August 2020 | ED | P20-0085 MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT COMPRISING OF UP TO 85 DWELLINGS, 1HA OF EMPLOYMENT LAND (USE CLASS E), PUBLIC OPEN SPACE AND ASSOCIATED HIGHWAYS AND DRAINAGE INFRASTRUCTURE PLANNING STATEMENT LAND NORTH-WEST OF BUCKTON FIELDS ON BEHALF OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL TOWN & COUNTRY PLANNING ACT 1990 (AS AMENDED) PLANNING AND COMPULSORY PURCHASE ACT 2004 Pegasus Group Suite 4 | Pioneer House | Vision Park | Histon | Cambridgeshire | CB24 9NL T 01223 202100 F 01223 237202 | W www.pegasuspg.co.uk Birmingham | Bracknell | Bristol | Cambridge | Cirencester | East Midlands | Leeds | Liverpool | London | Manchester ©Copyright Pegasus Planning Group Limited 2011. The contents of this document must not be copied or reproduced in whole or in part without the written consent of Pegasus Planning Group Limited Northamptonshire County Council Land north-west of Buckton Fields Planning Statement CONTENTS: Page No: 1. INTRODUCTION 1 2. STATEMENT OF COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT 2 3. SITE AND SURROUNDING AREA 3 4. RELEVANT BACKGROUND 5 5. FIVE YEAR HOUSING LAND SUPPLY POSITION 8 6. THE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT AND PLANNING ASSESSMENT 10 7. CONCLUSION 35 September 2020 | ED | P20-0085 Northamptonshire County Council Land north-west of Buckton Fields Planning Statement 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 This Planning Statement has been prepared by Pegasus Group on behalf of our client, Northamptonshire County Council, to support their outline planning application for land to the north-west of Buckton Fields. The description of development for the planning application is as follows: ‘Mixed use development comprising of up to 85 dwellings, 1ha of employment land (use class E), public open space and associated highways and drainage infrastructure’ 1.2 The purpose of this Planning Statement is to summarise the development proposals and demonstrate how they comply with the policies of the adopted development plan for Daventry, the strategic policies for West Northamptonshire and the National Planning Policy Framework 2019 (the Framework), as well as giving due consideration to all relevant material planning considerations. 1.3 One of the fundamental aims of the Framework is to ensure that new development contributes to the achievement of sustainable development. The Framework requires Councils to significantly boost the supply of new homes by making the most efficient use of sites in sustainable locations. The need for economic development and the creation of new jobs that this entails is even more critical in light of the economic downturn as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. 1.4 The severe impact of Covid-19 on our lives and the economy is a material consideration that should be afforded weight in planning decisions. On 30th June the Prime Minister announced a ‘New Deal’ which underlines his commitment to “build, build, build” to fuel economic recovery across the country. The creation of new jobs through both the construction and occupation phases of new developments like Buckton Fields is more important now than ever before to help economic recovery. 1.5 This Planning Statement demonstrates how the development of land to the north- west of Buckton Fields will deliver on the objectives of the Framework and the policies of the adopted Local Plan by boosting the supply of new homes and employment land whilst successfully mitigating any potential negative impacts of the development. This Planning Statement sets out the planning justification for the proposed development with reference, where relevant, to the detailed reports and plans that have been submitted in support of the planning application. September 2020 | ED | P20-0085 Page | 1 Northamptonshire County Council Land north-west of Buckton Fields Planning Statement 2. STATEMENT OF COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT 2.1 Prior to the submission of this application officers from the County Council have been in discussions with locally elected members and Boughton Parish Council. In light of the restrictions in place to control the Covid-19 pandemic this engagement has principally been carried out virtually or by electronic correspondence. This engagement has highlighted a desire locally to have some form of community provision on the Buckton Fields site. 2.2 There is the potential for some forms of community use to be accommodated in the local centre or new employment area. This is as a result of the new use class E that accommodates some of the previous A1, A3, D1 and D2 uses. However, a community hall would now fall under the new F.2 use class. Whether or not it is appropriate or achievable to deliver such a facility is something that will continue to be the subject of discussions between the applicant and local councillors. 2.3 The 2011 application for the Buckton Fields site was the subject of objections from the surrounding Parish Councils and residents. Notwithstanding this, as this latest proposal is smaller in scale and contained within the site boundaries of the previous application the wider impacts upon the surrounding villages will be more limited. Whilst the County Council recognises the benefits that community engagement can bring to development proposals, they have had to take in to account the scale of the development proposals and the impact of Covid-19 on holding public meetings. Therefore, a low scale approach to community engagement was considered appropriate in this case. September 2020 | ED | P20-0085 Page | 2 Northamptonshire County Council Land north-west of Buckton Fields Planning Statement 3. SITE AND SURROUNDING AREA The Site 3.1 The application site is approximately 3.62ha and is located to the north-west of the Buckton Fields site in the parish of Boughton. Whilst the site falls within the administrative boundary of Daventry District Council, Buckton Fields is allocated as a Sustainable Urban Extension (SUE) of Northampton, which lies to the south of the site. 3.2 The site was previously in an agricultural use and forms part of a large field with no internal boundary features and external boundaries comprising a mix of wooden fences and broken hedge lines. To the south of the application site is the new spine road that serves the SUE and connects it to Wellford Road (A5199) to the west. The spine road serves the residential areas to the south that are presently being built out by Bloor and Martin Grant Homes pursuant to the consent for the wider Buckton Fields site. 3.3 To the north of the site there is a small car park that serves the Brampton Valley Way recreational route and the northern part of the field of which the application site is part of. To the west of the car park there is a telephone exchange site on the corner of Wellford Road and Brampton Lane. 3.4 To the east of the site the land is in an agricultural use either side of Brampton Lane, part of which includes a complex of modern farm buildings that have been converted for use as a farm shop (Smith’s Farm Shop). Surrounding area 3.5 The town of Northampton to the south includes a diverse range of employment opportunities, health and education services and leisure and recreational facilities. The access onto the A5199 connects the site to the wider strategic road network. An application has recently been submitted for the northwest relief road that will deliver enhancements to the strategic road network to the west Buckton Fields (ref. 19/00045/CCDFUL). 3.6 The Buckton Fields SUE includes land for a primary school, local centre and significant areas of public open space. A full planning application has been submitted for the primary school (ref. DA/2020/0465) and the local centre will come forward pursuant to the outline application for the wider site. The spine September 2020 | ED | P20-0085 Page | 3 Northamptonshire County Council Land north-west of Buckton Fields Planning Statement road through the site has been designed to accommodate public transport and phases 1 and 2 of the SUE are being occupied in accordance with the approved Travel Plan for the site. 3.7 The services and facilities that will be provided within the SUE, and the proximity of the site to Northampton, means that new residents will have the opportunity to meet some, if not all, of their daily needs by sustainable forms of transport. The site is therefore considered to be a sustainable location where it is appropriate to accommodate additional growth. 3.8 The rural areas immediately to the north and west of the site fall within the parishes of Boughton and Church and Chapel Brampton. The village of Boughton is to the northeast of Buckton Fields with the Bramptons being the nearest rural settlements to the application site to the northwest of Brampton Lane. Figure 1: Site location plan showing the Buckton Fields SUE with Buckton Fields East in hatched in yellow and the phase 2 development hatched in blue. September 2020 | ED | P20-0085 Page | 4 Northamptonshire County Council Land north-west of Buckton Fields Planning Statement 4. RELEVANT BACKGROUND Relevant Planning History 4.1 The Buckton Fields site of approximately 50 ha is allocated for development by Policy N8 (Northampton North of Whitehalls Sustainable Urban Extension) of the West Northamptonshire Joint Core Strategy (WNJCS). Prior to the adoption of the WNJCS the site was originally allocated for development under Policy HS2 of the Daventry District Local Plan 1997. In 1998 a masterplan document for the site was subsequently adopted to guide development proposals. Policy N8 identifies that the site will deliver “in the region of” 1,000 dwellings with associated community uses and supporting infrastructure, and that the site will be delivered in a phased manner. Following the draft allocation in the then emerging WNCJS an outline application was submitted to Daventry District Council in 2007 for the site (ref. DA/2007/1400).