COMMITTEE REPORT Application Ref. 14/01186/OUT Applicant St Modwen • Scale of Development Reason for Referral • Objection from Parish Council to Committee • Objection from Ward Members Case Officer and Jay Singh Presenting Officer Meon Vale (Former Engineers Resources Depot), Campden Road, Site Address Long Marston Outline Planning Application (with means of access) for the development of up to 550 dwellings Use Class C3/C2 (Use Class C2 not to exceed 85 dwellings); a one-form entry Primary School (Use Class D1) with associated open space; a leisure village comprising up to 300 units of self-catering lodges and holiday homes (Use Classes C1/ C3), ancillary facilities building(s) to incorporate reception and administration facilities (Use Class B1a), entertainment areas (Use Classes D1 / D2) and retail uses (Use Description of Classes A1 / A3/ A5), a touring caravan and camping site with up to Proposals 80 pitches and ancillary facilities building; the creation of landscaping, open space and ecological habitats; new accesses for vehicles, pedestrians and cycles; new internal highways; car and cycle parking; sustainable drainage measures, including storage ponds for surface water attenuation; provision of utilities infrastructure; earth works and all ancillary enabling works including demolition of buildings and structures and ground remediation. Gas Consultation Zone Flood Zone 2 and 3 on part of the site Rail link to Stratford on Avon Safeguarded for Transport Vale of Evesham Control Zone Description of Key Adjacent to the AONB Site Constraints Nearby Heritage Assets (Listed Buildings) Protected Species Landscape Features (Trees) Nearby Residential Properties Local Highways Infrastructure Grant subject to the completion of a S.106 Legal Agreement Summary of GRANT SUBJECT TO S.106 LEGAL AGREEMENT, RELEVANT Recommendation PLANNING CONDITIONS, INFORMATIVE NOTES. Background: The application site forms part of the former Ministry of Defence Central Engineer Resources Depot (190 hectares) which was closed in 1999 and is now known as ‘Meon Vale’. In 2010 planning permission was granted for, amongst other things, up to 80,000 sq.m of commercial storage space (retention), rail storage enterprise (retention), up to 500 dwellings (class C3), new leisure village with 150 holiday homes and 150 self catering lodges (class C3), touring caravan site with up to 80 pitches, central facilities leisure buildings, associated landscaping, retention of employment land and new roundabout access to Campden Road under application reference 09/00835/FUL (subsequently varied by 12/00484/VARY). This permission granted a master plan approach to the development of the site (190 hectares). In granting the 2010 permission, the Council concluded that the proposed mixed- use development comprising residential, leisure and employment had the potential to deliver a sustainable new community within the site. In 2012/13 Reserved matters applications (access, layout, scale, appearance) were granted for various elements of the scheme, as well as matters required by the associated s.106 legal agreement for the 2010 permission (as varied), which are now completed or under construction and include: 302 Dwellings (under construction); New leisure centre; New community building; New retail store; Central square; Sports pavilion; Sports pitches; Play facilities; Greenway link; Allotments; Woodland areas; Associated infrastructure buildings; Car parking; 30 tent pitches (to be relocated); and 30 caravan pitches (to be relocated). It is noted that the previously approved leisure village comprising 150 self catering lodges and 150 holiday homes has not yet been implemented. Other than the changes proposed by this application, the other main elements of the approved master plan (2010), including the remaining 198 dwellings which benefit from outline consent, and the retained employment area to the south of the site are indicated by the applicant to be retained and implemented in accordance with the approved masterplan. Site Description The site context and description is considered in extensive detail within the supporting Environmental Statement. By way of a short summary: The application site (redline boundary) covers 98 hectares of a wider site of 190 hectares. The site is bounded to the east by the B4632 Campden Road, to the north by Station Road, to the south by industrial units, hardstanding and access road and open countryside, and to the west by the Honeybourne Branch Rail Line, and beyond this the Long Marston Road and open countryside. The prominent feature of Meon Hill, which is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, lies to the south east. The site lies in close proximity to Gloucestershire and Worcestershire and the districts of Cotswolds and Wychavon respectively. None of the application site lies in the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). However the AONB lies just beyond the south-eastern corner of the application site. Beyond the northern boundary is a Grade II Listed Building ‘Long Marston Grounds’ and adjacent to the north-eastern boundary are two residential dwellings accessed from Station Road. The site lies approximately 6 miles south of Stratford upon Avon town centre, and between the villages of Long Marston and Lower and Upper Quinton. The Greenway (pedestrian and cycle link to Stratford upon Avon) runs along the route of the former railway from north through the site. The site is located within the Vale of Evesham Control Zone and High Pressure gas pipelines surround the site. A small area of the site, on the northern boundary, lies within Flood zones 2 and 3. As stated above, the site is currently being developed in accordance with the previously approved masterplan which means there is new housing and significant supporting infrastructure already within the site as part of the wider mix of existing land uses encompassing residential, employment, leisure, community, open space and woodland. The main access into the site is from Campden Road via a four arm roundabout. There are also 2 accesses in to the site from Station Road, the first being located to the north-western corner (also serving the rail storage business) and the second being located to the northern-eastern corner which is not currently in use. There is a further access to the south leading to existing industrial units that is also not in use. Description of the Proposals: The proposal comprises a mixed-use development which seeks to build upon the previous planning permissions within the site with the introduction of new uses. The application site (98 hectares) forms part of the land that was granted permission previously as part of the overall/wider master plan for the former depot site (190 hectares) in 2010. This proposal represents an amendment to the original masterplan involving the relocation of the leisure village, and proposing, the following in addition to the development granted planning permission within the site already: A new-one form entry Primary School; Up to 550 dwellings; and A new facilities building to serve the re-located leisure village. This proposal is detailed as follows: Up to 550 dwellings (use class C2/C3 – Use Class C2 not to exceed 85 dwellings), including 35% that will be affordable – this is in addition to the 500 previously granted within the site and would be located where the leisure village was previously sited in the 2010 masterplan. The housing mix would include 1-4 bed dwellings meeting a minimum of code level 3 of the code for sustainable homes. 5% of the total number of proposed (C3) dwellings would be reserved for workers employed by the adjacent employment uses. A leisure village comprising: - up to 300 units of self-catering lodges and holiday homes (use class C1/C3); - Ancillary facilities buildings (up to 1000m2) to incorporate reception and administration facilities (use class B1a); - Entertainment areas (use class D1/D2); - Retail uses (A1); and - A Caravan and camping site with up to 80 pitches (sui- generis) and ancillary facilities building; The supporting plans indicate the leisure village would be relocated to the western part of the site which is part brownfield and part greenfield land (indicated on the 2010 masterplan as being part of ‘Motorail’ - a railway related enterprise). The components of the proposed relocated leisure village are largely the same as previously approved with the main changes being the proposed mix of self-catering lodges and holidays being more flexible (but not exceeding 300 in total as previously approved), the introduction of a new 1000m2 facilities building and introduction of a camping site. A one-form entry Primary School with associated open space (access via existing access from Camden Road and from Station Road). The creation of landscaping, open space and ecological habitats; New accesses for vehicles, pedestrians and cycles including new vehicle access from Station Road located to the northern boundary for the proposed 550 dwellings and improvements to the existing access from Station Road located to the north-western boundary to serve the proposed leisure village as well as off-site highway improvement works; Associated infrastructure and enabling works including new internal highways, car and cycle parking, utilities, demolition of buildings and structures, ground remediation and changing of levels and earth works; and Sustainable drainage measures including storage ponds for surface water attenuation. Proposed Delivery Programme The indicative