STRATEGIC MASTERPLAN FOR THROCKLEY NORTH Supporting Information for E.I.P Core Strategy and Urban Core Plan NewcastleGateshead Project No. 1002 Rev.06 May 2014 Prepared for Greenwich Hospital by SmithsGore and +Plus Urban Design 1 CONTENTS PAGE Page Section.1 The Allocation Introduction 6 Strategic Masterplan 7 Planning Context 8 Assessment against Green Belt Purposes 8 Scale of Proposed Development 9 Accessibility and impact on local services and facilities 9 Timescale 10 Housing Mix 10 Viability 10 Technical Assessments 11 Urban Design Approach 12 Section.2 Access Options Appraisal Strategic Option Testing 28 Masterplan Aims 29 Option.1 Western Gateway 30 Option.2 Central Gateway 34 Option.3 Eastern Gateway 38 Delivering the development 42 Preferred Option 44 Section.3 Wider Masterplan Safeguarded Land 48 Wider Masterplan 49 Prepared for Greenwich Hospital by SmithsGore and +Plus Urban Design 2 3 SECTION.1 THE ALLOCATION The following section puts forward our technical background work to help provide the evidence base and policy justification for a deliverable and well designed strategic masterplan forThrockley North. 4 15 Introduction The two main areas examined in this masterplan are: Greenwich Hospital is an ancient Crown charity founded in 1694 and [Site A] Allocation site: provides charitable support (including annuities, sheltered housing and 25.9 hectares and identified by Newcastle City Council as a Village education) to serving and retired personnel of the Royal Navy and Royal Growth Area in the Core Strategy; and Marines and their dependants. [Site.B] Safeguarded Land: Currently GH supports 26,000 people through 20 charities; has 3 shel- Extending to 29.9 hectares and immediately west of Site A; identified tered housing schemes with a total of 124 beds; supports a Naval Care by Newcastle City Council as Green Belt. Home; and - through educational grants and bursaries - supports a faculty at Greenwich University (Maritime Institute) and other students at Trinity Laban, together with bursaries for children of the Royal Hospital School whose parents are serving or family have served in the Navy. The Hospital is also currently looking into providing apprenticeships to retrain injured Safeguarded Land Allocation service men and women and business start-ups. Strategic Masterplan [Site.B] Site.A [Site.A] There is no public money involved in GH’s investments which are in This masterplan document provides a strategic framework for a Greenwich, rural estates, properties in central London and equities. sustainable urban extension to North Throckley, in the outer west of Newcastle to demonstrate that, in line with the requirements Greenwich Hospital aspires to work collaboratively with Newcastle City contained within the National Planning Policy Framework and the Council and other stakeholders to undertake a long term strategic emerging Core Strategy for Newcastle and Gateshead, Site A is Throckley investment programme that will enhance Throckley’s village centre and its available, suitable and fully deliverable within the early part of the plan overall contribution to the local economy. period. Greenwich Hospital commisioned +Plus Urban Design Ltd and Smiths The following masterplan looks at a range of strategic options Gore to prepare a planning case and a strategic masterplan to justify the building upon the original work undertaken at previous stages in the release of Green Belt land at North Throckley to deliver new housing to plan preparation and Newcastle City Council’s proposed allocation in help meet the needs of the City over the forthcoming plan the Publication Draft of the Core Strategy (Throckley North NV3A). period. Greenwich Hospital is a major landowner in the area and is keen to work in partnership with the Local Planning Authority to ensure Collectively, the masterplan illustrates how a logical and sustainable deliverability of sites for housing. residential extension of Throckley village could be arranged to integrate with the wider context, respond to local distinctiveness and The masterplan presents a series of options to demonstrate the character and be fully accessible whilst having an overall positive deliverability of a sustainable north-western extension to the settlement of impact on the wellbeing and long term sustainability of the settlement Throckley and is to be considered alongside the Core Strategy for of Throckley. Gateshead and Newcastle. This work has been supported by detailed and specialist transport Key This supportive piece of work also examines the land further to the west advice to help assess a number of the access options and explore the of the proposed Council’s proposed housing allocation; also in the wider effects on the local highway network to minimise impact. ownership of Greenwich Hospital. The document presents an additional strategic masterplan option to demonstrate how the two sites can However, this document is not a detailed masterplan and it is hoped collectively work together in the future to meet additional housing needs Key that an appropriate design will evolve through future partnership either beyond the plan period or to ensure housing delivery within this working with Newcastle City Council and key stakeholders. plan period, should other sites fail to come forward within the requisite NORTH timeframe. NORTH Masterplan Area Site.A Site.B NCC Site.A Throckley (Exisiting Settlement Edge) Newburn Ward Boundary 6 7 Planning Context Scale of proposed development SHLAA SITES IN NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE The Core Strategy must provide sufficient homes and Policy CS1 sets out the need to provide 30,000 new homes by 2030. It goes on to suggest that around 4,300 of these new Throckley is a large village in the outer west of Newcastle, approximately 11km from the City Centre. The site, identified as homes will need to be accommodated within the villages around Newcastle and Gateshead’s urban areas. Part of the rationale behind this is the need to ensure the long term Throckley North, is positioned directly to the south of the main A69 and to the north of the existing houses along Hexham sustainability of key local services and facilities and to provide a more diverse range of type of housing within the areas, complementing the existing provision. This will, in turn, Road. The existing brickworks and other large employers are located to the east. create a larger and more diverse local neighbourhood and a more attractive residential area and local service centre. Site.A The land at north Throckley (Site A) is proposed by Newcastle City Council to be allocated for new housing over the plan The allocation of Site A (and B) for housing sits at the heart of the Core Strategy’s spatial strategy to promote sustainable neighbourhoods and give everyone the opportunity period. Site B is proposed to remain in the Green Belt. to live in a high quality, well designed home within inclusive and mixed communities that they can afford. Newcastle City Council has robustly demonstrated a shortage of available land within the city to meet its objectively assessed The village of Throckley has been identified by Newcastle City Council (Strategic Land Review (SLR) 2012) as being one of the most sustainable locations for growth and having housing needs. Existing Green Belt boundaries are drawn tight around the city and, on this basis, a review is necessary to the potential to be able to accommodate new housing development. Site A is identified as being able to accommodate around 550 new homes. Site B could potentially provide a ensure that the city can meet both its 5 year housing land supply requirement and the requirements of the Core Strategy to further 550 dwellings. identify housing land over the plan period. While it is recognised that the Council have sought to allocate only the land it needs to meet their objectively assessed needs and to support the longer term sustainability of the settlements beyond the Urban Core, a far longer term view is crucial to Accessibility and impact on local services and facilities ensuring housing development on deliverable sites beyond the plan period or to trigger the release of alternative deliverable and sustainable housing sites (via an appropriate mechanism) should other housing allocations fail to come forward within the The sites are in close proximity to Local Schools, with the primary school being within 5 minutes walking distance from the south eastern corner of the site and 15 minutes plan period. The masterplan provides a further option for consideration on this basis, to include Site B as, in essence, a from the north westernmost parts of the site. Accessibility could be potentially be enhanced through the creation of a footpath link to the south-east of the site. This is shown Safeguarded site. on the preliminary masterplan drawings. Paragraph 83 of the National Planning Policy Framework advises that, at the time of review of the Green Belt boundaries, the In addition, the majority of the new homes would be within 2 kilometres (20 minutes walk or 5minute cycle) of the nearest secondary school (Walbottle Campus). Local Planning Authority should consider the boundaries having regard to their intended permanence in the long term, so that they should be capable of enduring beyond the plan period. The Council’s housing projections are ONS based, sub national The Council’s SLR identifies that there is sufficient capacity in local schools to meet the resultant demand for school places. Overall, the development of 550 dwellings is likely population projections to 2021 and extended by Durham Business School/St Chads College to cover the whole of the plan to require around 120-140 primary school places and 110 secondary school places. period to 2030. Beyond this time, recognition must be given to future housing requirements in the city. It is important to do KEY so at this stage to ensure that permanent and realistic Green Belt boundaries can be drawn, to reduce the likelihood of having Site.A The SLR notes that to revisit the Green Belt boundaries again in 2030.