January 2021 Amesbury Planning for Amesbury 1 Wiltshire Council Local Plan - Planning for Amesbury Contents Introduction 3 Scale of growth 3 How much should the town grow? 3 Additional homes 3 The Local Economy 4 Place shaping priorities 5 What priorities should we tackle? 5 Potential Development Sites 6 Where should development take place? 6 Settlement Profiles 9 2 Wiltshire Council Local Plan - Planning for Amesbury Introduction 1. What will Amesbury be like in the future? 4. The Wiltshire Core Strategy is the basis for • How much should the town grow? determining most planning applications. It also identifies land for development • What priorities should we tackle? that provides for new homes, jobs and • Where should development take place? infrastructure for our growing communities 2. Answers to these fundamental questions whilst balancing the need to protect the could affect how the town develops over the environment. The Local Plan will continue next 15 years. this role and therefore help shape the places the community of Wiltshire live and work 3. The Council is thinking about these within. questions in planning Wiltshire’s future. It’s an important stage in the Council’s review of 5. The Council has come to some initial the current Wiltshire Core Strategy and the answers to these three questions. It is development of the Local Plan. sharing them and wants your views. Scale of growth How much should the town grow? and less functionally reliant on each other. 6. The Council assesses what amount of new The Local Plan Review aims to encourage homes are needed between 2016 and 2036, the development of each community in its the period of the Local Plan. It does the own right by considering each individual same for how much land will be needed settlement’s roles rather than taking the for new jobs and business. Detail on these collective approach of the adopted Core requirements can be found in the ‘Emerging Strategy. It is proposed that Amesbury is Spatial Strategy’ paper. designated a Market Town in the settlement strategy. Bulford and Durrington are Additional homes designated as Large Villages. 7. Assessments estimate levels of need for new 9. The Council has considered how best to homes within market areas, as these reflect accommodate the need for new homes, where the majority of the local population setting scales of growth by testing different live and work, where the majority of home distributions. The result of this work moves take place and where there is a suggests the scale of growth should change common range of private sector rents. There from what is currently planned as shown are four housing market areas in Wiltshire below: and each area includes many settlements. Amesbury is in the Salisbury Housing Market Area. 8. The adopted Core Strategy combines the three settlements of Amesbury, Bulford The new stratergy 2016-2036 and Durrington because of their associated military garrisons and close links to one another both geographically and functionally. Whilst these links still remain, it was always intended that each settlement The current stratergy 2006-2026 be planned to become more self-supporting separate communities, thus improving the Additional new homes local services and facilities they each have 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3 Wiltshire Council Local Plan - Planning for Amesbury 10. The current strategy 2006-2026, the Wiltshire be built. The Council has identified a pool Core Strategy, identified a requirement of potential development sites. From these for 2,440 homes at Amesbury, Bulford and it will go on to select the most appropriate Durrington. The new strategy proposes a locations to meet the scale of growth that is requirement of 1,635 homes at Amesbury for finally agreed. the plan period 2016-2036. A main reason this 15. Alongside neighbourhood plans, is appearing lower is that the requirement development briefs for individual brownfield would only be for Amesbury, rather than the sites and master plans for larger areas, total for three settlements combined. can also be a means for the community, 11. From this total estimate of need over the with developers and land owners, to help plan period can be deducted homes already bring forward opportunities and achieve built and those already in the pipeline as appropriate designs. 1 shown in the diagram below . 16. Brownfield land that is identified formally, Homes already Homes already in Homes to be built (2016-2019) the pipeline planned for with sufficient certainty, either in the development plan or by granting planning permission, will go on to reduce the need for greenfield sites. But it is likely that a brownfield target will do most to help Additional new homes reduce the need for greenfield sites in future 0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 reviews of the Local Plan. 12. When the number of homes built and in the 17. At Amesbury, given the scale of growth pipeline is deducted from the overall forecast remaining to be planned for, whilst every requirement it leaves a further 350 homes effort will be made to secure development to be accommodated up to 2036. Both of brownfield sites, there will be a need to the Local Plan and neighbourhood plans allocate further greenfield land. can allocate sites for development. Each community is encouraged to help determine The Local Economy where development takes place through 18. The Council has assessed what additional the preparation of a neighbourhood plan. land is needed for business in each of The Local Plan will only allocate land where the economic zones of the County. These necessary to ensure supply of deliverable zones encompass many settlements. It land to meet strategic housing needs and for has considered how best to accommodate large or complex sites. needs for new business by testing different 2 13. Needs for development land should be met distributions . as far as possible on brownfield sites in 19. The town, and surrounding area, benefits order to help minimise the loss of greenfield from several Principal Employment Areas, land. The Council suggests that a target including Boscombe Down; London Road; of 110 homes could be built on brownfield Porton Down; High Post and Solstice Park. 2 sites over the next 10 years and identifying Given the existing provision of employment opportunities to achieve this target could be land in and around Amesbury, no further a focus for a neighbourhood plan. However, employment land is required. at present, the local community is not intending to prepare one. 14. The Local Plan will therefore identify sites on which approximately 350 new homes can 1In Amesbury 660 dwellings have been built between 2016-2019 and, at 1st April 2019, 626 homes are already in the pipeline (i.e. they have planning permission or resolution to grant planning permission). 2Further detail can be found in the Emerging Spatial Strategy (2021) paper. 4 Wiltshire Council Local Plan - Planning for Amesbury Questions AM1. What do you think to this scale of growth? Should there be a brownfield target? Should it be higher or lower? Place shaping priorities What priorities should we tackle? Councils to find the priorities best suited 20. The Local Plan will contain a set of place to delivering sustainable development and shaping priorities for each main settlement. town centre improvements. At this stage They play a central role in developing in the plan making process these are the planning policies and proposals for draft priorities that have been identified for development. They will be the basis for an Amesbury. overarching planning policy for Amesbury i. Promote Amesbury as a self-sufficient that will guide development and the town, thus encouraging residents to work direction of growth. in the town 21. Some priorities apply equally everywhere, ii. Improve recreational facilities and sports notably the need to address climate change pitches in Amesbury and achieve carbon reduction. Place shaping priorities are intended to be those distinct to iii. Develop a town centre strategy that a particular place. They may include: improves the public realm and encourages tourism and spending • Important local objectives or issues and how they can be addressed iv. Improve infrastructure and transport, particularly relating to the A303 and • Opportunities that have been identified A345, both of which currently experience that can help support a local community’s congestion to improve linkages to and vision from the town. The planned tunnelling of • Infrastructure requirements for which the A303 may relieve some of the issues there are local aspirations and capable of once constructed. delivery or that are necessary to support v. Create and encourage potential tourism likely future growth and transport linkages with Stonehenge to 22. They must relate to the development and encourage tourists to visit the town while use of land and so should revolve around visiting the area around Stonehenge. specific outcomes and their benefits 23. They are also a starting point for policies that can be in neighbourhood plans. The Council will continue to work with Town and Parish Questions AM2. Are these the right priorities? What priorities may be missing? How might these place shaping priorities be achieved? 5 Wiltshire Council Local Plan - Planning for Amesbury Potential Development Sites Where should development take place? 27. Each potential development site has its 24. Land around much of Amesbury is being own individual characteristics. Rarely is promoted for development by land owners one site very clearly the best choice. There or prospective developers. From this larger are a range of different constraints and amount of land, the Council is focusing opportunities associated with each. Some its own assessment on a smaller pool of are common to several or even all potential potential development sites that are shown development sites.