Section Three – Site Allocations Hastings Development Management Plan Revised Proposed Submission Version 2014 51 Section Three - Site Allocations Introduction to Site Allocations 6.1 Policy DS1 of the Planning Strategy sets a target of at least 3400 new homes to meet the housing needs of Hastings between 2011 and 2028. This will not all be new housing allocations, as the total includes homes completed and under construction and existing planning permissions. Strategic Policies FA1, FA2 and FA5 show a broad distribution of the proposed housing land supply. Individual sites are to be identified in this Plan. 6.2 Similarly, Policy DS2 identifies a need for the development of up to 70,000m2 of employment floor space in the town between 2008 and 2028. 6.3 To provide a local perspective and sense of place, the Planning Strategy divides the town into 13 Planning Focus Areas. These are areas based upon statistical Super Output Areas and they have an identifiable community or geography or where landscape or function means that they make a logical area for spatial planning. A plan showing the boundaries of the 13 areas is shown over the page. 6.4 This section of the Development Management Plan looks at the Planning Focus Areas (referred to as Focus Areas) in some detail. Set out within the pages for each area is a description of the main characteristics of it and a vision for its future. 6.5 The housing and employment allocations are set out in a schedule in each Focus Area (FA). This is followed by a small site map and accompanying allocation details. Each site is accompanied by a policy to guide development on that site. Some larger sites also have a design brief set out in Appendix A. Planning Focus Area Maps Legend Allocated site - Residential Allocated site - Employment Allocated site -Mixed use Allocated site - Other 52 Hastings Development Management Plan Revised Proposed Submission Version 2014 Section Three: Site Allocations The Planning Focus Areas Figure 6: The Planning Focus Areas Hastings Development Management Plan Revised Proposed Submission Version 2014 53 Focus Area 1: Little Ridge & Ashdown Figure 7: Focus Area 1- Little Ridge & Ashdown 54 Hastings Development Management Plan Revised Proposed Submission Version 2014 Section Three: Site Allocations Focus Area 1: Little Ridge & Ashdown Introduction to the Little Ridge & Ashdown Focus Area 6.6 This is where Hastings’ urban fringe meets the surrounding countryside, with recent housing developments edging into woodland, fields and farmland. It is where visitors to Hastings arriving by road from London get their first glimpse of the sea, with long and often breathtaking views, especially from high points on The Ridge. 6.7 Little Ridge & Ashdown covers the parts of the Borough to the north of Silverhill and west from the Conquest Hospital, including semi-rural areas to the west of Queensway. It is a mixed area, with good quality and well maintained, predominately post-war, housing and two of the town’s largest employers: the Conquest Hospital and the Child Support Agency. The area includes a major supermarket whose draw extends well beyond the immediate locality and some other retail outlets. The presence of various employers in the Focus Area, including tourist accommodation at the Beauport Park holiday village, the Premier Inn and Bannatyne’s hotel and spa, and leisure developments, create opportunities for people to live and work in relatively close proximity, allows local workers the chance to walk or cycle to work. A mix of housing will help to maintain a vibrant community. 6.8 There are also good public transport connections to the Conquest Hospital, supermarkets, to Hastings Town Centre and beyond. The connectivity allows for a choice of travel options for work and pleasure. This connectivity does, however, come at the cost of some particularly busy roads, and the junctions of the A259, the A21 and The Ridge lie within this area. 6.9 However, Little Ridge & Ashdown is not just a mix of housing and industrial suburbia. There are recreation grounds, allotments, extensive areas of open farmland at the western fringe of the Borough and, most significantly, the Marline Valley, a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) which includes woodland, meadows and a steep-sided valley covering forty hectares of open space to the west of Queensway. 6.10 Housing in Little Ridge & Ashdown is predominately owner-occupied (according to 2001 Census data over 80% of the residences are owned by their occupants), and most are suburban family homes. The demographic data for the area (again from the 2001 Census), shows an even mix of age groups, reinforcing the fact that this is an area where many families live. Our Vision for Little Ridge & Ashdown 6.11 A major change to this area during the Plan period will be the completion of the Bexhill - Hastings Link Road. This will allow drivers the choice to travel either on Bexhill Road and Hastings seafront, or onto The Ridge to continue their journeys east and west. It will also allow for better and simpler access to the A21 for travel north towards London. The Baldslow Link will also be an important part of improved road connections. Whilst the Bexhill - Hastings Link Road will improve transport options for local people, businesses and tourists; careful management of traffic flow, especially at existing major junctions and near potential development sites, will need to be considered. Development proposals all along The Ridge will need to show consideration of the traffic impact onto and off of this locally important traffic route. 6.12 Building the Bexhill - Hastings Link Road will aid in the development of commercial and employment areas along Queensway, particularly at the northern end. Better traffic flow in these areas will help to increase the opportunities for improved access to the sites. This is an opportunity for new commercial developments offering extra employment opportunities, but it should not be to the detriment of ecology, particularly the woodland, of the area. 6.13 Public open spaces are important here in blending the urban area into the surrounding countryside. The Marline Valley SSSI will continue to be protected. Allotments and open spaces are important to local communities and these will be managed and where possible enhanced. Tourist accommodation provision in Little Ridge & Ashdown is something that the Council would also like to see protected and we will consider ways to increase it. 6.14 Policy FA1 of the Planning Strategy states that the provision for 220 – 280 extra homes is required in Little Ridge & Ashdown over the next fifteen years, and most of these will be delivered through new development on allocated sites. There is a particular development opportunity at Holmhurst St Mary, a former convent school and surrounding grounds, land next to it at 777 the Ridge and the neighbouring playing field. Together, these sites have the potential to provide a significant number of new homes, with a mix of properties for all, including families, workers for the hospital, and employees of the local light industrial and commercial sites. A benefit of these sites coming forward together in a well phased manner could be to allow for an integrated development, including an improvement to the recreation facilities and the opportunity for the community to take some ownership, and for locally important wildlife habitats and green spaces to be protected and also properly connected. Hastings Development Management Plan Revised Proposed Submission Version 2014 55 6.15 South of The Ridge West and along Queensway, there are opportunities to increase the volume of industrial and commercial premises and to strengthen the links between the Hastings labour force and the town’s exports and the wider market of the UK and beyond. The Bexhill - Hastings Link Road will aid in the continued growth of business and employment in this part of the Borough. Situating these kinds of premises near to one another increases the opportunities for similar businesses to set up and share expertise and knowledge. The new commercial area on Queensway – the Queensway Employment Corridor – with the Enviro 21 Park, an environmentally sustainable industrial park, will act as a catalyst to other businesses and premises. These, and the presence of the Sussex Exchange Business Centre, means that future employment opportunities in this area are strong. 6.16 The eclectic nature of architectural styles in Little Ridge & Ashdown allows for development proposals of all sizes to have a degree of flexibility. There is a need to provide a mixture of tenures in the area where possible, in order to maintain a sustainable community which has access to a range of local shops and services. We will continue to encourage the inclusion of affordable and social housing in schemes, especially in this Focus Area, where there is less provision than elsewhere. Affordable housing, especially for locally employed people, a small amount of flatted development and also some larger family homes will maintain the suburban feel of this area of the Borough, and help to maintain the quality of the built environment. 56 Hastings Development Management Plan Revised Proposed Submission Version 2014 Section Three: Site Allocations Focus Area 1: Little Ridge & Ashdown Residential, mixed use and other allocations for Little Ridge & Ashdown Reason for Does the allocation site have (including Area Site reference Address a brief in potential (ha) Appendix number of A? homes) LRA1 Holmhurst St Mary Residential