Site Options and Assessment for the Llangarron Neighbourhood Plan Llangarron Parish Council November 2019 Site Options Appraisal for the Llangarron Neighbourhood Plan Quality information Prepared by Checked by Approved by Chris McNulty Una McGaughrin Una McGaughrin Senior Consultant Associate Director Associate Director Revision History Revision Revision date Details Authorized Name Position V1 June 2019 Initial draft CM Chris McNulty Senior Consultant V2 November 2019 Second draft UM Una McGaughrin Associate Director V3 November 2019 Final UM Una McGaughrin Associate Director Prepared for: Llangarron Parish Council AECOM Site Options Appraisal for the Llangarron Neighbourhood Plan Prepared for: Llangarron Parish Council Prepared by: AECOM Infrastructure & Environment UK Limited Aldgate Tower 2 Leman Street London E1 8FA United Kingdom aecom.com © 2019 AECOM Infrastructure & Environment UK Limited. All Rights Reserved. This document has been prepared by AECOM Infrastructure & Environment UK 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: Llangarron Parish Council AECOM Site Options Appraisal for the Llangarron Neighbourhood Plan Contents 1. Introduction ...................................................................................................... 1 Background ...................................................................................................................................................... 1 Planning policy context ..................................................................................................................................... 1 2. Site assessment methodology ......................................................................... 4 Task 1: Identifying sites for inclusion in the assessment ..................................................................................... 4 Task 2: Development of site appraisal pro forma .............................................................................................. 10 Task 3: Initial desktop study ............................................................................................................................. 10 Task 4: Site visit .............................................................................................................................................. 10 Task 5: Consolidation of results ....................................................................................................................... 11 Indicative housing capacity.............................................................................................................................. 11 3. Site assessment ............................................................................................ 13 Identified sites ................................................................................................................................................ 13 4. Summary of site appraisals ........................................................................... 15 5. Conclusions ................................................................................................... 26 Site assessment conclusions........................................................................................................................... 26 Next steps ...................................................................................................................................................... 26 Site allocations in the Neighbourhood Plan ...................................................................................................... 27 Viability........................................................................................................................................................... 27 Appendix A – Completed site appraisal pro forma .................................................... 28 Prepared for: Llangarron Parish Council AECOM Site Options Appraisal for the Llangarron Neighbourhood Plan Excecutive summary The purpose of this site assessment is to consider identified sites in Llangarron Parish to determine whether they would be potentially appropriate to allocate for housing in the Llangarron Neighbourhood Plan in terms of conformity with national and local planning policy. The intention is that the report will help to guide decision making in terms of selecting the sites that best meets the housing requirement and Neighbourhood Plan objectives. A total of 26 site options were assessed to consider whether they would be suitable for allocation, to meet identified residual housing needs of a minimum of 15 dwellings in the Parish. The sites assessed were identified through the Parish Council’s call for sites exerciese undertaken during December 2018 and January 2019. The site assessment has found that 3 sites are suitable in principle for housing allocation in the Neighbourhood Plan, subject to viability considerations. A further 9 sites are potentially suitable and available either in full or in part, but have constraints – some significant – which mean they are less likely to be suitable for development. If these constraints are not able to be resolved or mitigated the affected sites may not be appropriate for allocation. The remaining sites are considered to be not suitable for residential development and therefore not appropriate for allocation in the Neighbourhood Plan. The next steps will be for the Parish Council to select the sites for allocation in the Neighbourhood Plan, based on the findings of this report; and an assessment of viability; the Neighbourhood Plan vision and objectives; community consultation and discussion with Herefordshire Council. The findings of this site assessment report will need to be taken into account in the Strategic Environmental Assessment report to accompany the Regulation 14 consultation on the Neighbourhood Plan. Prepared for: Llangarron Parish Council AECOM Site Options Appraisal for the Llangarron Neighbourhood Plan 1. Introduction Background 1.1 AECOM has been commissioned to undertake an independent site appraisal for the Llangarron Neighbourhood Plan (LNP) on behalf of Llangarron Parish Council. The Parish includes the four settlements of Llangarron village, Llangrove, Llancloudy and Three Ashes. The work undertaken was agreed with the Parish Council and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government in 2019. 1.2 Plan-making in Llangarron is well progressed. Llangarron Parish Council went out to Regulation 14 (pre- submission) public consultation on the draft Neighbourhood Plan in February and March 2017. In response to representations received through the consultation process the Parish Council took the decision to commission further evidence base work to ensure that aspects of the plan would be robust and defensible. 1.3 In this context the Parish Council has asked AECOM to undertake an independent and objective assessment of the sites that have been identified as potential options for delivering housing growth in the Neighbourhood Plan. The extent of the Neighbourhood Plan Area is shown in Figure 1.1 below. 1.4 The purpose of the site appraisal is therefore to produce a clear assessment of the identified sites to determine which, if any, are appropriate in principle for allocation in the Neighbourhood Plan and will best meet the objectives of the Neighbourhood Plan, being mindful of whether they comply with both National Planning Policy Guidance and the strategic planning policy context of Herefordshire. In this context it is anticipated that the Neighbourhood Planning site selection process, aided by this report, will be sufficiently robust as to meet the Basic Conditions considered by the Independent Examiner, as well as any potential legal challenges by developers and other interested parties. 1.5 It should be noted that the draft Neighbourhood Plan, as consulted on in 2017, proposed a total of four sites for allocation. In the interim period between the conclusion of the Regulation 14 consultation and the commencement of AECOM’s site appraisal two of these sites received planning consent and are not considered through the appraisal. Planning policy context 1.6 All Neighbourhood Plans must be in general conformity with the strategic policies of the applicable adopted Local Plan. The Llangarron Neighbourhood Plan is being prepared in the context of the adopted Herefordshire Local Plan Core Strategy 2011-20311 (adopted in 2015) and the emerging Rural Areas Site Allocations Development Plan Document (RASA DPD), projected to be adopted in Spring 2020.2 1.7 The Core Strategy establishes the overarching strategy for Herefordshire, setting out where development will take place, which areas should be protected and how the area is expected to change over the plan period and beyond. The RASA DPD will provide a policy framework to support the delivery of the Core Strategy for towns and parishes which have neither made nor are preparing a Neighbourhood Plan. The RASA DPD is therefore unlikely to directly impact Llangarron Parish. 1.8 Policy SS2 of the adopted Core Strategy identifies a target of 16,500 new dwellings