Stafford Borough Strategic Development Site Options Reasonable Alternatives Study Stafford Borough Council December 2019 FINAL REPORT Stafford Borough Strategic Development Site Options Quality information Prepared by Checked by Verified by Approved by David Carlisle David Carlisle, Ben Castell, Director Ben Castell, Director Associate Director Associate Director Shane Scollard Senior Planner Holly Turner Graduate Urban Designer Richard Hammond Associate Landscape Architect Mark Service Senior Consultant, Heritage Sean O’Connell Principal Engineer, Transport Sarah Littlewood, Senior Flood Risk Consultant Louise Coles Environmental Consultant Matthew Budd Consultant, Economics & Development Revision History Revision Revision date Details Authorized Name Position V1.0 07/10/2019 First Draft BC Ben Castell Director V2.0 04/11/2019 Draft Final BC Ben Castell Director V3.0 10/12/19 Final BC Ben Castell Director Prepared for: Stafford Borough Council AECOM Stafford Borough Strategic Development Site Options Prepared for: Stafford Borough Council Prepared by: AECOM Limited Aldgate Tower 2 Leman Street London E1 8FA United Kingdom aecom.com © 2019 AECOM Limited. All Rights Reserved. This document has been prepared by AECOM Limited (“AECOM”) for sole use of our client (the “Client”) in accordance with generally accepted consultancy principles, the budget for fees and the terms of reference agreed between AECOM and the Client. Any information provided by third parties and referred to herein has not been checked or verified by AECOM, unless otherwise expressly stated in the document. No third party may rely upon this document without the prior and express written agreement of AECOM. Prepared for: Stafford Borough Council AECOM Stafford Borough Strategic Development Site Options Table of Contents 1. Introduction ............................................................................................6 Purpose of this Study ........................................................................................................................... 6 Key Study Principles ............................................................................................................................. 8 Assessment Criteria ............................................................................................................................. 8 Environmental constraints .................................................................................................................... 8 Physical constraints, including transport and access ............................................................................ 9 Accessibility to social and green infrastructure ..................................................................................... 9 Landscape and visual constraints ......................................................................................................... 9 Heritage constraints .............................................................................................................................. 9 Planning policy constraints ................................................................................................................... 9 Viability and economy ......................................................................................................................... 10 Typology Classification ....................................................................................................................... 10 Urban Extension ................................................................................................................................. 11 Co-dependent..................................................................................................................................... 12 Autonomous ....................................................................................................................................... 13 2. Context ................................................................................................. 15 National .............................................................................................................................................. 15 Housing White Paper ......................................................................................................................... 15 National Planning Policy Framework (2019) ....................................................................................... 15 Homes England Garden Communities Toolkit (2019) ......................................................................... 16 Regional ............................................................................................................................................. 17 HS2 and Constellation Partnership ..................................................................................................... 17 Stoke and West Midlands Green Belt ................................................................................................. 17 Local................................................................................................................................................... 17 Housing .............................................................................................................................................. 18 Economy ............................................................................................................................................ 21 3. Identification of Strategic Growth Options .............................................26 Spatial Analysis .................................................................................................................................. 26 Land suitability .................................................................................................................................... 26 Proximity to Services and Transport ................................................................................................... 28 Combined Land Suitability and Proximity Analysis ............................................................................. 31 Broad Areas of Search ....................................................................................................................... 33 4. Options ................................................................................................. 35 Deliverability ....................................................................................................................................... 35 Social Infrastructure ........................................................................................................................... 36 Cost Estimates ................................................................................................................................... 39 Options Assessment Summary........................................................................................................... 40 A1 Gnosall North/East ........................................................................................................................ 42 A2 Land between Gnosall and Haughton ........................................................................................... 44 B Seighford ........................................................................................................................................ 46 C Land North of Redhill ...................................................................................................................... 48 D Meecebrook .................................................................................................................................... 50 E Hixon ............................................................................................................................................... 52 F Land East of Weston ....................................................................................................................... 54 5. Conclusions .......................................................................................... 56 Prioritisation ....................................................................................................................................... 57 Prepared for: Stafford Borough Council AECOM Stafford Borough Strategic Development Site Options Area for Further Research .................................................................................................................. 59 Appendix A - Assessment Proformas .............................................................60 Appendix B - Constraints and Opportunities ................................................. 157 Figures Figure 1 Housing allocations and SDLs up to 2031 ............................................................................ 20 Figure 2 Commercial allocations up to 2031 ....................................................................................... 22 Figure 3 Land Suitability Analysis ....................................................................................................... 27 Figure 4 Proximity Analysis ................................................................................................................ 30 Figure 5 Combined Land Suitability and Proximity Analysis ............................................................... 32 Figure 6 Broad Areas of Search ......................................................................................................... 34 Figure 7 Pipeline