The Fordingbridge Community Forum acknowledges with thanks the financial support provided by the New Forest District Council and Awards for All towards the production of this report which was designed and printed by Phillips Associates and James Byrne Printing Ltd. CONTENTS LIST ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS As an important adjunct to the Fordingbridge 1 Introduction 2 Health Check, work began on a Town Design Statement for Fordingbridge in 2005. A revised 2 Historical context 3 remit resulted in a fresh attempt being made in 2007. To ensure that the ultimate statement would 3 Map of area covered by this Design Statement 5 be a document from the local community, an invi- tation was circulated to many organisations and 4 The Rural Areas surrounding the town 6 individuals inviting participation in the project. Nearly 50 people attended an initial meeting in 5 Street map of Fordingbridge and Ashford 1 9 January 2007, some of whom agreed to join work- ing parties to survey the area. Each working party 6 Map of Fordingbridge Conservation Area 10 wrote a detailed description of its section. These were subsequently combined and edited to form 7 Plan of important views 11 this document. 8 Fordingbridge Town Centre 12 The editors would like to acknowledge the work carried out by many local residents in surveying 9 The Urban Area of Fordingbridge outside the the area, writing the descriptions and taking pho- Town Centre 18 tographs. They are indebted also to the smaller number who attended several meetings to review, 10 Bickton 23 amend and agree the document’s various drafts. 11 Ashford 24 The Fordingbridge Community Forum also acknowledges with thanks the advice and guid- 12 Tinkers Cross and Burgate 25 ance provided by officials from the New Forest District Council and Planning Aid South whose 13 Guidelines 27 knowledge and experience informed the process and preparation of the Statement. The street map Appendix 1: Design Related Issues 29 of Fordingbridge and Ashford (1) is reproduced by kind permission of Codair Design and Publicity Appendix 2: References 32 Ltd. Appendix 3: Consultation Process 33 Fordingbridge Town Design Statement 1 1. INTRODUCTION our own area. The recommendations included suggest areas or aspects capable of improvement and could act as a spur to the community action t is well over ten years since the concept of the necessary to secure them. I local design statement was launched national- ly. Since then there has been a steady progression The statement itself will be open to review in the of statements covering towns and villages across years ahead, when a new generation will recon- the country. Each one represents a substantial vol- sider these matters. It is the hope of those who ume of hard work by volunteers who have looked have prepared this statement that their efforts will hard at the character of their own localities and assist the development of Fordingbridge in a way tried to describe them in terms readily understood that secures its essential nature, and that it will by others. In so doing they have highlighted provide insight and encouragement to those who aspects that are important to the well-being of the will take up this task in the future. community and should be considered when improvements or further developments are con- sidered. They have also noted matters of concern, Note 1 indicating aspects that are capable of improve- ment. The statement has been prepared by a group of volunteers, members of the Fordingbridge A town design statement is not intended to Community Forum, drawn from many back- replace existing planning policies, some of which grounds, none of whom had previous experience are listed in the reference section. Nor is it a sub- of drafting a document of this kind. It is offered stitute for the protection given to the two partic- as ‘the people’s voice’ and may contain, therefore, ular areas of Fordingbridge through conservation terminology and phraseology that are not ‘plan- area status. Once adopted by the local planning ning speak’. However, its authors have made authority as a Supplementary Planning Document, every endeavour to write the statement in terms it allows the local voice to be heard when appli- that will be clear to both lay and professional read- cations within these policies are considered. The ers. intention, though, is not to fix the area in a 20th / 21st century time warp. Such an intention would Note 2 be quite contrary to the varied building styles that indicate the town’s gradual development over sev- A Guideline sets down design principles that will eral centuries. It is important that this sense of the normally apply based on the distinctive local char- town as a living organism is maintained, as the var- acter of a town or village. Once a design state- ied styles give both opportunity for diverse occu- ment has been adopted as a Supplementary pancy and an overall richer environment for its Planning Document, guidelines become a material inhabitants. A town design statement can thereby consideration when planning applications or help to shape the nature of developments so that appeals are being considered. they fit within the rural or built environment for which they are proposed. The Fordingbridge A Recommendation expresses a matter of con- Design Statement should therefore become a val- cern that the local community wishes to bring to ued reference source for the local planning the attention of the relevant authority with a view authority,the New Forest District Council, when it to influencing policy in a way that will secure considers applications for new development and appropriate action to achieve the change sought. for significant alterations to existing properties. It should be consulted by those seeking design Note 3 guidance to prepare development proposals that will be acceptable, and also by local property Appendix 1 offers an overview of design related owners considering alterations to their premises issues. The remit of a design statement sets the that require planning consent. parameters of what may be included in a supple- mentary planning document. The matters The statement may also help local residents to referred to in the Appendix fall outside those look more appreciatively at the physical fabric of parameters but are clearly concerns of impor- 2 Fordingbridge Town Design Statement tance to the community. They cover issues: most of the medieval town of which only traces G of broad concern to the community; exist but did not lead to extensive redesigning of G not readily conveyed by the more detailed and its basic layout. The town today, therefore, is pri- very local descriptions in much of the state- marily a post 1750 development on the medieval ment; and, structure. It carries within it most of the small G relating to the development of future policy, town building styles favoured at various times some of which arise from the draft Local since. As has been noted, planning regulation has Development Framework (LDF) for the period deterred the worst types of urban sprawl. As with 2006-2026. the earlier part of the town, the development that has been permitted bears the architectural style For these reasons, it is considered that, though not and preferences favoured over the decades. formally part of the design statement, they should be held together with it, expressing as they do Towards the end of the Victorian period, the town both concern and hope. gained prominence as a centre for tourism not least because of its annual regatta which at the 2. HISTORICAL CONTEXT time was as important as Henley. This was strengthened by the convenient access provided ometimes known as the Northern Gateway by the railway, the station for Fordingbridge being S to the New Forest, Fordingbridge now stands at Ashford. With increased personal mobility just outside the boundary of the New Forest extended by the motor car, the town’s role as a National Park. Boundaries are not unimportant. It commercial centre declined though its shops and is important, however, to note that they are a facilities remain important for many in the sur- human creation for the convenience of ownership rounding villages. Its tourist potential has sur- and administration. Landscape itself knows noth- vived both the demise of the regatta and the clo- ing of them. sure of the railway. So the location of Fordingbridge is to be seen Among the features valued by many people is the within its natural, not its administrative, context. spread of open spaces throughout the town. Chosen as early as pre-Roman times as the most Many of these are public space with some includ- suitable crossing point on this stretch of the river ing small recreational provision for younger chil- Avon, the town’s name introduces this long histo- dren. The largest public space is the recreation ry. ‘Forde’,as it is described in the Domesday Book ground that borders the eastern bank of the river within the manor of Nether (Lower) Burgate, was Avon. This has been enhanced over the years extended at a later date to include the increasing through updated facilities and some,albeit limited, importance of this mediaeval town now riverside walking. It is now an attractive sporting approached from the east over a fine stone bridge. venue which doubles up for particular events, The town sits primarily on the gravel terraces some of which are drawn to the town by its avail- along the river’s west bank, this alignment deter- ability, excellent situation, and the willingness of mining its linear structure. the town council to welcome well-organised event use. Such use also brings economic benefit The town is approached from all directions to the town.