Grimsby West A sustainable urban extension making a route for the future SIR RICHARD SUTTON’S SETTLED Estates July 2013 Introduction The landowners were brought together to create a new community which each in isolation could not achieve, providing a new relief road connection from the south to the employment opportunities at Europarc and the A180 corridor, providing homes in an accessible location close to new employment opportunities in a way which has least impact on existing communities and enabling North East Lincolnshire to offer great potential for promoting the economy of the area. There is an opportunity for well-designed, sustainable homes where people would like to live, convenient to all the education, recreation and shopping facilities which will provide the new residents with the ingredients of a thriving community. Having been invited by the Council to co-operate with each other, the landowners have put forward a draft proposal, based upon the provision of this essential infrastructure, which can be worked upon in partnership with the authority to achieve around a third of the 9,330 houses needed by 2030 in the new Local Plan. These proposals are the first step in the process to create a plan which is right for the local community and which can realistically deliver the relief road, schools and local facilities requiring a productive partnership between North East Lincolnshire Council and the private sector. The Context The plan below demonstrates the excellent strategic location of the proposed sustainable urban extension with accessibility to employment areas and the contribution a new Western relief road could make to the main road network of the town and its surroundings. 2 The Vision Using the opportunity of the need for new homes in Grimsby to create improved linkages from existing residential areas to the Humber Estuary Employment Zone. Creating a living environment which will offer a wide range of homes, in areas of distinctive character, accessible to workplaces by all modes of transport, having minimum adverse impact upon the existing environment and enhancing community, education and recreation opportunities. The Purpose of this Report This report is intended to introduce the initial work that has been carried out to produce draft proposals for the creation of the new communities and the relief road. It will signpost the more detailed reports that have been produced, describing initial conclusions, so serving as a starting point for refinement of the plan. The draft plan will provide the basis for interaction between facility providers and all parties with an interest in ensuring that the evolving plan respects the needs of the community and the environment. Who We Are M F Strawson Ltd. are a local farming family firm who have diversified into property development, carrying out both residential and commercial development in the Grimsby area. They are based at Pyewipe Farm, within the study area being considered for development. Sir Richard Sutton’s Settled Estates farm approximately 6,300 acres in Lincolnshire and have owned land in and around Great Coates for hundreds of years. The business is based at the Estate Office in Stainton le Vale. 3 The Location The area under consideration extends from the A46 at Morrisons supermarket, across the Freshney valley to Aylesby Road and north to the A1136 roundabout west of Great Coates. The land studied is defined by the potential route of the western relief road, all of it being within the ownership of the Sutton Estate and the Strawsons. The only other land interest in the area is that of the National Grid who own the electricity sub-station at Wybers Wood. The area studied also looks beyond the immediate land required in order to gain an appreciation and understanding of the context in which any potential development would be located. The land is currently in use for arable crops in open fields, with scattered wooded areas, intersected by Aylesby Road, footpaths and bridleways. The Character The area is characterised by open views of large fields, electricity transmission lines and the edges of the town. In the northern part, relating to Great Coates, there are views towards the church and the conservation area. Moving southwards, the Wybers Wood housing development is prominent in the landscape. At the southern end, the area is dominated by the Laceby Acres housing development and the Morrisons supermarket on the ridge above the Freshney valley. 4 The Challenge To create a large scale development in a manner which does not have major adverse impact upon existing communities and which creates new housing areas with identity and character. The major infrastructure commitment to construct the relief road requires a start to be made in more than one place. The key to ensuring a fusion of the overall objective of achieving a western by-pass for Grimsby with a minimum outlay of public funds is to concentrate development in this location, yet carefully plan the phasing of the infrastructure to ensure that off-site congestion is avoided. This may require additional investment in improving pinch points in the existing road system, but the eventual aim is to provide increased accessibility for many existing residents to their workplace destinations. Visually, a cluster of communities along the new relief road will be separated by taking green corridors into the developed area to ensure that the appearance of the western edge of the town will be softened into the landscape. The individual areas of development will have a distinctive local feel to ensure that the residents have the opportunity to develop a sense of community. An essential part of the development of these communities will be the local provision of primary education facilities, local shops and health facilities and other community needs. The opportunity exists to develop recreational facilities in the Freshney valley, linking into the wider open space, pedestrian and cycle networks. 5 The Work to Date Having previously carried out work on their individual sites separately, the landowners have now drawn their evidence base together and have commissioned studies of the whole area and its surroundings, to highlight the important issues and to inform the drawing up of the draft masterplan. These professional reports have been made available for all parties to work together to agree upon the impact of the scheme and how to take it forward for wider gains to the community. The Benefits to the Existing Road and Transportation Systems Transport Consultants have undertaken an initial transport appraisal to review existing accessibility in the local area and identify improvements to the sustainable transport infrastructure as part of the proposed development. The assessment also outlines the benefits of the creation of a western bypass. The Study Area is well located to encourage use of a variety of sustainable modes of transport. The masterplan recognises that the provision of three local centres located across the Study Area would improve and encourage more sustainable and healthier modes of travel. The Movement Framework shows strong connections into existing pedestrian/cycle routes within the local area such as Laceby Acres and Wybers Wood as well as the Healing Pedal Way route and demonstrates the opportunity to introduce a new bus route centrally positioned within the development linking one of the proposed local centres adjacent to the B1210 northern access to the A46 via the southern section of the relief road. The proposed alignment of the relief road has been determined by the appropriate engineering standards. It is envisaged to be a 7.3 metre wide single carriageway with a 2.5 metre combined footway/cycleway on the eastern side. It would be designed to accommodate a speed limit of 50mph. The initial phases of the relief road construction would establish the junctions (on the A46 to the south and on the B1210 to the north) from which would develop a network of secondary and tertiary roads. Internal residential loop roads would be formed off the proposed Relief Road as each phase of the development progresses. 6 The assessment shows the Relief Road would alleviate pressure on the existing highway network. The tables here, extracted from the transport consultants’ conclusions, show there would be a reduction in traffic on currently congested routes of between 21% and 27% in the AM Peak Hour and between 25% and 30% in the PM Peak Hour, bringing significant reductions in congestion. As just one example, the Bradley Crossroads is anticipated to improve from Category 2 ‘Over Capacity’ to Category 4 ‘Spare Capacity exists at junction’ across both AM and PM Peak Hours. Opportunities for Improvements to the Drainage of the Area Drainage Consultants have made preliminary investigations regarding surface water and foul water discharge for development. The proposed development areas of the study site are located within Flood Zone 1 (low probability) from fluvial and tidal sources. Running through the site is Freshney Valley and there are sections of Flood Zone 2 (medium probability) and 3a (high probability) related to the Laceby Beck. Given the space available within the study site it is not anticipated that these higher risk Flood Zones will place any restriction on development. An attenuated system is proposed to manage and store surface water drainage run off to limit flows to the existing greenfield run off rate plus an allowance for the potential effects of climate change. It has been calculated that a significant attenuation volume of approximately 56,450m³ will be required across the proposal. Within the initial Concept Framework, approximately 10% of each developable area has been set aside for surface water drainage features to accommodate this volume provision. A sustainable drainage system (SUDS) would not only provide a positive solution to the storage and treatment of surface water but can also provide landscape, biodiversity and amenity value through the provision of retention measures, balancing ponds, wetlands and lagoons within the development.