01 Wick Lane, Ardleigh INTRODUCTION THE SITE Introduction Gladman Developments Ltd. has successfully invested in communities throughout the UK Dedham Heath over the past 20 years, developing high quality and sustainable residential, commercial and industrial schemes. A process of public consultation is being undertaken by Gladman Developments Ltd. in order to present the emerging development proposals for Wick B1029 Lane, Ardleigh to the local community. We are proposing a residential development of up to 120 new homes together with new public open space. Ardleigh Heath The purpose of the public consultation process is to outline the details of the draft scheme and seek comments from the local community which will be considered before the outline planning application is submitted to Tendring District Council. Site Description The site lies on the western extent of the village of Ardleigh. It sits adjacent to existing housing off the A137 Colchester Road to the south and to the east of Ardleigh Reservoir. A137 The site is located to the north of the A137 Colchester Road and to the west of industrial development off Dedham Road. Ardleigh The site comprises 8.11ha of agricultural land defined by existing vegetation and development. A small reservoir is located adjacent to the site’s northern boundary and 12 properties off the A137 Colchester Road adjoin the site’s southern boundary. The site, like much of the surrounding landscape, is flat with little variation in it’s landform. Ardleigh Reservoir Two Public Rights of Way run through the site, one runs adjacent to the site’s eastern boundary entering the site off the A137 Colchester Road and leaving the site along its northern boundary. Another runs along the site’s northern boundary connecting the village centre to the east of the site and Dead Lane to the west. The Need for New Housing Site Boundary Existing Woodland Railway Line Every Council is required by the Government to boost significantly the supply of housing Proposed Developable and to make planning decisions in the light of a presumption in favour of sustainable A Road Minor Road Area development. Existing Settlement Public Footpath / B Road Bridleway Tendring District Council is required to provide enough housing land to meet its full future housing needs. At present the Council cannot demonstrate a 5-year supply of Water Body/Course land for housing and approval of this development will help towards addressing the shortfall of housing within the area. Why is the site suitable for development? Ardleigh is considered to be a sustainable village which can accommodate a proportion of the Council’s future housing growth. The proposal would form a logical extension and provide new homes which are needed to sustain the vitality and viability of the local community. The site is suitably located within reach of a good range of local services and community facilities. It has good access to the local public transport network which easily facilitates connections to Colchester and the surrounding wider transport network. Application Type & Submission Date Gladman Developments Ltd. is intending to submit an outline application for up to 120 homes to Tendring District Council in the spring of 2016. This would establish the principle of development. 02 Wick Lane, Ardleigh HISTORIC CONTEXT Historic Maps The historic maps below show the proposed development site in the context of the growth of the settlement over the past 140 years. In 1875-76 the main road structure and layout were much the same as present day. Development is shown largely focussed on the cross roads formed by The Street / Station Road and the A137 seen in the centre of the village. Further development can be seen to the south of the site off the A137 Colchester Road and Green Lane. The school adjacent to the east of site, is also present. There is little shown change in the 1923 map, though a small number of houses join those already situated to the south of the site off the A137 Colchester Road. By contrast, significant expansion can be seen in the 1961 map, with 20th century housing developments at Aveline Road and Gernon Road to the south of the site and along the A137 Colchester Road, including properties which adjoin the site’s southern boundary. The addition of the industrial estate situated off Dedham Road can also be seen. Further residential development is shown in the 1972 map with the addition of the development at Mary Warner Close. The reservoir situated to the north of the site is first shown in the 1984 map and the current OS plan shows the addition of modern residential development at Church View and Chapel Croft to the east of Station Road. 1875-76 1972 1923 1984 1961 Current OS Map 03 Wick Lane, Ardleigh EXISTING CHARACTER The site lies within National Character Area Site Boundary 111 “Northern Thames Basin” as described by Natural England. At a regional level the site lies within the Plateau Estate Farmlands Landscape Dedham Vale AONB Character Typology as identified within the Essex Landscape Character Assessment Landscape Character Typology for the East of (2003) England. E3 LCT: London Clay Landscapes LCA: Tendring Plain County and district level character assessments provide further detail on the landscape character LCT: London Clay Landscapes of the site and it’s context. Within Essex’s E4 LCA: North Colchester Farmlands Landscape Character Assessment the site falls Tendring District Landscape Character within the Tendring Plain Character Area. This E4 Assessment 7A Character Area is described as having large, regular fields and frequent wide views. 7A LCT: Heathland Plateaux LCA: Bromley Heaths At a district level, the site lies within the Character 6B LCT: Clay Valleys Area of ‘Bromley Heaths’ within the Tendring LCA: Ardleigh Valley System District Landscape Character Assessment. The Bromley Heaths Character Area is described as E3 Landscape Character Typology for the East of England a large scale plateaux with geometric fields. 6B Valley Settled Farmlands The Dedham Vale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) is located approximately 1.7km to the north of the site at its nearest boundary. The Plateau Estate Farmlands AONB is separated from the site by established intervening field boundary vegetation. Note: All mapping extents fall within National 6B Character Area (NCA) 111: Northern Thames Basin Local Building Styles There are no Listed Buildings on or adjacent to the site or statutory designations that cover the site. Ardleigh Conservation Area is located approximately 220m to the east of the site. Existing properties located adjacent to the site to the south and east are generally two storey buildings that are detached and semi-detached. Properties are set back from the road with dedicated off street parking and front gardens, though, within the village centre properties sit closer to the road. The local town vernacular is defined by a mixture of styles using modern and traditional building materials and includes brickwork, tiled and pitched roofs and small dormer windows. Above: Examples of traditional and modern built form and materials used within the surrounding area. The proposals will seek to reflect the existing built character so as to create an appropriate and sympathetic development in keeping with the character of the site and its context. 04 Wick Lane, Ardleigh VISUAL CONTEXT SITE AND LANDSCAPE Site & Setting The site lies to the west of Ardleigh, off Wick Lane and comprises agricultural land with an area of 8.11ha. The site’s southern boundary is formed by existing properties off the A137 Colchester Road and by Wick Lane. Along the site’s eastern boundary runs an established hedgerow including a number of mature trees, beyond which 1 is situated existing development within Ardleigh, including Ardleigh Saint Mary’s Church of England Primary School and industrial development located off the B1029 2 Dedham Road. To the north and west the site adjoins agricultural land. A small reservoir surrounded by a row of established trees adjoins part of the site’s northern boundary. Two Public Rights of Way run through the site, along the site’s eastern and northern boundaries crossing over in the north eastern corner of the site. The landform of the Visual Environment The existing built form and vegetation in the locality limit views to the site. There is also a lack of elevated positions from which to gain views of the site due to the flat 3 topography of the surrounding landscape. In the wider context, views towards the site within the wider landscape to the east and south of the site are limited due to the existing built form of Ardleigh. Views from Dedham Road and Dead Lane to the north and west of the site will be seen at a relative distance. Views from these roads and the Public Rights of Way through the site have been considered within the emerging Framework Plan. Aerial photograph with site boundary and viewpoint locations Approximate extents of site Trees Surrounding Reservoir Adjacent to Dedham Road site’s Northern Boundary Fen Lane 1 View south from Dedham Lane / Fen Lane junction Approximate extents of site Trees Surrounding Reservoir Adjacent to Properties off A137 Properties off Dedham Road site’s Northern Boundary Public Footpath 158-22 Colchester Road View east from Public Footpath 158-22 off Dead Lane 2 Approximate extents of site Property off Green Lane Properties off Colchester Road Properties off Aveline Road Properties off Gernon Road 3 View north west from Public Footpath 158-5 05 Wick Lane, Ardleigh FACILITIES What are the local facilities? The site is sustainably located with good access to the village, existing community amenities and the local public transport network. Local amenities within walking distance of the site include the local primary school, doctor’s surgery, local shops, public houses, chip shop and Post Office.