PLANNING, DESIGN AND HERITAGE STATEMENT Proposed Residential Development at Theddingworth Road, Husbands Bosworth JUNE 2017 Document Control Sheet Project Name Land at Husbands Bosworth Client Alice Constable Maxwell Project Reference 1381 Project Lead Jon Millhouse (JM) Team Members Gosia Chomka (GC) Version File Name Description Prepared Checked Date 01 1381 Planning, Final JM MB 27/06/17 Design & Heritage Statement Produced by: Planning Design Practice Ltd 3 Woburn House Vernon Gate Derby DE1 1UL www.planningdesign.co.uk Planning, Design and Heritage Statement, Theddingworth Road, Husbands Bosworth 1 Introduction 1.1 Outline planning permission is sought for a residential development scheme on a site situated off Theddingworth Road on the eastern edge of the Leicestershire village of Husbands Bosworth. 1.2 This report provides an appraisal of the site’s architectural, historic and landscape context, and explains how these factors have informed the submitted design. 1.3 The report also sets out the pre-application consultation that has been undertaken, and assesses the scheme against relevant planning policies. 2 General location 2.1 Situated at the southern end of Harborough District, Husbands Bosworth lies 6 miles west of Market Harborough, and 6 miles east of Lutterworth and the M1. The village is situated at the crossroads of the A4304 which runs broadly north-south, connecting Leicester and Northampton. The Grand Union Canal passes just to the north west, including through a 1133 yard tunnel. The site itself lies north east of the junction of the A4304 and Honeypot Lane. Planning, Design and Heritage Statement, Theddingworth Road, Husbands Bosworth Figure 1: The Settlement of Husbands Bosworth 3 Landscape context 3.1 Husbands Bosworth is situated on a ridge, close to the watershed of two rivers, the Avon flowing westwards and the Welland flowing eastwards. The village is located within the Laughton Hills Landscape Character Area. The Council’s Landscape Capacity Assessment (2014) identified the site as having ‘medium’ capacity for development. 3.2 Being a rural village surrounded by open countryside, an important consideration for any development proposal on the periphery is how the proposals are likely to affect the setting of the village, and of designated heritage assets. Being on the eastern side of the village, beyond which land falls away into the Welland Valley, views from the east are an important consideration. The site is well screened from Theddingworth Road by hedgerow planting and trees however, and a further tree belt exists along the site’s north eastern boundary. To the north west and north, the site is also shielded by existing agricultural buildings at Honeypot Farm. Planning, Design and Heritage Statement, Theddingworth Road, Husbands Bosworth Figure 2: Husbands Bosworth in Context 3.3 The site itself comprises of open pasture land. There are a couple of standalone trees close to the south eastern boundary, and a copse in the south eastern corner. In the southern part of the site are the remains of a substantial brick wall which separates a rectangular area of land from the remainder of the site. At the western end of this rectangular area is a dilapidated brick and slate tile building. Figure 3 :Rear of Properties along Honeypot Lane within the Conservation Area Planning, Design and Heritage Statement, Theddingworth Road, Husbands Bosworth Figure 4: Disused Barn Figure 4: Views from the Site looking East Planning, Design and Heritage Statement, Theddingworth Road, Husbands Bosworth Figure 5: Wall forming the Conservation Area Boundary 4 Historical context 4.1 Much of Husbands Bosworth is designated as a Conservation Area. The boundary follows the aforementioned wall, therefore the site lies outside, but adjoins, the Conservation Area. There are a number of Listed Buildings in the village. There are 3 Grade II* buildings: Bosworth Hall and nearby Chapel of St Mary (south of the site) and Church of All Saints (west of the site). The nearest Grade II Listed buildings are situated on Honeypot Lane (numbers 18, 20, 34 and ‘The Old House’). 4.2 Bosworth Hall (now comprising 2 dwellings) includes several different phases: a tudor phase (probably incorporating an even earlier core) comprising of 5 west-facing 2.5 storey brick gables, a Georgian phase, comprising of a south and east facing 3 storey brick house constructed in 1790, a Regency bay constructed in 1832, and Victorian Gothic link section constructed C. 1870. Planning, Design and Heritage Statement, Theddingworth Road, Husbands Bosworth Figure 6 :Bosworth Hall 4.3 Bosworth Hall sits in substantial landscaped grounds, including a courtyard of outbuildings and the Chapel of St Mary. The Chapel was constructed in 1873 of limestone with ashlar dressings, in a French Gothic style, to the designs of A J Purdie, a pupil of Pugin. Planning, Design and Heritage Statement, Theddingworth Road, Husbands Bosworth Figure 7: Courtyard of Outbuildings at Bosworth Hall Figure 8: Chapel of St Mary 4.4 The Church of All Saints was constructed in the early 14th Century and extensively restored in 1861 and 1867, of Ironstone rubble with limestone dressings. The tower has a distinctive square, squat shape, topped with a pointed spire. Planning, Design and Heritage Statement, Theddingworth Road, Husbands Bosworth Figure 9: Church of All Saints 4.5 18 Honeypot Lane is an early 18th Century red brick cottage situated hard up against Honeypot Lane. 3-light casement windows are arched on the ground floor and tucked under the eaves on the first floor. The roof is steeply pitched and some timberwork is visible on the gable. Planning, Design and Heritage Statement, Theddingworth Road, Husbands Bosworth 4.6 Figure 10: 18 Honeypot Lane 4.7 20 Honeypot Lane is a mid-18th Century red brick house with a Welsh slate roof, and a formal fenestration; again fronting the lane. Figure 11: 20 Honeypot Lane 4.8 No. 34 is set back slightly from the lane, and comprises a symmetrical red brick late 18th Century/early 19th Century house with sash windows and decorative architrave around the doorway. A distinctive wall and outbuildings to the right also form part of the Listing. Planning, Design and Heritage Statement, Theddingworth Road, Husbands Bosworth Figure 12: 34 Honeypot Lane 4.9 The Old House has a 17th century core with alterations dated 1712. A timber frame is evident with brick panel infill on a nibble plinth. An attached 18th Century wall also forms part of the Listing. Figure 13: The Old House 5 Morphological pattern 5.1 As the 1884 and 1900 Ordnance Survey maps of Husbands Bosworth illustrate, the main road through the village (now the A4304) has been straightened adjacent to All Saints Church. Reference to those maps allows the present day morphological pattern to be more clearly understood. Planning, Design and Heritage Statement, Theddingworth Road, Husbands Bosworth Figure 14: Husbands Bosworth 1884 Figure 15: Husbands Bosworth 1884 - Zoomed Planning, Design and Heritage Statement, Theddingworth Road, Husbands Bosworth 5.2 At the turn of the 19th/20th Centuries, the wide High Street was a focus for high density frontage development. At the western and eastern ends were open areas where adjoining routes converged. At the west end, the Northampton Road from the south met with the Leicester Road from the north. At the eastern end, High Street culminated in front of the Church, with Church Street (containing some further high density development) spurring to the left and the road to Bosworth Hall Lodge spurring to the right. After the Hall entrance the latter route then turned 45 degrees and continued north eastwards towards Theddingworth. This alignment resulted in an approximate square, with All Saints Church and the (now demolished) Rectory on the south side, and the church yard (formally laid out with paths and trees) to the north. This formal planting appeared to continue north of Honeypot Lane towards the site. The rectangular area to the south of the development site appeared to contain two glass houses and the surviving brick building had a penfold-type enclosure to the south. 5.3 Honeypot Lane continued in a northwest direction, eventually meeting Mowsley Lane, which in turn looped back around to meet High Street. Thus a further ‘square’ was created, dissected in the middle by Church Lane. Along these lanes were tight clusters of buildings (presumably farmsteads) with undeveloped land in between. Where lanes met, informal areas of open space were present. Figure 16: Husbands Bosworth 1900 Planning, Design and Heritage Statement, Theddingworth Road, Husbands Bosworth 5.4 The pattern described above has largely survived until the present day, albeit incorporating additional infill development and this helps to give Husbands Bosworth its distinctive character. 6 Architectural Context 6.1 Husbands Bosworth is architecturally mixed, with buildings of different status, age and style. This provides texture and variety. There are certain shared characteristics however, and this ensures visual harmony. Red brick is a dominant building material for example, and the majority of buildings are of a human scale and simple in form. Figure 17: Chaplains House Planning, Design and Heritage Statement, Theddingworth Road, Husbands Bosworth Figure 18: Honeypot Lane Figure 19: High Street Planning, Design and Heritage Statement, Theddingworth Road, Husbands Bosworth 6.2 The eastern end of the village retains an estate-like character, evidenced by the features associated with the Hall, (the Hall itself, its outbuildings and parkland landscape, the long brick boundary wall alongside the A4304, the lodge and green next to the entrance). This character even appears to extend onto the site (the long brick wall and outbuilding with its decorative date inscription). Figure 20: Original Entrance to Bosworth Hall 7 Views 7.1 In terms of distant views, the site is not particularly prominent from public vantage points. Although the land falls away to the north east, there are relatively few publicly accessible locations from which to see the site from the north east.