Land at 4 Ridgeway Cottages, Common Platt, Purton, , SN5 5JY

Planning/ Design & Access Statement

August 2018

Project Reference: 00024

Land at 4 Ridgeway Cottages, Common

Platt, Purton, Wiltshire, SN5 5JY

Planning/ Design & Access Statement

Document Issue Record

Version: 1 2

Description/ Draft to client Updates re Status: drawings

Date: 24/08/2018 29/08/2018

Produced by: Stuart Miles Stuart Miles BEng MA MRTPI BEng MA MRTPI

August 2018

Project Reference: 00024

Contents

1 Introduction ...... 2

2 Site Description and Context ...... 3

3 Development Proposals (Design and Access) ...... 5

4 Planning History ...... 6

5 Planning Policy Context ...... 7

Development Plan ...... 7

Material Considerations ...... 20

6 Planning Balance ...... 23

The Principle of Residential Development at the Site ...... 23

Detailed Matters ...... 25

7 Conclusion ...... 26

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1 Introduction

1.1 This Planning/ Design and Access Statement has been prepared by Vision Planning on behalf of Mrs S Ballard (“the applicant”), the owner of 4 Ridgeway Cottages, in support of an outline planning application for a new detached dwelling to the north of the existing dwelling at 4 Ridgeway Cottages, Common Platt (“the site”).

1.2 The application seeks outline planning consent for the proposed development with all matters (access, appearance, landscaping, layout and scale) reserved for subsequent approval.

1.3 This Planning/ Design and Access Statement is submitted in support of the application and should be read in conjunction with the TCD Architecture plans and elevations also submitted as part of this planning application.

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2 Site Description and Context

2.1 A Location and Block Plan (drawing ref 1411/001) showing an indicative site layout have been submitted as part of this application.

2.2 The application site is located in Peatmoor, an outer suburb of . It lies within Wiltshire Council area and Wiltshire Council is the relevant local planning authority.

2.3 The site is approximately 2km from a range of local facilities in the villages of Purton and Lydiard Millicent, which lie approximately 2km to the west and south west respectively, and a good range of regional level facilities, including a railway station, in the centre of Swindon, about 5 kilometres away.

2.4 The nearest primary schools are the Ridgeway Farm CE and the Peatmoor Community Primary School, which are less than 500 metres/750 metres respectively from the site by foot. As the Ridgeway Farm CE Academy only opened for the 2016/17 school year it still has plenty of capacity.

2.5 The nearest secondary schools are Nova Hreod Academy and in Swindon, and Bradon Forest in Purton. Each is about 2 kilometres from the site.

2.6 Peatmoor village centre is situated within walking distance (less than 800m) from the site. Peatmoor contains a range of services and amenities including: public transport provision; childcare day nursery; takeaway restaurants; co-operative foodstore; betting shop; medical surgery; public house; primary school; and playspace.

2.7 The site is approximately rectangular and covers an area of x hectares. It is situated between the Ridgeway Farm development currently under construction and the B4553.

2.8 The site itself was formerly in residential use, forming part of the garden of 4 Ridgeway Cottages. It is now vacant but is enclosed by housing developments on three sides (4 Ridgeway Cottages and the Ridgeway Farm development), and the B4553 on its western edge.

2.9 To the rear (east) the site is edged with a 2 metre lapboard fence which forms the boundary of the Ridgeway Farm development.

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2.10 The site’s frontage (west) is currently lightly vegetated with trees and shrubs, some of which lie within the site, and some lie within the B4553 highway verge.

2.11 Access to the plot would be from the B4553 which is subject to a 40mph speed limit. Adequate parking and turning space could be accommodated onsite to enable vehicles to enter and leave the site in a forward gear.

2.12 The site is not situated within any area designated for landscape, ecology or any other protected area, and is not situated within an area of flood risk as defined in the Environment Agency Flood Risk Maps.

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3 Development Proposals (Design and Access)

3.1 Drawing refs 1411/001 and 1411/002 give an indicative illustration of the layout and scale of the proposal. These are for illustrative purposes only, to show how a three bedroom two storey dwelling could be comfortably accommodated on the site in a manner which would respect the layout and density of the existing development.

3.2 The site is large enough to accommodate adequate parking and turning space for at least three vehicles. In addition, an acceptable level of visibility on the B4553 is evident which would ensure safe access and egress to the site. As such, the proposed development would not give rise to any adverse highway safety impacts.

3.3 The development would make effective and efficient use of the site which is currently underutilised.

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4 Planning History

4.1 The application site has no relevant planning history according to Wiltshire Council’s planning application mapping website.

4.2 An extension to 4 Ridgeway Cottages was approved in 2000 (application reference (N/00/00511/FUL).

4.3 The most relevant applications relate to a site immediately to the south of 3 Ridgeway Cottages, and to the land to the rear of the site.

4.4 Application reference 14/11425/OUT was approved on 9th March 2015 for the erection of a dwelling with all matters reserved on the site immediately to the south of 3 Ridgeway Cottages. The planning context for this site is much the same as for the application site.

4.5 Since then, a reserved matters application has been approved, conditions discharged, and the dwelling built and occupied.

4.6 Land to the north and east of the application site is now being redeveloped for housing at Ridgeway Farm.

4.7 The Ridgeway Farm development results from application reference 10/04575/OUT for up to 700 dwellings, allowed via a recovered appeal on 26th November 2012. Following a range of further planning applications including reserved matters and conditions discharge, this development is now partially complete and occupied.

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5 Planning Policy Context

5.1 Section 38 (6) of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 requires planning applications to be determined in accordance with the adopted development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

5.2 The current adopted development plan for the application site comprises the Wiltshire Core Strategy, adopted January 2015 (“WCS”), along with the saved policies of the North Wiltshire Local Plan 2011, adopted June 2006 (“NWLP”).

5.3 The Purton Neighbourhood Plan has been examined but is not yet made so is not formally part of the development plan at this stage. This, along with the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), published in 2018, and accompanying National Planning Practice Guidance (NPPG) are relevant material considerations in planning decisions.

Development Plan

5.4 The WCS is the adopted development plan for the application site, along with saved policies from the NWLP.

5.5 The strategic direction for development in Wiltshire generally is set out by Core Policy 1: Settlement Strategy, as below.

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5.6 Core Policy 1 categorises settlements in Wiltshire as:

1. Principal Settlements;

2. Market Towns;

3. Local Service Centres;

4. Large Villages; and

5. Small villages.

5.7 The higher up the list a particular settlement lies, the more sustainable it is considered to be.

5.8 The Delivery Strategy is set out Core Policy 2.

5.9 This explains that 42,000 homes are to be delivered across Wiltshire, including 900 West of Swindon.

5.10 The policy sets out a presumption in favour of sustainable development at the Principal Settlements, Market Towns, Local Service Centres and Large Villages, and restricts development in Small Villages to infill development meeting a number of other criteria.

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5.11 The “West of Swindon” area in which the application site s defined a little differently in the WCS, as set out in paragraph 4.34 below.

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5.12 The WCS divides Wiltshire into a series of Community Areas. The application site lies within the Royal Wootton Bassett and Cricklade Community Area.

5.13 The following text relates to that Community Area and, as the site is effectively on the edge of Swindon, this text also relates to this site to a certain extent.

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5.14 The associated map for the Community Area is as follows.

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5.15 It is noteworthy that the red area denoting the “significant permission” at Ridgeway Farm would appear to run along the B4553 so it includes the application site.

5.16 More detailed policies that may be considered relevant relate to biodiversity, landscape and transport, as set out below.

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Material Considerations

5.17 In this case, other material considerations include the revised 2018 National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and the emerging Wiltshire Housing Site Allocations Plan.

National Planning Policy Framework

5.18 The NPPF includes a presumption in favour of sustainable development set out in paragraph 11, as follows.

5.19 The Wiltshire Housing Site Allocations Plan was submitted for examination in July 2018. The Examination date is not yet set.

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5.20 It is through this document that Wiltshire Council is reviewing the settlement boundaries from the previous district based local plans. In the case of the application site this would be the “Framework of Settlement” as defined in the North Wiltshire Local Plan 2011.

5.21 A number of Topic Papers have been produced alongside the Site Allocations Plan.

5.22 Topic Paper 1 deals with the Settlement Boundary Review Methodology (“TP1”).

5.23 Paragraph 2.6 of TP1 confirms that WCS Core Policies 1 and 2 form the policy basis for the settlement boundaries:

5.24 Paragraphs 1.2 to 1.4 set out the purpose of the settlement boundary review.

5.25 The important point to note is that paragraph 1.3 implies that, where a comprehensive review of the settlement boundaries has not been undertaken, there is a risk that the boundaries are not up to date.

5.26 Table A.2 lists the settlement boundaries that have been reviewed in the Royal Wootton Bassett and Cricklade Community Area. The list does not include the west of Swindon area in which the application site lies.

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5.27 TP1 also sets out the method for defining new settlement boundaries, as follows.

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6 Planning Balance

The Principle of Residential Development at the Site

6.1 In terms of the principle of residential development on this site, there is little doubt that planning permission should be approved.

6.2 In principle, the application site will either be considered to be within or outside the defined limits of development.

6.3 If it is considered to be within the defined limits of development then the presumption of favour of sustainable development set out in WCS Core Policy 2 applies.

6.4 If the site is considered to be outside the defined limits of development, then this is only because Wiltshire Council has not reviewed the settlement boundary in this area.

6.5 Paragraph 1.3 of TP1 notes that the purpose of undertaking settlement boundary reviews across Wiltshire through the Housing Site Allocations Plan is “to ensure they are up to date”. By implication, where a review of the settlement boundary has not been undertaken there is at least a risk that the boundary is out of date.

6.6 As planning consent has already been granted for 900 homes at Ridgeway Farm and Moredon Bridge in this area, it is clear that the settlement boundary is out of date so, in the words of NPPF paragraph 11, “the policies which are most important for determining the application are out-of-date”.

6.7 NPPF paragraph 11 explains how to determine applications in this context. Criterion d) i. does not apply, so the tilted balance in d) ii. is triggered. This means permission must be granted unless “any adverse impacts of doing so would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits, when assessed against the policies in (the NPPF) taken as a whole.”

6.8 The application site was part of a larger area at Ridgeway Farm identified as part of a potential urban expansion in the Swindon Core Strategy Preferred Options, March 2008.

6.9 The Inspector who considered the appeal against the non-determination of an outline application for 700 homes at Ridgeway Farm (Wiltshire application reference 10/04575/OUT) noted at paragraph 370 of her

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decision that:

“Although in designated countryside, the site is immediately adjacent to other residential development and, in that respect, would be seen as a logical location for an urban extension to the town. The site would be contained by the B4553 to the west, the railway to the east and the development to the south of Purton Road…”

6.10 In general terms, the application site, being contained by the B4553 to the west, is included in this area and the Inspector’s conclusions apply to it. The adverse impacts of permitting the application would not significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits, so permission should be granted.

6.11 Furthermore, application reference 14/11425/FUL sets a precedent for the consideration of this application.

6.12 This application was approved on 9th March 2015. The report of the officer who considered the application included the following:

“In principle this is a site where new residential development would normally be restricted to that which meets a need for agricultural or forestry workers or is a replacement dwelling proposal. Neither applies in this instance. The site lies outside of any defined settlement framework boundary and is therefore effectively located within the open countryside. The site does not fall within the built up area of a village without a defined settlement boundary either and therefore could not readily be defined as limited infill development. As such the proposal would be considered to be in conflict with the NPPF and the WCS particularly in respect of policies for the location of new residential development CP1 CP2 CP48.

Planning legislation and the NPPF require applications to be determined in accordance with the Development Plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. In this case it is considered that there are significant material considerations that would support the development in this location. In particular the development approved and underway at Ridgeway Farm directly adjacent the site. This strategic scale development is fundamentally altering the character of the locality within which the site is situated from open countryside to urban area. The Phase 2 residential development area directly abuts the eastern boundary of the site with residential properties to be built directly adjoining the application site. The relevant reserved matters application 14/10200/REM is under consideration at the moment and a decision will be issued shortly. The site

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will be built out within the short term at which point the application site will be effectively surrounded by built development, predominantly residential and a part of a larger residential area. It would be unreasonable and unrealistic to maintain that the locality is open countryside and the erection of a single dwelling would be unsustainable and contrary to the development strategy of the WCS and the policies of the NPPF and therefore unacceptable in principle.”

6.13 Exactly the same argument applies to this application so, in principle, permission should be granted.

Detailed Matters

6.14 All matters relating to access, appearance, landscaping, layout and scale are reserved. However, a number of more detailed considerations might be considered to be relevant to this outline application, so are covered below.

6.15 In terms of visibility from the access, in relation to application reference 14/11425/FUL, the Highways officer’s response dated 27th February 2015 noted that:

“The speed limit here is 40 mph which normally attracts a 90 metre visibility splay but as this is not a busy road the visibility as shown (which was 85 metres) is considered acceptable.”

6.16 A 90 metre visibility splay is also achievable in principle at this site, as shown on drawing ref 1411/001. The brow of the hill is further from the proposed access than 90 metres.

6.17 In terms of impact on biodiversity and landscape, the site is not included within any relevant designation. There may be a need to remove some frontage vegetation in order to achieve acceptable visibility splays, as was done for 14/11425/FUL, but there is no reason not to approve the application on this basis.

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7 Conclusion

7.1 Assuming that this site is considered to be outside any defined built up area, then consideration of the principle of developing this site for a single new dwelling is identical to that for 14/11425/FUL.

7.2 In the words of the officer who considered that application, “it would be unreasonable and unrealistic to maintain that the locality is open countryside and the erection of a single dwelling would be unsustainable and contrary to the development strategy of the WCS and the policies of the NPPF and therefore unacceptable in principle.”

7.3 Further, if the site is considered to be in open countryside, it is only because Wiltshire Council has not yet reviewed the settlement boundary in this area despite the approval of 900 homes, so “the policies which are most important for determining the application are out-of-date” and the tilted balance in NPPF paragraph 11 applies.

7.4 The site’s development is clearly sustainable, and there are no detailed matters that cannot be resolved through reserved matters or condition, so permission must be granted.

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