Representation to FIFEplan Main Issues Report March 2013 Milton of Balgonie Balgonie Estates Ltd Balgonie Estates Ltd 1. Introduction 1.1 This submission is made on behalf of Balgonie Estates Ltd per Muir Smith Evans, 23 Castle Street, Edinburgh, EH2 3DN, [email protected] 0131 225 7243 In respect of Candidate site LDP – MOB001. 1.2 This submission has been informed by site visits, desk top surveys and technical input from the following team: Muir Smith Evans Planning Development potential SIAS Transportation Goodson Associates Services/Utilities Flood risk/Drainage/Ground Conditions 7N Architects Previous initial landscape assessment work has also been undertaken and the initial sketch masterplan and concept design input has been provided for this submission by 7N. Balgonie Estates Ltd 2. MIR key Questions 2.1 Question 2 - Balgonie Estates supports the general approach to the spatial strategy outlined by Option 1 to maintain flexibility across a diverse and large planning authority area. It would be inappropriate to have a single spatial strategy where the landscape, topography, geography and identity are so diverse. Balgonie Estates supports the findings of the Spatial Strategy Technical Paper. 2.2 Question 6 – The Milton of Balgonie site subject to this representation is consistent with a dispersed settlement strategy but would contribute to the community and social fabric of Milton by sustaining demand for local services and providing environmental benefits at a core part of the village. There is opportunity for traffic calming, provision of open space and play facilities and the creation of a strong sense of place at the social hub of the village next to the school and village hall. The site is well located and well defined by boundary features and local topography. Balgonie Estates therefore agree with the approach outlined by Question 7. 2.3 Opportunity site LDP – MOB001 should continue to be identified by FIFEplan as an allocation for housing consistent with the spatial development strategy outlined. The remainder of this submission assesses the suitability of the site for development as required by Question 8. 2.4 In terms of FIFEplan’s preferred approach outlined in Question 10, setting a housing land requirement at 1,000 houses per year, Balgonie Estates suggest that this could be too low based on annualised average housing land requirement by housing market area. FIFEplan should seek to encourage new development and investment and provide a flexible approach to individual sites being developed in phases to establish the capacity of sites to deliver unit numbers at appropriate densities. Balgonie Estates Ltd 3. Site and context 3.1 The site is greenfield and extends to some 2.1 hectares. It is located at the eastern edge of the current developed area of Milton of Balgonie and lies directly adjacent and opposite the existing built form. 3.2 The site lies directly to the south of Main Street and opposite Milton of Balgonie Primary School and church hall. The site is bounded by the road to the north, an access track to the east and existing housing tot the west. The southern boundary extends to roughly the line of the extent of the existing developed are of the housing to the west of the site. 3.3 Further land to the south is also owned by Balgonie estates and could form part of a landscape strategy for enhancing the setting of any new development. This area slopes down to the Mill Lade and River Leven and the existing tree belt that provides a strong landscape and context for the site. The site itself sits just below the level of the road and falls gently form north to south. 3.4 The wider settlement pattern of development of Milton of Balgonie is relatively linear with frontage to the main road. The site therefore represents a natural progression to this form of development and is well located for local community facilities. 3.5 The site has no obvious physical constraints to development, no landscape/heritage or other restrictive designations. The site is owned by Balgonie Estates and could be brought forward for development within the Local Development Plan period. Initial assessment based on the core expertise of the team indicates that development of the site should be economically viable and free from abnormal site development costs. Balgonie Estates Ltd 4. Planning policy guidance 4.1 Scottish Government advice on creating place and key design principles support the sensitive development of such a site. The Scottish Government publish a series of Planning Advice Notes on Best Practice aimed to provide planning authorities and applicants guidance on shaping future developments. These are important documents and are material considerations in the determination of planning applications and in considering allocations through the development plan process. 4.2 They specifically relate to good practice and should inform planning authorities and applicants alike. Designing Streets 4.3 Designing Streets was the first policy statement in Scotland for street design and marks a change in the emphasis of guidance on street design towards place-making and away from a system focused upon the dominance of motor vehicles. Designing Streets promotes the development of places which are well integrated with adjacent land uses and requires that they are highly permeable, particularly for non-car based travel modes. PAN 67 - Housing Quality 4.4 PAN 67 recognises that the planning process has an essential role to play in ensuring that the design of new housing reflects a full understanding of its context – in terms of both physical location and market conditions; the design of new housing reinforces local and Scottish identity; and, new housing is integrated into the movement and settlement patterns of the wider area. Balgonie Estates Ltd 4.5 The guidance states that many people also want to live in a place that has a distinct identity, rather than one that could be anywhere, and that every development should be part of a place with a mix of uses…every development should be planned and designed as part of a place that does more than just house people. It also recognises that the design of a successful place will begin with understanding how new housing can be connected to the movement patterns (streets and routes) and settlement patterns (street blocks and layouts) of an area. The combination of layout of buildings, streets and spaces should create local identity and character. PAN 83 – Masterplanning 4.6 PAN 83 and PAN 68 both recognise context as a critical starting point. Development should be contained and should not be linear or sprawl or detached from the settlement edge consistent with previous advice in PAN 84, good design is about providing shape and context and providing a good environment for all. Government guidance strongly supports this approach and provides that the landscape and topography should inform and contain the layout of any new devolvement. PAN 72 – Housing in the Countryside 4.7 PAN 72 reinforces the approach and methodology outlined by PAN 83 and states “… landscapes have different capacities to accommodate development. It is therefore crucial that the proposed location and siting of new housing considers the impact on the landscape, in terms of both immediate and wider surroundings...” and that “The importance of layout within a site cannot be over stated”. Balgonie Estates Ltd PAN 44 – Fitting New Housing Development into the Landscape 4.8 This approach is supported by PAN 44 Fitting New Housing Development into the Landscape. Paragraph 9 states that “Lack of integration with the landscape is particularly noticeable on the edges of our small and medium sized towns. Many new housing developments have been planned and carried out without evident regard to existing urban form and the local landscape, or to their wider visual impact particularly when seen from road and rail approaches. Insensitive development can undermine the special environmental quality of towns and their setting in the countryside which have drawn people to live and invest in them in the first place”. Paragraph 14 goes on to state… “Careful attention to landscape fit should be given by housing developers, and the principles of good design should be applied consistently by authorities in their planning decisions”. The Milton of Balgonie opportunity site is consistent with a dispersed settlement strategy and would support local services and facilities. Balgonie Estates Ltd 5. Access & connectivity 5.1 Milton of Balgonie is located approximately 3 miles east of Glenrothes town centre. Site LDP-MOB001 is located to the eastern side of the village and is currently used for agriculture. Main Street lies to the north with Jubilee Gardens to the west. A farm track defines the eastern boundary while Mill Lade and the River Leven are to the south. 5.2 The A911, which connects Glenrothes to the west and Windygates to the east, runs to the north of the village, effectively acting as a bypass. Main Street continues as Balfour Place to the east, where there is a priority junction with the A911; Milton Braes forms a priority junction with the A911 to the west. 5.3 Main Street has a 20mph speed limit through the village, with traffic calming measures in place in the vicinity of Milton Primary School, which is directly opposite the site. Traffic flows through the village are light in absolute terms. Main Street has a footway on the northern side along its entire length. There is also footway provision along most of the southern side, although it is discontinuous in places. There is street lighting throughout the village. Core Path 388 runs along the eastern boundary of the site. Milton of Balgonie Bus Services 5.4 Planning Advice Note 75 (PAN75) suggests that a typical Key Calling Points Service Operator Typical Frequencies (min) maximum walking distance to bus stops in 400m while the typical Number (Mon-Fri/Sat/Sun) distance to local amenities is 1,600m.