St Austell & Parishes Housing Evidence Report May 2017 Contents Introduction 1 Section 1: St Austell’s Urban Capacity Assessment 1 Summary – Potential Urban Capacity of St Austell 9 Section 2 - Urban extension assessment 11 Local Member Steering Group 13 Methodology 14 Step 1 - Mapping Review 14 Step 2 – Cell Identification 14 Step 3 – Environmental Constraints 17 Step 4 - Accessibility 19 Step 5 – Initial Review and Discount of Cells 20 Step 6 Landscape Character Assessments 21 Step 7 Urban Design Analysis 22 Step 8 Heat Mapping Assessment 24 Step 9 Qualitative Review and Discount Inappropriate Sites 25 Merging assessment 31 Conclusion and Recommendations – Urban Extension Options 37 Step 10 Stakeholder Discussions 39 Step 11 Informal Sustainability Appraisal (SA) Review 39 Step 12: Framework Plan Options & Core Strategy Consultation 44 Conclusion: Recommended Site 54 Section 3: St Austell’s Housing Summary 56 Introduction Cornwall’s Local Plan: Strategic Policies Development Plan Document (LP:SP) sets out a housing growth requirement of a minimum of 2,900 houses to be delivered at St Austell through the Local Plan period, 2010-2030. In support of this, the Site Allocations Development Plan Document (Site Allocations DPD) (and associated St Austell Town Framework Plan (TFP), allocates sites to accommodate this strategic growth. This housing evidence report documents how the housing growth requirement for St Austell is planned to be accommodated: Section 1 of this report sets out an assessment of the level of housing which is forecast to be accommodated within the existing urban area, including a consideration of future site allocations within this. By establishing this existing urban capacity, it is then possible to calculate how many houses need to be planned to be accommodated outside of the existing urban area (i.e. on greenfield sites); Section 2 of this report, supported by a number of more detailed appendices, considers the site allocations outside of the existing urban area. It sets out the assessment followed in order to determine which urban extension site(s) is/are the most appropriate to accommodate future growth. The sites allocations identified in Sections 1 and 2 of this report are those included and consulted on within the Site Allocations DPD; and, Section 3 concludes this report and presents the housing trajectory for St Austell, which (incorporating the results of the two assessments above) sets out how the target of 2,900 dwellings is planned to be delivered. Section 1: St Austell’s Urban Capacity Assessment This chapter sets out an assessment of the urban capacity in St Austell. In planning for the future development of the town it is firstly important to consider what growth can be accommodated within the existing urban area (i.e. on brownfield sites). Elements identified as contributing towards the potential urban capacity are as follows: a) The number of completed dwellings (1st April 2010 – 31st March 2016); b) The number of committed dwellings, i.e. both under construction and permitted by existing planning permissions (full and outline) but not yet started (1st April 2016) - on sites under 10 dwellings; 1 c) The number of committed dwellings, i.e. both under construction and permitted by existing planning permissions (full and outline) but not yet started (1st April 2016) - on sites over 10 dwellings; d) The number of dwellings which can potentially be accommodated on sites identified through the Strategic Housing Land Availability (SHLAA), which are also within the existing urban area and which are also not sites included a-b, above; e) Any other sites, with potential to accommodate over 10 dwellings in the existing urban area; f) Site Allocations (Urban Sites); and, g) Windfall allowance for final 10 years of plan period. Dwelling Completions and Commitments (a) (b) and (c). Regular annual monitoring of housing completions and permissions is carried out by Cornwall Council and is regularly reported in the Cornwall Monitoring Report (available at www.cornwall.gov.uk). Data relating to completions through the plan period, to date (1st April 2010 – 31st March 2016) and as at 1st April 2016, is presented within Table 1. It sets out that 2710 dwellings were built and committed at St Austell as of 1st April 2016. Table 1: Dwelling Completions and Commitments in St Austell Urban Area (2010-2016) No of St Austell Urban Area Dwellings (a) Dwellings Built (1st April 2010 - 31st March 2016) 1069 (b) Net Extant planning permissions - Under 10 (1st April 2016) 165 (c) Net Extant planning permissions - 10 or more Committed Dwellings (1st April 2016) 1103 (d) Significant Planning Permissions granted since April 2016 / awaiting s106 373 Total Built and Permitted 2710 d) Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA) Sites The SHLAA data provides a theoretical assumption of the development capacity on sites in and around St Austell. Due to the nature, purpose and process of the SHLAA there are a number of sites identified (i.e. those outside of the urban area, on greenfield land) that are not considered suitable to contribute to the urban capacity figure. Greenfield sites are considered under the Urban Extension 2 Assessment (Section 2 of this report). In addition to the greenfield SHLAA sites, some urban SHLAA sites are also discounted due to other reasons which suggest that they may be inappropriate to come forward for housing development. The SHLAA sites and a consideration of whether they can be assumed to contribute to the urban capacity of St Austell are presented within Table 2, and they are illustrated in Figure 1. Table 2 sets out that, for plan making purposes, SHLAA sites are unlikely to contribute significant further dwellings in St Austell. A large number of urban sites within the town have been developed in recent years and this has contributed to the above assumption of limited future supply. 3 Table 2: The assumed contribution of the St Austell SHLAA sites to the towns urban capacity Gross Potential Site Address Area dwelling Reason Ref (Ha) No. Land at - S729 53.5 Site is considered as part of the Urban Extension Assessment (see Section 5) Treverbyn Road Land at West - Site is in the adjacent CNA and include the eco-community site proposals which S1262 320 Carclaze & Baal have their own target within the Local Plan 38/25/ Land at - Site in adjacent CNA and considered as part of the Urban Extension Assessment 6.5 05 Scredda (see Section 5) 39/25/ Land north of - Site in adjacent CNA & Site is considered as part of the Urban Extension 3.9 01 NEDR Assessment (see Section 5) Land to the - Site in adjacent CNA, within a proposed green buffer area, considered outside of U0024 north of 1.4 the plan making process Carclaze Road 41/23/ - Trenowah Farm 16 Site is considered as part of the Urban Extension Assessment (see Section 5) 01 Land adjacent Approx. 30 Site is a disused sports pitch which may have a Sport England objection to U0021 to A391/Former 1.1 development. This issue aside it should be considered within the SHLAA Tennis Courts Land adjacent Approx. 30 Small area of scrub area with no access without adjacent site (U0021). If it came U0020 1.2 to A391 forward with the adjacent should it should be considered within the SHLAA 4 40/22/ Land off - 1.5 Existing employment units 03 Bucklers Lane Land at - S454 8.4 Site has permission for residential & included in urban capacity Holmbush Par Moor (small - Site in adjacent CNA, too peripheral from the St Austell urban area to contribute to S097 1.1 site) the town target - Site is within adjacent CNA – part of the eco-community proposals which have S1263 Par Docks 39 their own target Land at - S723d 1.5 Site is a small wooded area inappropriate for development Charlestown Land at - S723e 1 Site is a recreation ground Charlestown Land at - S723b Charlestown 14.9 Site is considered as part of the Urban Extension Assessment (see Section 5) Road Land at - Site is considered as part of the Urban Extension Assessment (see Section 5) (also S723a 4.8 Porthpean Road school sports field) 39/21/ Morven Trading - 0.3 Existing employment estate 05 Estate 38/19/ - Sawles Valley 31.5 Site is considered as part of the Urban Extension Assessment (see Section 5) 01 5 Sawles Valley, - 38/20/ South of 6.4 Site is considered as part of the Urban Extension Assessment (see Section 5) 03 Southbourne Rd Land east - S232a Pentewan Rd, 23.5 Site is considered as part of the Urban Extension Assessment (see Section 5) Tregorrick Land west - S233 Pentewan Rd, 5.1 Site is considered as part of the Urban Extension Assessment (see Section 5) Tregorrick Land at - S039 Southside of 0.4 Site is considered as part of the Urban Extension Assessment (see Section 5) Trevanion Rd S308 Trewhiddle 20.7 - Site has outline permission for residential and retail use Coyte Farm, - S291 17.7 Site is considered as part of the Urban Extension Assessment (see Section 5) Truro Rd Land adjoining - S099 0.7 Site is considered as part of the Urban Extension Assessment (see Section 5) St Mewan Lane Land at - Lanarth, S633 0.7 Site is considered as part of the Urban Extension Assessment (see Section 5) Cooperage Road 6 Land at - S366 Cooperage 1.1 Site is considered as part of the Urban Extension Assessment (see Section 5) Lane 35/22/ - Gover Road 0.6 Narrow strip of land inappropriate for development 02 Land north east - S632 of the A3058 3.7 Site is considered as part of the Urban Extension Assessment (see Section 5) Westbridge Rd (d) Potential houses from SHLAA 60 sites (approx.): 7 Figure 1: Map of St Austell SHLAA sites, Existing Planning Permissions (for over 10 dwellings) 8 e) Other sites A review of other potential land within the existing urban area has also been carried out.