Land at the former Broke Hill Golf Course (MX41) Regulation 18 Representation Draft Sevenoaks District Local Plan, July 2018 Land at the former Broke Hill Golf Course (‘MX41’) Reg 18 Representation, Draft Sevenoaks District Local Plan, July 2018 1 Introduction This representation is made by Quinn Estates Limited pursuant to Regulation 18 of The Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 and in response to the consultation papers published by Sevenoaks District Council on 16 July 2018. It has been prepared with the benefit of technical input from leading consultancies, including Montagu Evans, PBA, Lichfields, Aspect and Savills, and advice from Town Legal LLP. The first part of this representation provides a factual description of Site MX41, the ‘Land at Broke Hill Golf Course, Sevenoaks Road, Halstead’ (Section 1.0). It then provides a brief overview of Quinn Estates’ proposals for the redevelopment of that site, known as Stonehouse Park, in Section 2.0, including the types of uses and character of the place we are seeking to deliver. Section 3.0 responds directly to the consultation’s nine site-specific questions, and we also provide further detail on the scheme’s deliverability, its potential phasing, and the compensatory on-site improvements that would be made to the environmental quality and permeability of retained areas of open space throughout the site. In Section 4.0 we then set out the wider ‘exceptional circumstances’ case for the managed release of this sustainable and discrete parcel of land from the Green Belt and how, through its allocation, the District can secure an unprecedented range of community facilities and new social infrastructure. We comment on the draft site-specific policy for Site MX41 inSection 5.0, before making our concluding remarks in Section 6.0. Quinn Estates has participated at all stages of this plan-making process, and since the Council’s last round of formal consultation at the ‘Issues and Options’ stage, Quinn Estates has been finalising a contract of sale with Redrow PLC, and a formal agreement is now imminent. This development partnership would allow for rapid implementation to not only accelerate the delivery of high-quality new homes, but also assist with our early-phase build-out of the non-residential uses and community infrastructure that are proffered at this site – including the two major sports facilities, the new Local Centre, and the purpose-built serviced office space. Land at the former Broke Hill Golf Course (‘MX41’) Reg 18 Representation, Draft Sevenoaks District Local Plan, July 2018 4 Site MX41, Land at the former Broke Hill Golf Course 1.1 The site comprises former golf course land, including the former clubhouse, a large greenkeepers’ equipment shed and large areas of carpark hardstanding. A copy of the Site Location Plan can be found at Appendix 1. The site’s northern boundary is strongly-defined by London Road, and by the adjacent stretch of National Rail line (South Eastern Main Line) and Sevenoaks Road (A21). Junction 4 of the M25 is less than two kilometres from the site. 1.2 Knockholt National Rail station (Zone 6, Oyster Card) is located to the immediate north of the site and provides a regular Southeastern service, with direct trains to London Charing Cross operating on a half- hourly basis. 1.3 This public transport hub gives commuters easy and affordable access to Central London, with a season ticket (including London Travel Card) costing less than £2,500.00. In addition, passengers can make the short eight-minute train journey to Sevenoaks and change for one of the many ‘fast’ services to London and other destinations such as Tonbridge and Hastings, or onto the Thameslink line. Based on the Government’s Train Service Requirement from 2022 this station will continue to benefit from services stopping a minimum of twice per hour, regardless of the franchisee. That document also indicates the possibility of additional train paths which could be served if the franchisee chooses. 1.4 The site’s eastern boundary is defined by a linear arrangement of large residential dwellings (circa 40 detached houses off London Road and Watercroft Road). To the south of the site there are various cultivated plots of land, and to the west the boundary is formed by Stonehouse Lane. 1.5 The land is currently subject of designation as Green Belt. There are no other restrictive planning policy or landscape designations affecting the site (for example it is not in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty), however there is a small strip of Ancient Woodland that abuts the north-western boundary and there is an area of land subject of a TPO. The site lies wholly in Flood Zone 1 (low probability of flooding). Crucially, this site has not been in agricultural use for many decades, and it is therefore sequentially-preferable to develop this land ahead of other sites that are currently BMVL and cultivated (NPPF, paragraph 71). 1.6 There are several listed buildings near to the site boundary, the nearest being the Grade II listed Church of St Mary, which is located to the south (a list description of this designated heritage asset can be found at Appendix 2). Special regard will need to be paid to the potential effect of development on their setting, however setting effects can be mitigated so that effects are at most less-than-substantial. 1.7 The site is owned by a subsidiary company of Quinn Estates, which means that there are no legal impediments to delivery and there are no contractual obligations that have a bearing on the ‘end scheme’. In other words, this is a unique opportunity to bring forward a development centred around place-making, rather than just profit. 1 ww.southeasternrailway.co.uk 2 HM Government, South Eastern Train Service Requirement from December 2022, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/ uploads/attachment_data/file/662871/sef-itt-attachment-a-train-service-specification.pdf Land at the former Broke Hill Golf Course (‘MX41’) Reg 18 Representation, Draft Sevenoaks District Local Plan, July 2018 5 The Development Potential of Stonehouse Park 2.1 Quinn Estates is committed to building a new settlement of the very highest quality and character. As a Kent- based developer, we want to bring forward a mixed-use development that not only provides a reliable source of residential and non-residential land supply across the local plan period, but which also creates a highly-attractive built environment and landscaped setting where people aspire to live, work and socialise. The Design Brief 2.2 The ‘baseline’ brief for our masterplan architects is to plan for circa 800 conventional dwellings, as this would achieve the necessary ‘critical mass’ for a self-contained and vibrant new community (NPPF, paragraph 72). It is also a quantum of growth that enables the delivery of genuinely-affordable homes in a parkland setting, albeit the site could comfortably accommodate an uplift on this figure in the region of 50 per cent (ie circa 1,200 dwellings) if the Local Planning Authority were minded to plan for additional growth at this sustainable location and to optimise housing delivery through this one-off development opportunity. 2.3 We have already engaged the services of Design South East and we are undertaking a series of workshop sessions with Panel members to refine the masterplan and the design principles of distinctive character areas. A copy of Design South East’s Report on Workshop Session 1, can be found at Appendix 3, in which it notes: “[t]here is huge potential with this site to create something sustainable; the sports uses, passing traffic on London Road and the station make this site rich in terms of social assets and connectivity.” The Emerging Masterplan Principles 2.4 The latest iteration of the Illustrative Masterplan can be found at Appendix 4. This plan has been updated by leading architects, Clagues, to reflect the workshop discussions and it will form a basis for further engagement with Design South East and Planning Officers at future design meetings. 2.5 In summary, the scheme has been designed to take advantage of the site’s physical attributes and very close proximity to Knockholt National Rail station. Working with Design South East, the design team has evolved a layout that is structured around the framework of existing mature trees and planting that connects extensive areas of attractive open space and the new sports pitches at the southern countryside boundary, through the development areas and to the Local Centre and northern parkland. 2.6 A Local Centre at the heart of the new community will provide for education facilities, community uses, shops and employment opportunities. A new station car park facility would be sited within convenient walking distance of Knockholt National Rail station, providing an opportunity to take on-street parked cars off London Road, and deliver compensatory improvements to the quality of this remaining part of currently-blighted Green Belt to the north of the site. 2.7 To the south and directly-adjacent to the new sports pitches are the Hockey Club Pavilion Clubhouse, the Rugby Club Clubhouse and the Primary School. The highest density of development is proposed around the Local Centre, offering the choice of smaller and affordable homes through areas closest to the Primary School and station. To the south and east, the density of development reduces, with the lowest density adjacent to the eastern boundary. Land at the former Broke Hill Golf Course (‘MX41’) Reg 18 Representation, Draft Sevenoaks District Local Plan, July 2018 8 The Development Potential of Stonehouse Park 2.8 The character of the development will be informed by varied density profiles and the various landscape settings.