Mid Sussex District Council Site Allocations Development Plan Document Major Development in the High Weald AONB Topic Paper Version for Scrutiny Committee 11th March 2020 March 2020 Contents 1.0 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 2 Site Allocations DPD .................................................................................................. 2 High Weald AONB ..................................................................................................... 3 Legislation and policy context .................................................................................... 4 2.0 Definition of Major Development ................................................................................ 8 3.0 Methodology ............................................................................................................ 10 4.0 Assessment of Regulation 19 Proposed Site Allocations ......................................... 17 Appendix A Example pro forma......................................................................................... 19 Appendix B SHELAA housing sites within the High Weald AONB and conclusions of the site selection process ..................................................................................... 23 Appendix C Major development assessment for Regulation 19 proposed employment sites . ...................................................................................................................... 27 SA7 | Cedars (Former Crawley Forest School), Brighton Road, Pease Pottage ...... 27 SA8 | Pease Pottage Nurseries, Brighton Road, Pease Pottage .............................. 32 Appendix D Major development assessment for Regulation 19 proposed housing sites ... 37 SA25 | Land west of Selsfield Road, Ardingly (Regulation 18) ................................. 37 SA25 | Land west of Selsfield Road, Ardingly (Regulation 19) ................................. 44 SA26 | Land south of Hammerwood Road, Ashurst Wood ....................................... 50 SA27 | Land at St. Martin Close, Handcross ............................................................ 55 SA28 | Land south of The Old Police House, Birchgrove Road, Horsted Keynes ..... 60 SA29 | Land south of St. Stephen’s Church, Hamsland, Horsted Keynes ................ 66 Appendix E Major development assessment for new sites submitted during the Regulation 18 consultation ............................................................................................... 77 1 1.0 Introduction 1.1 The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that the national planning policy on major development in designated landscape areas has been fully considered in the preparation of the Site Allocations Development Plan Document (DPD). 1.2 This paper sets out an approach to assessing if the proposed site allocations included in the Site Allocations DPD and within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) could be regarded as major development. It then also indicates the next steps if the proposed site allocation is determined to be major development. Each proposed site allocation is assessed as a matter of planning judgement taking into account the factors set out and described in national policy. Site Allocations DPD 1.3 The Mid Sussex District Plan 2014-2031, adopted in March 2018, provides a policy framework for the delivery of sustainable development across the district. It sets out the housing requirement for the district up to 2031 and will be complemented by the Site Allocations DPD. The principle of development in the High Weald AONB is set out in Policy DP4: Housing through the spatial distribution of the housing requirement. Policy DP6: Settlement Hierarchy also takes into account local development needs and any significant local constraints to development. 1.4 The Inspector’s Report (paragraph 53) of the District Plan acknowledges that some settlements in Mid Sussex District ‘lie within the AONB and may be appropriate for modest housing schemes’. The Inspector’s Report goes on to add that ‘there is no evidence that meeting the housing requirement will necessitate major development in the AONB other than that already permitted by the District Council at Pease Pottage’ (600 dwellings as allocated through Policy DP19: Strategic allocation to the east of Pease Pottage). 1.5 The purpose of the Site Allocations DPD includes the allocation of additional development sites to meet the residual necessary to meet the agreed housing and employment requirements for the plan period as reflected in the District Plan 2014-2031. These additional allocations are in accordance with the spatial strategy and strategic policies set out in the District Plan (Figure 1). Further detail on the site selection process is set out in Site Selection Paper 2: Methodology for Site Selection (December 2018), Site Selection Paper 3: Housing Sites (October 2019 and updated February 2020) and Site Selection Paper 4: Employment Sites (September 2019). 1.6 As part of the site selection process, the impact on the High Weald AONB has been taken into account. Sites within the High Weald AONB were assessed as having high, moderate or low impact based on the advice provided by the High Weald AONB Unit. Those sites assessed as having a high impact on the High Weald AONB were not considered further in the site selection process. Therefore, the High Weald AONB has already been considered in the site selection process and sites with the highest impact filtered out from further consideration (Appendix B). Furthermore, to inform this process, the High Weald AONB unit provided advice on the potential site allocations. 2 Settlement Policy Settlement Site Name Allocation Type Reference Category 3 – Pease Pottage Cedars, Employment – SA7 Medium Sized Brighton Road B1/ B2/ B8 Settlement Pease Pottage Employment – Nurseries, SA8 B1/ B2/ B8 Brighton Road Ardingly Land west of SA25 70 dwellings Selsfield Road Ashurst Wood Land south of Hammerwood SA26 12 dwellings Road Handcross Land at St. Martin Close SA27 65 dwellings (West) Horsted Land south of Keynes The Old Police SA28 25 dwellings House Land south of St. Stephen’s SA29 30 dwellings Church Turners Hill Withypitts Farm, Selsfield SA32 16 dwellings Road Figure 1 - Site Allocations DPD proposed sites allocations High Weald AONB 1.7 An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is an area of land protected by the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 for its outstanding natural beauty. The purpose of the landscape designation is to conserve and enhance the natural beauty of the area. There are 34 AONBs in England covering 15% of the land. 1.8 The High Weald AONB was designated in 1983. It has an area of 1,461 sq km and covers four counties and 11 districts. Nearly 50% of Mid Sussex District is within the High Weald AONB; there are 163.6 sq km of AONB land within Mid Sussex District which is approximately 11% of the High Weald AONB. 1.9 The High Weald AONB is a historic landscape characterised by a deeply incised, ridged and faulted landform of clays and sandstone, with numerous gill streams and woodlands. Small irregularly-shaped and productive fields typically used for livestock grazing are often bounded by hedgerows and woodland. Dispersed historic settlements of farmsteads and late Mediaeval villages are characteristics as are historic routeways. 1.10 The High Weald AONB Management Plan 2019-2024 is the strategy for looking after the High Weald AONB in order to achieve the statutory purpose of conserving and enhancing the High Weald AONB. The Management Plan can be used to guide 3 environmental land management and assess the impact of development or other changes on the High Weald AONB1. 1.11 The High Weald AONB Statement of Significance sets out what comprises the natural beauty of the High Weald (Figure 2): The High Weald AONB Statement of Significance The natural beauty of the High Weald comprises: • Five defining components of character that have made the High Weald a recognisably distinct and homogenous area for at least the last 700 years. 1. Geology, landform and water systems – a deeply incised, ridged and faulted landform of clays and sandstone with numerous gill streams. 2. Settlement – dispersed historic settlement including high densities of isolated farmsteads and late Mediaeval villages founded on trade and non-agricultural rural industries. 3. Routeways – a dense network of historic routeways (now roads, tracks and paths). 4. Woodland – abundance of ancient woodland, highly interconnected and in smallholdings. 5. Field and Heath – small, irregular and productive fields, bounded by hedgerows and woods, and typically used for livestock grazing; with distinctive zones of lowland heath, and inned river valleys. • Land-based economy and related rural life bound up with, and underpinning, the observable character of the landscape with roots extending deep into history. An increasingly broad-based economy but with a significant land-based sector and related community life focused on mixed farming (particularly family farms and smallholdings), woodland management and rural crafts. • Other qualities and features that are connected to the interaction between the landscape and people and which enrich character components. Such qualities and features enhance health and wellbeing, and foster enjoyment and appreciation of the beauty of nature. These include locally distinctive features which enrich the character components such as historic