POSITION STATEMENT SEPTEMBER 2016 P16-0236 Pegasus Group Pegasus House Querns Business Centre Whitworth Road Cirencester GL7 1RT www.pegasuspg.co.uk I T 01285 641717 I F 01285 642348 Prepared by Pegasus Group September 2016 Project code P16-0236 PLANNING DESIGN ENVIRONMENT ECONOMICS COPYRIGHT The contents of this document must not be copied or reproduced in whole or in part without the written consent of Pegasus Planning Group Ltd. Crown copyright. All rights reserved, Licence number 100042093. CONTENTS 01 THE VISION 01 02 INTRODUCTION 03 03 A NEW SETTLEMENT 04 04 SITE CONTEXT 10 05 ENVIRONMENTAL CONTEXT 14 06 HERITAGE 32 07 ECOLOGY 34 08 TRANSPORT 40 09 GARDEN VILLAGE GUIDANCE 47 10 DESIGN PRINCIPLES 50 11 CONCEPT MASTERPLAN 52 12 GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE 57 13 DELIVERABILITY 67 14 SUMMARY 69 Waldridge Garden Village will challenge existing ways of working and thinking to push the boundaries of residential led design quality to create a highly desirable new settlement. The aim is to achieve a high quality development with strong identity, activity and ‘sense of place’. Waldridge Garden Village will become a place people will want to live and a destination worth visiting. IVIV WALDRIDGE GARDEN VILLAGE | POSITION STATEMENT 01 THE VISION 1.1 Walridge garden village will be designed to be inclusive of all users and encourage environmental sustainable travel choice and a transportation modal shift. Waldridge Garden Village will be more than just a housing development, it will be underpinned by the core values of Garden City principles but utilise the best and latest design guidance and be driven by sustainability. The key objectives are to: • Create an exemplary new settlement , including complementary facilities to serve the new and existing communities, eg. schools, sports and recreation facilities; • Minimise the need to travel; • Ensure the development relates with the surrounding neighbourhoods of Haddenham, Ford, Longwick and smaller villages; • Deliver a range of high-quality, well designed homes to meet the needs of local people; • Provide an appropriate amount of affordable housing; • Provide improved sustainable transport links between ‘Waldridge Garden Village’ and Haddenham, Thame and Princes Risborough; • Promote sustainable modes of transport; • Establish a network of green routes and create new parks and recreation spaces; and • Employment opportunities. WALDRIDGE GARDEN VILLAGE | POSITION STATEMENT 1 2 WALDRIDGE GARDEN VILLAGE | POSITION STATEMENT 02 INTRODUCTION 2.1 Aylesbury Vale District Council are consulting on the Draft 2.3 There are a number of landowners including the majority Vale of Aylesbury Local Plan. This identifies a requirement landowner who are committed to exploring the opportunities for a new settlement to respond to the identified housing presented by the development of a new settlement and are requirement. A New Settlement Scoping Study (GL Hearn, prepared to engage and work with the Council with this July 2016) has been prepared to explore the options for the objective in mind. The majority landowner is therefore liaising location of such a new settlement. This identifies that one of with other local landowners in the identified area to explore the options under consideration is a new garden village at their interest and support for such a scheme. The Council Haddenham, known as Waldridge Garden Village. will appreciate that any such decision by landowners will 2.2 Following the publication of the New Settlement Scoping have significant and life-changing consequences. At present Study, the opportunities for the development of a new the implications for the landowners are unclear but work is garden village at Haddenham have been explored. A range of ongoing. It is known that a number of landowners are also specialist consultants have been commissioned to consider supportive of this proposed development and as such they are specific factors and the resulting work is summarised within likely to provide separate representations to the Local Plan. this Position Statement. 2.4 The identified option area is large enough that it can flex to take account of the landholdings of the interested parties whilst still providing for the critical mass to deliver a new settlement. Waldridge Garden Village can therefore be demonstrated to be available in accordance with the PPG (3- 020). 2.5 This Position Statement will be supplemented over time to provide a more comprehensive assessment as further work is undertaken. WALDRIDGE GARDEN VILLAGE | POSITION STATEMENT 3 The Government’s approach to new settlements 3.1 The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) identifies that the supply of new homes can sometimes best be achieved through planning for larger scale development, such as new settlements. This is supported by the Planning Practice Guidance (PPG) which identifies that local authorities need to assess the opportunities provided by new settlements (Ref Para. 026 ID03-026 2140306). 3.2 The Taylor report on Garden Villages in 2015 identified the benefits of delivering new garden villages in order to boost housing supply and respond to the housing shortfall nationally. In particular, the report noted the problems associated with development adjacent to an existing settlement in terms of political support, delivery rates and infrastructure provision and recommended the delivery of new garden villages as an alternative. 3.3 In 2016, the Government responded and proposed to strengthen national planning policy to provide a more supportive approach for new settlements within the proposed changes to the NPPF. 3.4 The Government are supportive of such proposals as these provide another mechanism to address the housing shortfall nationally, as well as providing for self-contained communities in comprehensively designed and landscaped villages with the services provided within walking distance of all properties. 4 WALDRIDGE GARDEN VILLAGE | POSITION STATEMENT 03 A NEW SETTLEMENT Why deliver a new settlement in Aylesbury Vale? 3.5 The Draft Vale of Aylesbury Local Plan identifies a housing requirement of 33,300 homes from 2013 to 2033 which responds to the identified objectively assessed needs of Aylesbury Vale as well as the unmet needs of the districts of Chiltern, Wycombe and South Bucks. 3.6 On the basis of the Council’s evidence, there are currently 12,759 homes which have either been constructed from 2013 or which are subject to commitments. This leaves a further 20,541 homes to be identified even if each and every one of these commitments is developed. The Council have identified that there is a capacity for 16,225 homes on sites which are potentially suitable. Even if all of these were to be demonstrated to be suitable and were delivered this would still leave a shortfall of 4,316 homes. Therefore, additional sources of housing supply will need to be supported within Aylesbury Vale to meet the identified housing requirement. In accordance with Government policy and given the lack of any alternative, this would necessitate the delivery of a new settlement. 3.7 The delivery of a new settlement provides the opportunity to meet the needs of rural settlements in a sustainable location without placing a burden on the existing infrastructure of these settlements. WALDRIDGE GARDEN VILLAGE | POSITION STATEMENT 5 Where should the new settlement be located? 3.8 The New Settlement Scoping Study commissioned by will minimise the impact of flows as households travel to the Council undertakes a comprehensive and consistent maintain social and economic connections. assessment of the potential for a new settlement across 3.10 Haddenham has a higher rate of concealed families and Aylesbury Vale. The Study considers the environmental and overcrowded households, and a lower rate of vacant policy constraints and the landscape sensitivity of the entirety dwellings and affordable homes compared to Winslow. All of of Aylesbury Vale and identifies 11 potential areas of search. these market signals indicate that there is a greater pressure It then considers the suitability of these areas of search for on the existing housing stock in Haddenham which can be major growth and shortlists 2 options, namely Haddenham addressed by the provision of additional housing, including at and Winslow. a new settlement. 3.9 As there is sufficient capacity to meet the objectively assessed needs of Aylesbury Vale, the delivery of a new settlement can be seen to be responding to the unmet needs of Chiltern, South Bucks and Wycombe totalling 12,000 homes. The Draft Local Plan correctly identifies that these unmet needs should be met as GARDEN close as possible to where VILLAGE they originate, including at Haddenham which is close to the border with Wycombe District where an unmet need of 5,000 homes originates. This WIDER CONTEXT PLAN 6 WALDRIDGE GARDEN VILLAGE | POSITION STATEMENT 03 A NEW SETTLEMENT 3.11 The new Settlement Scoping Study identifies two options for the delivery of a new settlement near Haddenham. Option 2 is set out below along with the supporting text. • Includes limited expansion of Haddenham based on existing permissions and preferred sites identified through HELAA. Land to the east of Haddenham (6) could deliver over 7,000 homes. • This could be sufficient to allow a secondary school as well as two primary schools, a small village centre, and employment area. • Consideration would need to be given to transport links to the existing settlement, including access to the rail station. DISTRICT COUNCIL OPTIONS WALDRIDGE GARDEN VILLAGE | POSITION STATEMENT 7 3.12 The Haddenham area also has a much better alignment of jobs and workers indicating that it is a far more sustainable location for growth than Winslow area. There is also a higher proportion of residents in Haddenham who either work from home or who use sustainable modes of transport to travel to work. For those who do use the car to travel to work, the residents of the Haddenham area are also far more likely to travel less than 10km than the residents of Winslow.