Green Road Across all services there are buses running to/from Cannock to the west (beyond which the road becomes Belt Road). and Stafford every 20 minutes.
Pedestrians and Cycles Summary of Existing Bus Services
The site is located within 10 minutes walking and 5 minutes Daytime Service Route cycling distance of a range of local facilities in Huntington Frequency village centre. 2 Sapphire Walsall – Huntington 30 minutes There is a pedestrian footpath along the southern (but not the northern) edge of Limepit Lane where it meets the site. 74 Cannock - Stafford 20 minutes
Cannock town centre is within a 10 minute cycling distance 75B Cannock - Stafford Hourly south of the site and includes a wider array of facilities and shops. Train Services
The closest train station to the site is Hednesford, approximately a 5 minute drive (or 30 minute walk) away with regular services available via West Midlands Trains to Birmingham New Street, Birmingham International, Coventry and London Euston.
Page 10 Transport Network Accessibility Plan
Page 11 Local Facilities & Services
Huntington Village has a number of facilities located close to the heart of the village on Stafford Road (A34). The village has two pubs, Littleton Arms and The Barns, McColls store (which includes a post office and Co-op), a Fish & Chip shop and an Indian Restaurant.
Littleton Green Community School is located on Collier Way, 0.2 miles west of the site. The Barns is a hotel/ restaurant in a converted eighteenth century farmhouse in the heart of Huntington Village.
Walking Distance (from site Type Description Walk / Cycle Time access) Littleton Green Community Education 0.3km / 0.2 mile 4 minutes / 1 minute School Moorhill Primary School 1.4km / 0.9 miles 18 minutes / 7 minutes Pye Green Academy 2.6km / 1.6 miles 31 minutes / 11 minutes Healthcare Colliery Pharmacy 0.5km / 0.3 miles 6 minutes / 2 minutes Chadsmoor Medical Practice 1.8km / 1.1 miles 21 minutes / 7 minutes Community Huntington Community Centre 0.6km / 0.4 miles 7 minutes / 2 minutes Facilities Food Retail Amo’s Convenience Store 1.0km / 0.6 miles 12 minutes / 3 minutes
Page 12 Access & Movement plan
Page 13 5. Key Opportunities
The findings from the initial site and context assessment have been evaluated to identify the emerging constraints and opportunities relevant to the development of the site.
The composite plan in this section presents the analysis of these elements, the qualities of the site and its immediate setting that provides the context for future development proposals. The positive features and opportunities on and around the site should be retained, enhanced and incorporated into the scheme where possible, to strengthen local distinctiveness.
Key Opportunities
To utilise the site topography to inform site attenuation.
To retain existing high quality trees and hedgerows where possible and strengthen boundaries with new native planting to enhance the landscape structure and character.
Maximise connections into the wider pedestrian and cycle movement network, increasing accessibility to local facilities.
To benefit the local community through the creation of new recreational routes and expansion of the adjacent rugby club to the south.
Opportunity to improve the settlement edge of Huntington and provide a new robust defensible Green Belt boundary and transition with the AONB.
Key Constraints
A sensitive design approach, particularly on the eastern edge, will be required in response to the nearby AONB to the east. This will involve locating public open space rather than buildings on the higher parts of the site. Storey heights on the eastern edge will be limited, with detached homes providing a more organic edge to the development. This will be supplemented with lower order roads and landscape planting to provide an appropriate transititional green edge to the development.
Page 14 Opportunities & Constraints Plan
Page 15 Access & Transport Drainage
Accesses to the site(s) for all modes will be provided from Focussing on the land north of Limepit Lane, according Limepit Lane, in the form of simple priority junctions to the Environment Agency Flood Map for Planning, the with adjacent footways. Should either access be required application site is located entirely within Flood Zone 1 (Low to provide right turn lane facilities, delivery of a compliant Probability), which is land defined as having less than a 1 in design is achievable within land under the control of the 1000-year annual probability of river or sea flooding. The developer and/ or public highway. The layouts and visibility nearest Environment Agency Main River is the Ridings splays will meet the requirements of the local highway Brook, which is located approximately 2.2km southeast of authority, informed by recorded vehicle speeds (c.40mph). the site and does not pose a risk to the development.
At present there is a continuous footway along the southern The proposed development has also been assessed against side of Limepit Lane between Huntington and Pye Green a further range of potential flood risk sources including Road in Cannock. The development will provide a new surface water, canals, groundwater, reservoirs and sewers. footway on the northern side of Limepit Lane linking the None of these flood sources have been found to represent a proposed access to the residential development and the potential barrier to development and any residual risk will be existing footway to the east of Foxfields Way. At present the appropriately mitigated. existing footway is narrow and does not follow the likely desire line of future residents. Therefore, new dropped An appropriate Surface Water Management Strategy which crossings and a new more direct wider footway will be complies with the latest local and national advice will be provided. In addition, a new crossing on Limepit Lane will implemented on the site to attenuate the increase in surface be delivered between the proposed northern and southern water runoff caused by development. As a first option, access points. The form of the crossing will be discussed with infiltration should be considered for the disposal of surface the Local Highway Authority, which could be either a refuge water due to the expected favourable ground conditions and crossing, zebra or puffin. Sandstone bedrock geology. In the event that infiltration is not viable, the rate at which the runoff is discharged from The site is well located in terms of access to local facilities. the site will be restricted to the equivalent greenfield runoff Little Green Community School is c.550m (as measured rate, preventing an increase in flows leaving the site and thus from the centre of the residential area of the site) to the ensuring that the development does not have a detrimental west and a local Co-op is a further 100m south along the impact upon flood risk elsewhere. Stafford Road. The nearest bus stops are located a similar distances to the west of the site on the A34, which provide Through the application of Sustainable Urban Drainage access to regular services to Cannock, Walsall and Stafford. Systems (SuDS), the additional surface water will be stored Staffordshire University Academy is located 1.1km to the within the site and subjected to multiple stages of treatment east in Hednesford, which can be accessed safely on foot to guarantee that the water quality in the wider drainage (c.14 mins). network is protected. Wherever possible SuDS features will be above ground to enhance the aesthetic amenity of the There are no known highway capacity constraints development and provide valuable habitats for the local that would prevent the proposed development wildlife. The attenuation provided will be appropriately sized coming forward. to include an allowance for climate change. Example SuDS features that will be incorporated into the development wherever possible include infiltration basins, permeable paving and swales.
Page 16 Archaeology and Heritage Landscape
A desk based archaeology and heritage assessment has been Having undertaken fieldwork to established the landscape completed for the site. Few records are held for the study and visual context within which the site lies, the following area and there is little indication that the site has greater than opportunities and constraints have been identified. These low archaeological potential. It is likely to have been part of reflect sensitivities associated with the setting of the AONB, Cannock Chase and was subsequently farmed. Cultivation is as well as the situation of the site on the settlement edge: likely to have truncated any earlier remains such that nothing of significance is likely to survive. • Limiting the extent of development within the site to respect the settlement pattern and respect the open The site’s earliest field boundaries lie alongside Limepit Lane character and setting of the AONB to the east; and in the east and north of the site. These can be retained as part of the site’s green infrastructure. Significant change • Development to be retained within the 175m contour within and adjacent to the site means that the landscape is line to ensure development follows the landform and is not of intrinsic historical significance. not prominent on the higher slopes;
Few buildings or areas of historical or architectural interest • Development to respect the height, scale and character lie nearby. The closest designated heritage asset is the Grade of the adjacent built edge. Opportunities for single II listed Huntington Farm farmhouse well to the west of the storey houses on the eastern edge of the development to site and neither this, nor any other heritage asset would be reduce visual prominence when views from the higher harmed by the proposals.’ land in the AONB;
• Opportunities to reinforce field boundaries to the eastern edge of the site with hedgerow tree planting, trees and woodland. This will provide an improved settlement edge and filter views of development, respecting the landscape character and retaining views from within the AONB
Page 17 6. The Proposals
Key Guiding Design Principles
The plan for the site has been informed by the vision, site analysis and identified constraints and opportunities. The plan shows the key design principles which underpin the development of the site, as set out below:
• The proposal provides approximately 130 dwellings using an average density of 35 dwellings per hectare (dph). • Vehicle access to the site will be provided via an enhancement of the existing dropped kerb access from Limepit Lane. • The development with a soft green transitional edge to the east. • A series of new pedestrian routes will be provided from Limepit Lane through the site, linking public open space and the existing footpath network. • A development layout that frames views to the open countryside to the east of the site. Land Budget Plan • The retention and enhancement of existing green capital wherever possible, to shape a connected and multi-functional green infrastructure network – including recreation, ecological habitats and attenuation. • New dwellings will back onto the western boundary, with additional planting to provide screening and protect amenity of these properties. • Delivery of enhanced facilites at Cannock Rugby Union Football Club, including additional full-size turf pitch and dedicated access and parking area.
The proposals for development at Limepit Lane, Huntington are structured around a highly robust design framework. The site could come forward as a number of smaller parcel areas, suitable for development by one or more SME’s if appropriate.
The land is promoted for approximately 130 new homes in total in order to reach a level of development that affords the ability to be able to provide additional community services and infrastructure. As part of this holistic masterplan, by providing approximately 130 homes it enables the potential provision of land for a new rugby pitch and associated car park.
Page 18 A A
Concept Plan
Indicative Site Section (A-A)
Rear Garden House 4m 4.8m Varies 2m Varies Site Boundary Front Private Transitional Green Edge Footpath Defensible Green Belt Boundary Garden Drive Page 19 7. Development Benefits
A development which knits into the existing community fabric
The development will benefit the local community through additional sports pitch provision at Cannock Rugby Union Football Club, the provision of new public open space and the creation of new pedestrian and recreational routes.
A development which creates a new, well defined settlement edge
The development will utilise existing topography and vegetation and reinforce existing field boundaries to create an enhanced new defensible Green Belt boundary to Huntington and soft transition to the countryside, preserving views and the setting of the AONB.
Page 20 A development which retains and enhances existing green infrastructure
The development retains and expands existing green infrastructure on site, enhancing the character and setting of new homes and public open space with new public open space and linkages being created.
The delivery of new homes within a high-quality living environment
The proposal will extend the Huntington residential community creating approximately 130 high quality new homes within the framework of a carefully considered, site sensitive design approach.
Page 21 Page 22