KNIGHTON MILL DESIGN AND ACCESS STATEMENT Planning Issue: MAY ‘17 CONTENTS 1.0 Introduction 2.0 Site Assessment 3.0 Existing Building 4.0 Planning History 5.0 Policy 6.0 Proposal 7.0 Sustainability 8.0 Landscape Proposals 9.0 Access 10.0 Conclusion 11.0 Appendix 3 1.0 Introduction This statement has been prepared in support of a full planning application for the proposed demolition and replacement of the single family dwelling at Knighton Mill, Knighton Road, Broad Chalke, SP5 5DX. This document sets out the site context & its surroundings, as well as the historical development of the building and overall site. This background information helped form the previous proposal which was submitted as a Pre-Planning Application (16/10326/ PREAPP) to Wiltshire County Council in October 2016. The new proposals address the consultee responses and is developed alongside further supporting documents which accompany this application. The final proposals describes the progression of the design and it’s rationale, considered against relevant planning policy. This statement is submitted to meet the current statutory requirement for a Design and Access Statement in accordance with DCLG 01/2006. The client has a passion for high quality design and from the outset perceived this as an opportunity to build a family home which compliments the natural beauty of the unique site setting. This document should be read in conjunction with the accompanying documentation: • Planning Statement - JPPC - Chartered Town Planners • Ecological assessments - Davidson-Watts Ecology • Flood risk assessment - Glanville Consultants Ltd • Heritage Statement of Significance - Assett Heritage • Landscape Visual Impact Assessment (LVIA)- arc Landscape Design & Planning Ltd • Tree Survey & arboricultural method statement (ABS) - Hawes Arborists • Landscape Proposals - Andy Sturgeon Design • Archaeology assessment – CgMs • Environment & Lighting Studies - Quinn Ross Consultants Ltd 4 KNIGHTON MILL Knighton Mill is located within the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Area of The proposal as set out in this document seeks to replace the existing building rather Outstanding Natural Beauty. Properties nearest to the application site include than to extend even more thus further diluting the original building. A recent Pre-Planning Hatchfield House and Knighton Manor, a grade II listed building. application (16/10326/PREAPP) was submitted with this brief in mind and the current proposals look to address the feedback provided. Knighton Mill is a detached dwellinghouse which, as the name suggests was a former mill. The house was constructed as a mill at the end of the 19th/early 20th century. It was The replacement building would be of the highest design quality, would be located in a converted into a dwellinghouse in 1990 at which time it was altered significantly and similar position on the site and would be designed to provide a memory of the former mill extended. The main mill machinery and original watermill have since been removed. in a contemporary idiom. The site would be landscaped in a manner which enhanced it within the wider setting. As with the existing buildings, whilst there would be some near The building is visible from the nearby right of way but it is not readily visible in the wider views, the building would not be highly visible in the wider landscape of the AONB. landscape. The existing building has been altered significantly following various permissions for additional extensions and is therefore not of listable quality (see Heritage Statement) with much of its original character as a late mill building which has been lost or subsumed. A previous full planning application -15/10658/FUL undertaken by current owners in 2015 was subsequently granted for substantial additional extensions to the building, as discussed later in more detail. However, critically the planing officer makes clear that an enlarged house does not form a significant part of the visual setting of the neighbouring listed building, Knighton Manor, having a divorced relationship from it and also has a limited impact to the visibility of the site within the AONB. 5 2.0 Site Assessment 2.1 Location & setting Knighton Mill is located off of Knighton Road, to the east of the village of Broad Chalke. The application site consists of an existing three storey detached dwelling which nestles The area, within the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire AONB, consists predominantly within and spans the confluence of three sections of the river Ebble. The dwelling is of agricultural land which has been commercially farmed for many years set back approximately 100m from Knighton Road, behind a heavily screened mature boundary and is not readily visible from the carriageway. The application site sits to the south of open fields which also fall within the ownership of the client. The neighbouring properties of Hatchfield House and Grade II listed Knighton The Mill is partially visible from elevated positions on the Cranbourne Chase to the Manor are located to the south the site and consist of large detached buildings with south of the site and from an adjacent right of way, but is not readily visible in the wider accompanying out buildings. landscape. 6 KNIGHTON MILL 2.2 Site characteristics 7 2.3 2.4 Access Climate Access to the site is off Knighton Road, via a = Application boundary The site is located on a plot which is not overshadowed by neighbouring building and private access road which is defined by the route development of the plot will not have implications of light or overshadowing on others. = Knighton Road of a public pathway which runs along the south western site boundary. = Public footpath The prevailing wind is from the south west, any sheltering from the neighbouring buildings is thought to be negligable. = Access road Prevailing wind Hatchfield House Knighton Manor 8 KNIGHTON MILL 2.5 2.6 Topography Views Topography in the application site is largely level ground with localised steeper gradients The prominent views from the existing & proposed dwelling are of features within the where land falls to meet the river Ebble. site application boundary, with short views of the three bodies of water which border the The location of the exisitng & proposed dwelling stradles the river Ebble and has a level dwelling plot, and longer views of the open lawned gardens to the north and east. change of c. 1m across the building footprint. 9 2.7 Views Into Site Landscape Visual Impact Assessment As part of the Pre-Planning application Spratley Studios undertook several key views of the site from the surrounding area which demonstrated the existing building was well screened and therefore the proposal located on approximately the same footprint would also have a minimal impact. Various consultees from the LPA commented this exercise should be undertaken by a suitably qualified person and professionally recorded, it was advised the photos of the site should not be taken during the summer months when the trees are at their most full. During the spring 2017 whilst the trees where still relatively sparse Arc Landscape Design and Planning Ltd (Arc) were commissioned to undertake a Landscape Visual Impact Assessment, which forms part of this application. Before undertaking the site assessment Arc spoke with the AONB officer to establish the key views within the landscape. A total of 14 photographs were taken including public rights of way, boundary views & from access roads. In summary to the report, the general Landscape Character Assessment (LCA) around the site was classified as highly sensitive falling within the Cranbourne Chase Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty but over 1km to the nearest conservation area. As similar to the Pre-Planning studies the documented photographs of the site illustrate the buildings to be well hidden with the landscape and therefore the Magnitude of Change upon this LCA was thought to be low. The report recognises the proposal including the modern glazed extension which will have some bearing on the site when viewed close up however in the wider character area of the AONB amongst the foliage it was thought the impact is limited and not considered to result in any degree of harm or degradation to it. It could be argued the reflective surface of the glazing will mirror the surrounding landscaping and help the building to blend in. In accordance with the AONB objectives the report also identifies the potential for lighting pollution to the greater landscape at night which has been addressed later in the report through a mitigation proposal by a qualified specialist. Example figures & photos from LVIA document 10 KNIGHTON MILL 2.8 Site History The parish of Broad Chalke lies on the southern border of the county, approximately ten miles from Salisbury. Rectangular in shape, the parish is nearly all chalk downland. The village is at the centre, with the hamlets of Stoke Farthing and Knighton to the east. The river Ebble flows eastwards through the village and parish. In 955 Wilton Abbey was granted an estate called Chalke; this included land in Broad Chalke. At the Dissolution it was granted to Sir William Herbert (created Earl of Pembroke 1551). The Chalke manor remained in the family until 1919, after which it was gradually broken up and sold as individual farms. The Herberts had also acquired the manors of Knighton and Stoke Farthing by 1608, these were also sold in the 20th century. There were five mills on Wilton Abbey’s Chalke estate in 1066, one or more of which may have been in what became Broad Chalke parish. The Andrews and Dury map from 1773 shows two mills, one just north of Broad Chalke church and the other at Knighton. The mill near the church had been demolished by 1886. The water mill at Knighton was still in use in 1984, housed in a brick building from the 19th century, it was used to pump water and occasionally to grind corn.