DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE 18 February 2019 Case No: 18/01417/OUT Outline Application Proposal: Outline planning application for the demolition of two existing dwellings and erection of up to 185 dwellings with public open space, landscaping and sustainable drainage system (SuDS) and vehicular access point and separate pedestrian access from Peterborough Road and St Mary's Street. All matters reserved except for means of access Location: Land East Of 18 To 52 And Including 28 And 30 Peterborough Road Farcet, PE7 3BN Applicant: Gladman Developments Ltd Grid Ref: 520472 294895 RECOMMENDATION - APPROVE subject to the prior completion of a Section 106 obligation relating to affordable housing, open space and wheeled bins and to conditions to include as a minimum those listed below. or REFUSE in the event that the obligation referred to above has not been completed and the applicant is unwilling to agree to an extended period for determination, on the grounds that the applicant is unwilling to complete the obligation necessary to make the development acceptable. This application is reported to the Development Management Committee as it is a Departure from the Development Plan and Farcet Parish Council object to the application. 1. DESCRIPTION OF SITE AND APPLICATION 1.1 The site measures approx. 10.7 hectares, lies adjacent to the existing residential development on the edge of Farcet, Cambridgeshire and is approximately 3km south of Peterborough City Centre, between Yaxley and the Peterborough suburb of Stanground. 1.2 The site is located within a wider area of agricultural land and is currently in arable use (which a small slither is Grade 3 agricultural land the remainder Grade 4, on a scale of 1 – 5, where 1 is ‘excellent quality agricultural land’ and 5 is ‘very poor agricultural land’). The site is located to the North of the village of Farcet on an east facing slope with views out towards the Fens. The site consists of a large single broadly rectangular field with a drainage ditch for the northern boundary. The wider landscape to the north of the site is contained by the recently built A605 road bypass located to the south of new development along the southern edge of Stanground, itself on the southern edge of Peterborough. To the east, the agricultural land continues towards the river Nene (old course). The southern and western boundaries abut the Farcet village edge. Properties backing onto the site have a variety of boundary treatments, ranging from brick walls and close board fencing through to high conifer hedges or gappy native hedgerows 1.3 Public Bridleway 83/5 incorporating the Green Wheel Cycleway is located parallel to the River Nene (old course) and provides a non- vehicular link from Farcet Village through to Stanground to the north and eastwards into the wider Fen Landscape. The start of this route will provide pedestrian access into the site at its southeast corner 1.4 The site is currently accessed via a gated grass track located between residential properties no’s 16 and 18 Peterborough Road which provides access solely for the farmer. This access is shared with the route of an existing gas pipeline which cross the site from this point. 1.5 The site is located close to the public transport network. The Closest bus stop is located on Peterborough Road near to Lawrence Avenue and would be approximately 100 metres from the main site entrance, and 50 metres from the sites’ pedestrian links. Facilities in the village include a general store, post office, village club, primary school and church. Additional primary school and secondary school facilities are located in south Stanground. 1.6 There are six statutory sites of international importance within a 15km radius of the site. The closest is the Nene Washes Special Protection Area (SPA), Ramsar, which is a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) that constitutes an area of seasonally flooding grassland and grazing marsh important for the populations of overwintering and breeding wildfowl. Orton Pit (SAC,SSS1) is located 2.5 km west of the site and contains an extensive pond system that supports significant populations of stonewort and a large population of great crested newts. Three County Wildlife Sites are within 1km of the site. These are Crown Pit, Fletton Lake and Stanground Newt Ponds. 1.7 The site is in Flood Zone 1. Table 1 of the Technical Guidance to the NPPF defines land located within Flood Zone 1 as areas which are outside the flood plain and have little or no chance of flooding. These are areas with an indicative probability of flooding of 1 in 1000 years or greater (i.e. less than 0.1% chance in any given year) from fluvial sources. 1.8 In terms of the proposal, outline planning permission is sought for the demolition of a pair of semi-detached dwellings (nos. 28 And 30 Peterborough Road) and erection of up to 185 dwellings with public open space, landscaping and sustainable drainage system (SuDS) and vehicular access. All matters reserved except for means of access. Vehicular access to the site will be from Peterborough Road. Pedestrian access points will be from both Peterborough Road and St Mary's Street. The application is accompanied by an illustrative layout showing how it could be developed, The supporting plans and documents also aim to demonstrate that the site is capable of accommodating the scale of development proposed. The illustrative layout is not necessarily the way the development will be carried out; that will be established at the reserved matters stage. 1.9 The application proposal includes the following: 40% affordable housing. Provision of circa 5 hectares of green infrastructure that will include structural landscaping and planting and new publicly accessible amenity areas. 1.10 A comprehensive surface water drainage scheme that includes SUDs 1.11 An opportunity to create net gains in biodiversity 2. NATIONAL GUIDANCE 2.1 The National Planning Policy Framework (24th July 2018) (NPPF 2018) sets out the three economic, social and environmental objectives of the planning system to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development. The NPPF confirms that 'So sustainable development is pursued in a positive way, at the heart of the Framework is a presumption in favour of sustainable development (paragraph 11). The NPPF sets out the Government's planning policies for: (amongst other things): • delivering a sufficient supply of homes; • achieving well-designed places; • conserving and enhancing the natural environment; • conserving and enhancing the historic environment. 2.2 The NPPF 2018 replaces the NPPF 2012. Transitional arrangements are in place for authorities who have submitted Local Plans on or before the 24 January 2019. To ensure consistency, the 2012 Framework policies will continue to be relevant for the purposes of examining those plans. For clarity HDC submitted their Local Plan on 29 March 2018 and the examination hearings took place in July and September 2018. This emerging Local Plan is a material consideration. The NPPF 2018 should also in the normal way be taken into account as a material consideration in dealing with applications. 2.3 Planning Practice Guidance is also relevant and a material consideration. For full details visit the government website: https://www.gov.uk 3. PLANNING POLICIES 3.1 Saved policies from the Huntingdonshire Local Plan (1995) • H23: Outside Settlements • H30: Existing Residential Areas • H31: Residential privacy and amenity standards • H37: Environmental pollution • H38: Noise Pollution • T18: Access requirements for new development • T19: Pedestrian Routes and Footpath • T20: Cycle Routes • T21: Public Transport Services • R1: Recreation and Leisure Provision • R2: Recreation and Leisure Provision • R3: Recreation and Leisure Provision • R7 Land and Facilities • R8: Land and Facilities • R12: Land and Facilities • En12: Archaeological Implications • En13: Archaeological Implications • En14: Open spaces and frontages • En17: Development in the Countryside • En18: Protection of countryside features • En19: Trees and Landscape • En20: Landscaping Scheme • En22: Conservation • En23: Conservation • En24: Access for the disabled • En25: General Design Criteria • CS8: Water • CS9: Flood water management 3.2 Saved policies from the Huntingdonshire Local Plan Alterations (2002): • HL5 - Quality and Density of Development • HL6 - Housing Density • HL10 – Choice in new housing • OB2 - Maintenance of Open Space 3.3 Adopted Huntingdonshire Local Development Framework Core Strategy (2009): • CS1: Sustainable development in Huntingdonshire • CS2: Strategic housing development • CS3: The Settlement Hierarchy • CS4: Affordable Housing in Development • CS10: Contributions to Infrastructure Requirements 3.4 Huntingdonshire Local Plan to 2036: Proposed Submission 2017 (as amended March 2018 for submission) replaces all previous versions of the new Local Plan and was submitted for examination on 29th March 2018. The Local Plan examination hearings ended on 27 September 2018 and the Inspector’s initial findings are that the plan can be made sound by main modifications. The following policies are considered relevant to this application: • LP1 Amount of development • LP2 Strategy for development • LP3 Green Infrastructure • LP4 Contributing to Infrastructure Delivery • LP5 Flood Risk • LP6 Waste Water Management • LP10 Small Settlements • LP11 The Countryside • LP12 Design Context • LP13 Design Implementation • LP14 Place making • LP15 Amenity