September 19 Gilston Area Neighbourhood Plan FOR CONSULTATION DRAFT 1.1 HUNSDON EASTWICK AND GILSTON NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN GROUP Contents 1. Introduction to the Neighbourhood Plan .......................................................... 5 Why have a Neighbourhood Plan? ............................................................................................ 5 Designation of the Neighbourhood Area .................................................................................. 7 Plan Preparation Process ............................................................................................................ 9 Scope of the Plan ......................................................................................................................... 9 Evidence Base .............................................................................................................................10 Key Community Concerns ........................................................................................................ 10 2. Planning Policy Framework ................................................................................... 13 What is Sustainable Development? .......................................................................................... 13 National Planning Policy Framework ....................................................................................... 14 Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission .....................................................................16 East Hertfordshire District Plan ............................................................................................... 17 Harlow and Gilston Garden Town ............................................................................................ 21 The Gilston Area Concept Framework .................................................................................... 22 Summary .................................................................................................................................... 23 3. Local Context ............................................................................................................ 24 A Brief History of the Parishes and Villages ........................................................................... 24 Population and Socio-Economic Overview ............................................................................. 26 Landscape Setting and Relationship of Villages and Countryside ........................................ 28 Settlement Character ................................................................................................................ 29 Transport and Mobility Patterns ............................................................................................. 30 4. Vision and Objectives ............................................................................................ 34 Overview .................................................................................................................................... 34 Vision ......................................................................................................................................... 34 Objectives .................................................................................................................................. 35 5. Neighbourhood Plan Policies .............................................................................. 42 Overview .................................................................................................................................... 42 DRAFT 1.1 Gilston Area Neighbourhood Plan 1 A. Accommodating Growth .............................................................................. 44 AG1 - Promoting Sustainable Development ............................................................................ 44 AG2 - Creating a Connected Green Infrastructure Network ................................................. 47 AG3 - Protecting and Enhancing the Countryside Setting of New and Existing Villages ... 52 AG4 - Creating a New Country Park at Hunsdon Airfield and Eastwick Wood .................. 54 AG5 - Maintaining the Individuality of all Villages ................................................................ 57 AG6 - Securing Hertfordshire Village Character in the Design of the New Villages ........... 63 AG7 – Phased Delivery of Infrastructure ................................................................................. 65 AG8 - Infrastructure Parity for Existing Settlements ............................................................. 67 AG9 - Establishing a Partnership with the Community......................................................... 68 B. Delivering Quality Places ............................................................................... 70 Appropriate Landscape Design ............................................................... 70 LA1 - Landscape within the New Villages ............................................................................... 70 LA2 - Enhanced Landscape within the Existing Villages ....................................................... 73 Appropriate Design of the Built-Up Areas ............................................. 75 BU1 – Housing and Residential Neighbourhoods ................................................................... 75 BU2 - Village Cores/ Centres .................................................................................................... 77 BU3 - Employment Areas ......................................................................................................... 78 BU4 - Village Streets and Lanes ............................................................................................... 80 Heritage .................................................................................................... 82 H1 - Celebration of Existing Heritage Assets .......................................................................... 82 Community Assets ................................................................................... 84 C1 - Community Facility Provision .......................................................................................... 84 C2 - Community Ownership and Stewardship ....................................................................... 85 Mobility and Transport ........................................................................... 87 TRA1 - Sustainable Mobility ..................................................................................................... 87 TRA2 – Outstanding Connectivity ........................................................................................... 89 TRA3 - Minimising the Impact of Traffic and Transport Infrastructure on Existing Communities ............................................................................................................................. 90 TRA4 - Access to the Countryside ............................................................................................91 C. Improving the Existing Settlements ............................................................92 EX1 – Improving the Existing Settlements .............................................................................. 92 DRAFT 1.1 Gilston Area Neighbourhood Plan 2 6. Implementation and Delivery .............................................................................. 94 Planning Process ....................................................................................................................... 94 Community Engagement and Governance Strategy .............................................................. 94 7. Monitoring and Review ..........................................................................................95 Appendix 1 - Key Policies .............................................................................................96 East Hertfordshire District Plan - Policy GA1 The Gilston Area ............................................ 96 East Hertfordshire District Plan -Policy GA2 The River Stort Crossings .............................. 99 Appendix 2 - Harlow and Gilston Garden Town Vision .................................. 100 Harlow and Gilston Garden Town - Vision ........................................................................... 100 Appendix 3 – Policy Relationship ............................................................................ 102 Relationship between Neighbourhood Plan Policies, East Hertfordshire District Plan Policies and Gilston Area Concept Framework ..................................................................... 102 Produced with the technical support of URBAN Silence All photos and graphs ©URBAN Silence Digital base maps provided by Ordnance Survey under PSMA Licence granted to Eastwick and Gilston Parish Council DRAFT 1.1 Gilston Area Neighbourhood Plan 3 Table of Figures Fig. 1 - Neighbourhood Plan Area Boundary .................................................................................... 8 Fig. 2 - District Plan Policy GA1 and the Neighbourhood Plan Area ............................................ 12 Fig. 3 - Range and number of jobs in Late Victorian period as identified by the 1881 Census (Source: www.visionofbritain.org.uk/census) ................................................................................ 25 Fig. 4 – Housing development remained slow in Gilston and Eastwick throughout the Victorian and post-war periods (Source: www.visionofbritain.org.uk/census) .........................