Hart District Council Local Plan Site Assessment: Stage 2 – High Level Site Assessment – SHL153 – Brook House, Fleet Confidential Draft - 1.1 – April 2015 High Level Site Assessment Proforma Site Reference SHL153 Site Name Brook house, Fleet Parish Blackwater & Hawley Site Address Brook house, Fleet Capacity Assessment and Categorisation Site Size (ha) 45.8ha (Reduced to 8ha) Estimated Capacity 144 Comments on capacity The site contains areas of Flood Zone 3, a SINC, Ancient Woodland and parts are within the 400m TBH SPA Exclusion Zone. Due to the configuration of the flood risk areas across the site and areas of woodland to the north it is likely that development will be restricted to the area around the previously developed land in the centre of the site and the land to the south, which is not located within Flood Zone 3. The reduced area was used to calculate the capacity using a dph figure of 18 (in accordance with gross-to-net ratio of 60%). Housing Strategy Category(s) 2 – Dispersal Strategy Land Supply Category D – Potential Rural exceptions (Although the site does adjoin the settlement boundary to the south it is unlikely that the boundary would be extended to include the whole site as the majority of it is not developable.) Key to Site Assessments: No overriding constraint to development of the site Constraint requiring further detailed assessment Major constraint undermining suitability of site Site Assessment Assessment Criteria Assessment comments Coloured assessment Accessibility to o Bus Stop: (opp Harvest Crescent – Bus route No. 72, 77) – 0.99km Employment and o Railway Station (Fleet) - 1.64km services o Employment Centre (N. Ancells Road) - 0.99km o Public Open Space: Ancells Road Park) – 1.64km o Health facility: (Fleet Medical Centre) 2.76km o Primary School: (Elvethem Heath Primary School) – 3.24km o Secondary School: (Calthorpe Park School) – 4.85km o Supermarket: (Sainsburys - Fleet) – 2.76km Infrastructure Whilst this site is located within the Blackwater and Hawley Parish, it is much more likely that the site will be provision serviced by the Fleet area due to the wider choice of schools, shops and health facilities coupled with shorter travelling distances. Adams Hendry Consulting Ltd 1 Hart District Council Local Plan Site Assessment: Stage 2 – High Level Site Assessment – SHL153 – Brook House, Fleet Confidential Draft - 1.1 – April 2015 Schools: There is a projected (2018) deficit of 3% for infant/primary schools in the Fleet area. This takes into account the planned 1FE expansion of Church Crookham Junior School. Therefore additional housing not already planned for will exacerbate the deficit. Dogmersfield Primary is unlikely to have any capacity, as it is currently oversubscribed. For secondary schools the projected (2018) surplus in the Fleet area is 9%. Retail: The most recent evidence found that there is no pressing need to increase convenience and comparison floorspace. However, some of Fleetʼs supermarkets are overtrading (inc. Waitrose) and there is a modest deficit in convenience floorspace. Therefore, additional housing not already planned for will increase the need to expand retail floorspace (convenience and comparison) in the Fleet area. It is also more likely that consumers will travel to Farnborough for comparative shops than Fleet due to the wider variety of shops and entertainment available. Health: Richmond Surgery (Fleet) has been identified in a previous PCT Estates plan as having potential for improvement. Any additional housing not already planned for will exacerbate any deficiencies at that surgery. Transport (road): From the available evidence, there are several road/junction improvements in close proximity to the site, including improvements to the A3013 Fleet Road/Minley Road roundabout, which is currently operating at full capacity during peak travelling times. In addition, the latest available HCC Transport Statement (project schedule) indicates that the other junctions in central Fleet require improvement and this need could be exacerbated by development on this site. Transport (other): Stagecoach has recently reorganised several bus routes in Hart. There is currently no bus service operating along the Minley Road north of the M3, the closest Bus route is the 72 from Farnborough to Reading via Fleet, which is approximately a 1km walk to the nearest stop. The HCC Transport statement notes a wide range of improvements required in the cycle path infrastructure of Fleet and also the on-going improvements required at Fleet Railway Station. Green Infrastructure: The Hart Infrastructure Delivery Schedule highlights that this site could benefit from two strategic projects, which could help to address future deficit; These are the replacement of Hart Leisure Centre at Hitches Lane, and the Hitches Lane Country Park improvements. There is a lack of provision in certain types of infrastructure in the area and development on the site will only increase the pressure on existing services. It is unlikely that the site is of sufficient size to provide the supporting infrastructure onsite. Current Use and Most of the site is agricultural land and woodland. However, parts also appear to be used for residential purposes. Relevant Planning It contains properties and farm buildings with areas of open grassland and woodland. Refer to separate sheet for History planning history. Adams Hendry Consulting Ltd 2 Hart District Council Local Plan Site Assessment: Stage 2 – High Level Site Assessment – SHL153 – Brook House, Fleet Confidential Draft - 1.1 – April 2015 Nature Conservation Site is within the 5km Thames Basin Heaths SPA Zone of Influence. A site of this scale is unlikely be within the capacity of the Hitches Lane SANG to mitigate its potential impact on the TBH SPA. Therefore on-site provision should be required. This site contains a small area (< 5%) of land to the west of the site designated Brook Meadow SINC. Approximately 20% of the site is within a 400-meter Exclusion Zone of the nearby Thames Basin Heath SPA, which is located 130m to the west. Approximately 15% of the site is covered by Ancient Woodland. The site is adjoined by SINCs on three sides (Mallards Copse, Minley Wood South and Tobridge Copse) and Foxlease and Ancellʼs Meadows SSSI is 85m to the north. There are groups of TPOs to the south and Elvetham Heath, a local nature reserve, is located 620m to the southwest. Overall, the site is considered to be severely constrained in relation to nature conservation. Minerals Resources The Hampshire Minerals and Waste Plan Policies Map indicates that a small part of the site to the northwest corner may be subject to minerals safeguarding for sharp sand and gravel (policy 15 of the Hampshire minerals and waste plan). The extent to which this represents a constraint to development would need to be assessed. Landscape HCC Integrated LCA (2012) Landscape type: Lowland mosaic heath associated Landscape character: Northeast Hampshire Plantations and Heath Hart District LCA 1997: Landscape type: patchwork of farmland, open heath, parkland and woodland Landscape Character Area: Minley Main features of the Minley LCA: The extensive open commons of Yateley and Hawley that are heavily used for recreation. The LCA has a suburbanised and fragmented character created by the intrusion of roads especially the M3 and A327. The wooded parkland landscape of Minley Manor is also contained within this LCA. Summary Assessment: The landscape character of the site is consistent with the wooded parkland surrounding Minley Manor. As a result the site is well screened, with dense lines or trees or areas of woodland on all sides. The potential for views from any publically accessible locations is low suggesting that visual impact from the development of the site would be limited. However, whilst the integrity of the LCA is compromised to the south of the Motorway due to the level of development and the road infrastructure, to the north of the M3, the landscape character remains rural and largely undeveloped. Therefore, irrespective of any visibility of the development at the site, it would have the potential to significantly harm the landscape character. Agricultural Land This site is on a mixed area of Grade 4 agricultural land and Non-Agricultural land. Adams Hendry Consulting Ltd 3 Hart District Council Local Plan Site Assessment: Stage 2 – High Level Site Assessment – SHL153 – Brook House, Fleet Confidential Draft - 1.1 – April 2015 Heritage Assets The site itself contains Brook House, which is a locally listed building. The northern boundary is adjacent to Minley Manor historic park grounds and a Grade II listed lodge house is located immediately to the north of the site. Water resources and There are no groundwater source protection zones in close proximity to the site, but there is a licensed medium quality size surface water abstraction point 250 meters south of the site, which could pose a constraint to development on site, therefore further assessment is required. Air Quality The site is not within an Air Quality Management Zone, however consideration would need to be given to the proximity of the M3 motorway, which is adjacent to the south. Flood risk Approximately a 50% of the site is within Flood Zone 2 and/or Zone 3 and so would not be appropriate for residential development. The area surrounding Minley Brook, which runs through the site, has the potential for surface water flooding. The entire site has limited potential for groundwater flooding but there are no risks of flooding from artificial sources (reservoirs). Location and scale of The M3 Motorway separates the site from the settlement boundary of Fleet. The centre of the site appears to be development used for residential purposes, containing dwellings and farm buildings but the majority is greenfield. It is located within The Strategic Gap, which separates Fleet and Farnborough and settlements to the north of the district. Although development of the site may not cause coalescence between the settlements, it would extend the line of development north of the M3, which is currently not the case in this location.