hybrid planning application for mixed use development … at hillborough... · development. the...

PegasusGroup

LON.0242_57A | JUNE 2017

ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENTNON TECHNICAL SUMMARY

LAND AT HILLBOROUGHHERNE BAY

HYBRID PLANNING APPLICATION FOR MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT ON

COPYRIGHT The contents of this document must not be copied or reproduced in whole or in part without the written consent of Pegasus Planning Group Ltd.Crown copyright. All rights reserved, Licence number 100042093.

PegasusGroup

CONTENTS1 Introduction 1

2 Approach to Environmental Assessment 4

3 Application Site & Context 5

4 Proposed Development 9

Construction 13

Alternatives 14

Cumulative Assessment 18

5 Summary of Environmental Baseline & Assessment of Effects 20

Socio Economic 20

Ecology & Nature 24

Landscape & Visual Amenity 28

Transport & Access 34

Air Quality 40

Noise & Vibration 42

Water Resources & Flood Risk 46

Ground Conditions & Contamination 48

Agriculture 49

Archaeology & Cultural Heritage 50

6 Conclusion 52

FIGURE 1.1 SITE LOCATION PLAN

LAND AT HILLBOROUGH | HERNE BAY ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENT - NON TECHNICAL SUMMARY 1

Taylor Wimpey UK Limited is seeking to obtain planning permission for a mixed use development on allocated land at Hillborough, Herne Bay, Kent.

The proposal comprises of a hybrid, mixed use development. The reason that the application is a hybrid application is that the application with outline planning consent for the site with detailed plans being submitted for Phase 1. The remaining phases of the development are considered against the Master Plan (See Figure 1.2) and the ‘principle’ of such a development in this location. Matters relating to the layout, scale, appearance, and landscaping are reserved for future consideration. Before these later phases could be constructed detailed plans would have to be submitted to the Local Planning Authority and further planning consent granted.

It is proposed that the outline section of this application would result in the construction of up to 761 new dwellings, 33,000 sq m new employment and commercial floorspace, a 65 bed care home and/or a children’s day nursery and/or a children’s soft play facility; local shopping facilities; a new community centre; a 2 form entry primary school; new public open space including a Local Equipped Area of Play, allotments and playing pitches. There will also be the provision of realigned vehicular access to Sweechbridge Road (south); new west bound on slip to, and modified westbound off-slip from, A299 Thanet Way to Heart in Hand Road, improvement works to the existing May Street road network including enabling work within the public highway over May Street Bridge to provide the necessary services and utilities infrastructure.

Associated internal roads, footpaths and cycleways to facilitate movement within the site including access to Altria Business Park and to land to the west (Site 3 Allocation).

Phase 1 of this proposal would result in the creation of 194 new dwellings (including affordable housing); a local equipped play area, a new vehicle, pedestrian and cyclist access (via a priority junction) onto Sweechbridge Road (north);upgraded alignment of May Street; associated internal roads/footpaths/cycleways; sustainable drainage systems; earthworks; public open space, landscaping (inc woodland) and street lighting.

The site is located within the area of Canterbury City Council (CCC)

This document provides a Non-Technical Summary (NTS) of the Environmental Statement (ES) which has been submitted with the planning application.

The ES is a document that sets out the findings of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). An EIA is a process for identifying the likely significance of environmental effects, both positive and negative, that may occur as a result of a proposed development. The EIA has been undertaken alongside a number of supporting technical studies, which together have been used to inform the design of the proposed development.

1. INTRODUCTION

2 ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENT - NON TECHNICAL SUMMARY LAND AT HILLBOROUGH | HERNE BAY

FIGURE 1.2 MASTERPLAN


The full findings of the EIA are presented in a comprehensive set of documents that should be available to view at the offices of Canterbury City Council. The contact details are:

Planning Department Council OfficesMilitary RoadCanterburyKentCT1 1YW

Telephone: (01227) 862 178Email: [email protected]

Copies of this NTS (no charge) and/or the ES Main Report, Figures and Appendices (£75 plus postage), or the complete ES in CD format (£10) are available from:

Pegasus Group Limited23 Hanover Square LondonW1S 1JB

Tel: 020 3705 8060Email: [email protected]: LON.0242


2. APPROACH TO ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT

The EIA identified and assessed the likely significance of effects on the environment during both the construction of the development and associated works, and when they are occupied (i.e. during operation).

The ES sets out the findings of the EIA, providing the data used to identify and assess any environmental effects, and a description of the measures proposed to avoid, reduce or remedy, if possible, any identified significant negative effects.

The EIA considered the following environmental themes:

• Socio Economics;

• Ecology and Nature Conservation;

• Landscape and Visual Amenity;

• Transport and Access;

• Air Quality;

• Noise and Vibration;

• Water Resources and Flood Risk;

• Ground Conditions and Contamination;

• Agriculture; and

• Archaeology and Cultural Heritage.

The potential environmental effects and the evaluation of their significance were carried out in accordance with the relevant industry standards and legislation where available. Where such standards and legislation did not exist the assessment was carried out based on the available knowledge and professional judgement.

The effects have been assessed with reference to three plans, referred to as the ‘parameter plans’ which set out the main access, broad development, building heights and landscaping areas with accompanying description defining the limits of the proposed development.


3. APPLICATION SITE AND CONTEXT

The site comprises 55.7 hectares (137.63 acres) with Phase 1 being approximately 12 hectares (29.6 acres) of the site, which is mainly agricultural land. The site is located approximately 2.5km to the east of Herne Bay town centre directly to the south of the local residential areas known as Hillborough, Bishopstone and Beltinge. (see Figure 1.1: Site Location).

The site is dissected by the South Eastern Network railway that provides services between London Victoria/London St Pancras and Ramsegate/Folkstone.; the railway is in a cutting as it passes through the site. The site lies approximately 3km to the east of Herne Bay railway station. Herne Bay, and the Site, lies principally to the north of the A299 Thanet Way dual carriageway. This is the principle east-west highway route in the area, providing links to the Thanet towns to the east and the strategic highway network via the M2 to the west. The site has excellent links to this network via an all movements junction from Sweechbridge Road and Heart in the Hand Road on its eastern boundary and via The Boulevard/Margate Road to the west. Links towards the A28 and Canterbury are also via the A299 and the A291, as well as numerous other routes.

There are several routes available from the site’s western boundary to The Boulevard to provide access to the numerous services and facilities within Herne Bay via walking and cycling, with a committed supermarket proposed on the site’s western boundary, further reducing the need to travel by car for further retail opportunities. There is also an existing primary school to the northeast on Sweechbridge Road/Reculver Lane, the local stores on Recluver Road, both of which are within an easy walk of the site.

Eight fields, divided by ditches and remnant hedgerows forms the Site. Small blocks and strips of woodland and scrub occur, principally around and towards the edges of the site. The agricultural land is a mixture of Grade 2, 3a, 3b and a very small percentage of non-agricultural land such as tracks and woodland.

Current vehicular access through the site is via a single track road called May Street. May Street extends from the northwest corner of the site, before looping around to the junction of Heart in Hand Road and Sweechbridge Road, via a rail overbridge. Bogshole Lane extends west from May Street before turning south south-west via a rail over footbridge to the south, where there is a junction with the A299.

The landform of the Site has subtle undulations with landform varying between c32m and 37m AOD, the highest point of which occurs towards the centre of the site. A number of Public Rights of Way (PRoW) traverse the site with Bogshole Lane and May Street forming ‘other routes with public access’. The remainder of the land is privately owned and not accessible to the public.

The site is not subject to any ecological, landscape or heritage designations. There are a number within of ecology designations the vicinity of the Site. Six statutory sites of international importance occur within a 10km radius, including Special Protection Areas (SPA), Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) and Ramsar Sites. Three of the six internationally designated sites which occur within approximately 5km of the Site are also partly or wholly designated as Nationally Important Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and/or National Reserves (NNR’s). A further two sites of local importance occur within 5km. The closest of all of these designations is Thanet Coast which is approximately


FIGURE 2.1: ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGNATIONS PLAN


0.7km from the northern boundary. This site is a SPA, RAMSAR and SSSI. It is separated from this coastline by a band of modern housing. This coastline is not a section of Heritage Coast.

One non-statutory designated wildlife site, Reculver Country Park occurs c.0.7km north of the Application Site. This site comprises of coastal, grassland and marine habitat supporting a number of notable bird species, and forms part of the Thanet Coast SSSI/SPA and Bishopsone Cliffs Local Nature Reserve (LNR).

As stated above the site is not subject to any local or national landscape heritage designations. There are no Registered Parks and Gardens or statutory designations within the vicinity of the Site. Herne Bay Conservation Area is separated from the Proposed Development by the existing residential areas, including a modern single story development, and this is anticipated to form the foreground of any potential views towards the proposed development from within the Conservation Area. The other local Conservation Area is the Broomfield

Conservation Area which abuts the southern boundary of Thanet Way towards the southwest corner of the site. Broomfield Pond (CL94) is 390m south of the Site and is Registered Common Land.

No Listed Buildings occur within or adjacent to the Site. A number of Grade II Listed Buildings occur within 500m of the Site. These include Forge House (Grade II) 310m north east; St Mary’s Cottage (Grade II) 340m north east; Reculver War Memorial (Grade II) 450m north east and the Church of St Mary the Virgin (Grade II) 450 north east.

Two locally listed buildings also occur in close proximity to the site, including one 100m west of the Site comprising a locally listed building (7166) Kent HER: TR 16 NE1094) of Early to Mid-19th century two storey weather boarded building is close to a c.17th century barn, part of Blacksole Farm, and again locally listed (7167).

VIEW FROM SITE TOWARDS ALTIRA BUSINESS PARK AND BUND ALONG THANET WAY


The Site is defined to the north by existing residential developments off Puffin Road, Petrel Close and Fulmar Way. The Hillborough Business Park, comprising a number of small business units and open stage areas, lies to the northeast off Heart in Hand Road, and is separated from the eastern boundary of the Site by a narrow green buffer.

Herne Bay Wastewater Treatment Works at Hawthorn lies to the east of the site, east of Sweechbridge Road. The A299 Thanet Way dual carriageway forms the southern boundary of the site, with agricultural land extending to the south.

The southern part of the western boundary is formed by the Altria Business Park (from which it is separated by Bogshole Lane), including land that has recently been subject to planning for a new foodstore. The

remainder of the western boundary is defined by other land within the Hillborough Strategic Allocation site in the ownership of A E (Estates Development) Ltd and Kitewood Estates Ltd, which is presently in agricultural use.

Within the vicinity of the Site underlying geology predominatly comprises Head Deposits to unknown depths, whilst the bedrock comprises the London Clay Formation (38m thickness), Woodwich Beds (16m thickness), Thanet Beds (44m thickness) and Upper Chalk Formation (54m thickness). The Environment Agency Groundwater Vulnerability Zone mapping (1:750,000) and 1:10,000 scale) highlights a Secondary A Aquifer within Gravel and Sand head Deposits within the North East of the Site. The site is not located within a groundwater Source Protection Zone.

VIEW FROM SITE TOWARDS HOUSING ON PUFFIN ROAD AND PETREL CLOSE


4. THE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT

In summary, the proposed development comprises:

• Earth moving, where necessary, to provide a level area upon which to build, which may vary in height up to 2m higher or lower than the existing ground;

• The construction of up to 955 new dwellings over the whole Application Site. Of this 194 new dwellings are proposed for Phase 1;

• The construction of new buildings providing up to 33,000m2 of employment units for a mixture of office space, research and development, light industrial and storage and distribution;

• The construction of a 65 bed care home up to 4,500m2 and/or;

• The construction of a children’s day nursery up to 1,500m2 and/or;

• The construction of a children’s soft play/gym facility up to 1,500m2;

• The construction of local shopping facilities including a convenience store up to 500m2 and three retail units up to 300 m2;

• The construction of a new Community Centre up to 550m2;

• The construction of a new two form entry Primary School with associated parking, drop off/pick-up provision and open space;

• New Public Open Space including two equipped areas of play, allotments and playing pitches (with changing facilities and parking);

• Creation of new landscaping and ecological mitigations (including the creation of a landscaped bund along Thanet Way (A299);

• Provision of a new vehicular access to Sweechbridge Road (south);

• Creation of new west bound slip to, and modified westbound off-slip from, A299 Thanet Way to Heart in Hand Road;

• Improvement works to the existing May Street road network including enabling work within the public highway over May Street Bridge to provide the necessary services and utilities infrastructure.

• Associated internal roads, footpaths and cycleways to facilitate movement within the site including access to Altira Business park and to the land to the west (Site 3 Allocation).

• Creation of a new vehicular, access (via priority junction) on to Sweechbridge Road (north);

• Upgrade alignment of May Street; associated internal roads/footpaths and cycleways

• The construction of associated buildings such as cycle stores, waste bin stores etc, access roads, footpaths, service areas, parking, fencing, lighting and the provision of utilities; and

• Surface water drainage.


FIGURE 4.1: LAND USE & BUILDING HEIGHTS PARAMETER PLAN


FIGURE 4.2: ACCESS & MOVEMENT PARAMETER PLAN


FIGURE 4.3: GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE PARAMETER PLAN


CONSTRUCTIONThe main construction works are expected to start during 2019 following planning permission and the necessary approvals, and after a period of ecological, landscape and archaeological works. The main construction works are anticipated to take approximately 3 years with occupation of the all the buildings within Phase 1 by 2022. The remaining phases of the Proposed Development will be constructed after this. Once the main construction programme is complete, further ecological and landscape works would be carried out.

The Applicant would prepare a Construction Environmental Management Plan (CEMP) that sets out the agreed methods and procedures for demolition and construction works, and standard measures and best practice to ensure that the risks to the environment are avoided or appropriately managed. The details of the CEMP would be agreed with the Council before works start and then monitored, and revised where necessary, throughout the construction phase.


ALTERNATIVESThe Applicant has considered the following alternatives to the proposed development:

• The ‘No Development’ Alternative; and

• Alternative Designs.

The ‘No Development’ Alternative refers to the option of leaving the Application Site in its current use and physical state.

Without development the land remains as agricultural land and it would be highly likely that CCC would default on delivering their volume of new housing stock to assist with the ongoing and expanding needs for new housing within Britain. This is especially true as the land has been identified as a draft Strategic Allocation by virtue of draft Policy SP3 ‘Site Strategic Allocations’ in Canterbury City Local Plan Publication Draft (June 2014). Identified as ‘Site 3’, the draft policy wording

makes provision for 1,300 dwellings, 33,000sqm of employment space and other community facilities.

The ‘Alternative Designs’ shown and discussed below have considered the constraints and opportunities presented by the Application Site and have been used to inform the design principles, which in turn have helped to refine and structure the Proposed Development and the Masterplan.

The Local Plan SP3 calls for the application to follow the Garden City Principles. These principles include concepts such as central parkland areas; strong links to the wider countryside; a wide mix of high quality homes that assist the mix of the local community. However, Garden City principles also provide for high levels of car ownership and movement. Such a principle has led, in some historic examples, to problems with high speeds of vehicles as they travel through Garden Cities due to wide roads and good visibility. Therefore, the design of

FIGURE 4.4: LON.0242_03 JULY 2015 FIGURE 4.5: LON.0242_600 (REV D) OCTOBER 2015


FIGURE 4.6: LON.0242_15 MAY 2016 FIGURE 4.7: LON.0242_600 (REV G) JANUARY 2016

the site steered towards more contemporary examples for roads such as those promoted by Manual for Streets.

The location of the primary school was altered from the central area of the site to the northern half of the site. The site design needed to maintain provision for suitable employment land as an extension to Altria Business Park and provided a row of shops as part of the ‘Community Hub’ despite the presence of the new supermarket.

Consideration of the local road network for the increased traffic flows in the local area determined that the carriageway to the north of the railway bridge on Sweechbridge Road needed to be realigned to provide better horizontal visibility and road width. The site design also considered the wish for greater vehicular integration between north and south parts of the site and an aim to reduce traffic volumes along Sweechbridge Road. The design has now considered

the potential to utilise existing May Street railway bridge for one-way unrestricted vehicular movements as well as providing provision for through vehicle movements (east-west) to Altria Business Park and the supermarket. Discussions also took place with Stagecoach and the design now ensures that all new dwellings are within circa 400m of a bus stop.

Pedestrian and cyclist access to the site and the existing local facilities have been considered. The design plan now safeguards all existing access rights. It has also improved existing routes to May Street, Rosebery Avenue, Osborne Gardens and Highfields Avenue. A link has also been added over the railway bridge south towards the new supermarket. A Community Hub has been created in the northern part of the site which will include schools, shops and a new community centre.


Providing high quality and adequate levels of open space within the proposed development has been considered at length. The Masterplan has ensured that new allotments have been provided as well as new areas of parkland and two LEAP’s within the site boundary. There is also a 2.05ha site for the primary school which includes the provision of a sports pitches.

Ecology corridors will be maintained and enhanced alongside the railway line (10m wide to the south) and to the north of Thanet Way (alongside the acoustic bund). Green corridors have been designed through the development alongside the PRoW’s and existing hedgerows and ditch features. The Masterplan has been amended to ensure that the new proposed dwellings which are in close proximity to the existing woodland areas do not lead to any degradation of the woodlands but still allow residents to enjoy this amenity.

A section of land to the west of Sweechbridge Road has been sterilised from development to mitigate odour from the sewage treatment works. A further buffer zone along the railway line has been proposed. This safeguards land for the continual landscape bund to the north of Thanet Way.

The Preferred Option, which is shown within the Illustrative masterplan (Figure 1.2) and the Detailed Plan (Phase 1) (Figure 4.8 which form the Proposed Development conforms to the Development Parameters that have been subject to environmental impact assessment as reported in the Environmental Statement.


FIGURE 4.8: DETAILED PLAN (PHASE 1)


CUMULATIVE ASSESSMENT Within EIA, cumulative effects are generally considered to arise from the combination of effects from the Proposed Development and from other proposed or permitted schemes in the vicinity, acting together to generate elevated levels of effects. Examples of these kinds of effects that can be readily appreciated could include:

• Traffic generated from developments, affecting the surrounding road network;

• Air quality effects from developments; and

• Discharges to the water environment.

A list of developments to be considered with regards to cumulative effects has been agreed with Canterbury City Council. These developments are summarised in the table below and are shown in Figure 4.9.

SITE NATURE OF DEVELOPMENT/PLANNING STATUSLPPD Site 3 (part) Hillborough Land to the east of the Application Site for up to 345 dwellings – to be promoted by AE

(Estate Developers) Ltd and Kitewood Estates Limited.

Puffin Road Outline Planning Application CA/14/01244/OUT for 40 units that has permission on a parcel of land adjacent to the northern boundary of the Taylor Wimpey Application Site

LPPD Site 4 Herne Bay Golf Course 572 dwellings promoted by Newmaquin Ltd CA/15/00844 Permitted 24/09/2015.

LPPD Site 5 Strode Farm, Herne Bay 800 dwellings – promoted by Hollamby Estates Ltd CA/15/01317 Pending Appeal (Appeal Ref: APP/J2210/W/15/3141444) CA/15/02782 Pending Decision

LPPD Site 6 Land at Greenhill, Herne Bay 300 dwellings – promoted by Hollamby Estates Ltd

LPPD Site 7 Herne Bay Driving Range Herne Bay Driving Range and land adjacent for 80 dwellings

LPPD SIte 8 Land off Bullockstone Road Land off Bullockstone Road for 190 dwellings

Altira Business Park 5578m2 new supermarket, 3265m2 employment space CA/12/0209/FUL permitted development 03/01/2015

TABLE 4.1: PROJECTS CONSIDERED IN THE CUMULATIVE ASSESSMENT


FIGURE 4.9: CUMULATIVE PLAN


SOCIO ECONOMICThe Socio Economic Assessment considered the potential effects of the proposed development during both the construction and operational (occupation) phases, focusing on the human population who will live, work and/or use the facilities in the Proposed Development.

Baseline Conditions

The 2011 Census identified 151,145 residents in Canterbury District, of which 17,285 lived within the Reculver and Herne and Broomfield Ward areas. The latest Mid-Year Population Estimates identified that the population of Canterbury District had increased to 15,965 in 2015. The 2014 subnational population projections then project a further increase of circa 21,200 persons from 2015-2031. Survey work has also identified the factors that make-up the projected population change. Within Canterbury District all of this growth arises from net migration with a small decline arising from natural change (births minus deaths). This survey work also identifies how the age structure of the District will alter from now till 2031. Over this time period there will be a very small decline in the number of pre-school children (0-4) within the District. All other age categories will increase with the biggest increase in the 65+ years age bracket. It is expected that over this time this population bracket will increase by over 12,500 people. The second biggest increase will be in the ‘Working Age’ group (18-64). This group will increase by over 6,500 people.

The Index of Multiple Deprivation 2015 provides an indication on the levels of Deprivation across England. The Application Site have low levels of deprivation

5. SUMMARY OF ENVIRONMENTAL BASELINE & ASSESSMENT OF EFFECTS

for the overall index and for the majority of domains of deprivation. However, Canterbury 002B is within the 27% most deprived areas nationally in regards to Education, Skills and Training; and Canterbury 006D is within the 26% most deprived areas nationally in regards to Barriers to Housing and Services.

The emerging Local Plan sets out the Council’s aim to deliver at least 16,000 new homes over the period 2011-2031. The NPPF requires a rolling supply of deliverable housing land and that broadly areas are identified where the new housing should be located. The average house price in Canterbury District in September 2015 was £251,733 as compared to £216,350 across England.

Local Education Authorities (LEA) have a statutory duty to secure sufficient school places within their area. There are a number of pre-school or nursery age care facilities in reasonable proximity to the Application Site.

The Queen Victoria Memorial Hospital is approximately 1km from the Application Site and provides a number of services to the local population. The nearest A&E department is at the Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother Hospital in Margate, approximately 16km away from the Application Site. There are currently 4 GP practices operating from 7 surgeries within 5km of the Application Site. All of these GP’s have the capacity to accept more patients.

The land within the Southern Bomb Stores is occupied by 7 bomb store buildings and a few ancillary structures, which together provide 2,184m2 of predominantly storage and distribution space.

There is already a local centre at Reculver Road which provides a range of shops and facilities. There is also Altria Business Park within 1.2km offering a range of


employment premises and Herne Bay Town Centre is just over 2km away. There nearest community centre is the Reculver and Beltinge Memorial Hall, which is approximately 800m north-west from the Application Site.

The 2011 Census identified that 71.8% of people in the Herne and Broomfield Ward and 63.6% of people in the Reculver Ward were economically active, compared to 63.7% across Canterbury District and 70% across England.However, both wards (Herne and Broomfield 2.8%, Reculver 2.5%) and Canterbury District (3.0%) had low unemployment rates as compared to England (4.4%).The 2011 Census identified that Canterbury District experienced net in-commuting flows, with 19,564 workers commuting in to the area and 18,389 commuting out. The 2015 Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings identified that the median basic salary of a full-time employed person living in Canterbury District was £32,349 whereas the median salary of someone that worked in Canterbury District was £25,404. This difference is likely to reflect the higher incomes received by those working in London.

Likely Significant Effects

Construction PhaseEconomy – The emerging Local Plan proposes additional homes across the District. This will create a significant number of new jobs in the construction sector. Based on the average construction cost of £1,200 per square metre of residential development, the Proposed Development would result in circa £105.8M of capital investment.

In summary, the construction of dwellings within the Proposed Development is likely to support between

67 and 130 direct jobs, and circa 75 to 260 indirect or induced jobs over the construction phase. The residential component of this development will therefore provide for an additional 142 to 390 jobs over the construction phase. A proportion of these jobs will be maintained once the development is complete to support future development across the area and/or the newly arising population.

There will also be a significant number of additional jobs generated in the construction of the other elements of the Proposed Development, although there are no known ways of accurately estimating the number that will be generated .

Additional benefit to the economy would also occur during the construction period with expenditure on local goods and services.

Housing - The delivery of homes throughout the construction phase will respond to the need for affordable and market housing that currently exists. Delivery will be responsive to demand and so the specific needs will be able to be responded to in a flexible way, subject to any planning conditions.

Similarly, the delivery of the care home is likely to be responsive to demand and so the specific needs which this addresses should be addressed in a timely fashion.

Operational Phase (Occupation)5.15 Population – It is expected that the 955 proposed dwellings would accommodate 909 households with a population of 2,020 by 2031. However, some, but not all, of the population growth will be new to the area as households will move from within the area. Many of these will release their previous homes


to the market which will in turn be occupied by new households and so generate additional population growth. The emerging Local Plan plans for a minimum of 16,000 homes from 2011-2031 across the plan area. This minimum is below the dwelling growth rate identified in the 2014 based subnational projections. Delivery of this level of housing will not provide for the levels of migration anticipated.

Deprivation – The area around Herne bay has low levels of deprivation, but there are some issues with accessing services and housing. The Proposed Development would provide both of these elements.

Housing – The emerging Local Plan requires a supply of 800 new houses per year to meet their housing requirements. The Application is an allocated site within the Local Plan. The Plan also states that a development of this size will need to offer 30% of the dwellings as affordable houses. Therefore, each year the Council needs 240 affordable new homes each year. This development will be providing a 25% mix of affordable housing over the whole of the development.

The Proposed Development also provides a care home with 65 beds that will address the specific needs of the local ageing population.

Education – This development will lead to more children of school age being in the local area. These children will need to be educated in local schools. In the current masterplan the 955 dwellings will consist of 84 flats and 871 houses. Therefore, it is predicted to generate a need for an additional 217 primary places and 155 secondary places. The Application Site incorporates the provision of land for a 2 form entry Primary School, which will accommodate the needs of this development and the

wider local area. The local area already has a surplus of 75 secondary education places in the two most local schools. This is insufficient to accommodate the 155 required places.

Healthcare – The additional 955 dwellings will create the demand for 1.24 additional GP’s. There is already an existing surplus of between 3.3 and 4.1 GP’s and so there is no need for further GP’s in the local area due to this development.

Community Facilities - The Proposed Development will increase the population and spending power in Hillborough to the benefit of local centres. The provision of additional housing growth will support the viability of local shops and services, including leisure facilities through additional local spending.

The Proposed Development includes the provision of retail facilities including a convenience store which will complement and enhance the retail services available to those within the new development area. It is intended that these facilities will complement the retail facilities of Herne Bay and other local centres rather than compete for trade, therefore helping to sustain the vitality of the area as a whole as well as providing local provision that will reduce the need to travel.

The development will also include a children’s nursery or soft play centre and a community centre that are intended to meet the needs of the local population. The green infrastructure of the Proposed Development is in excess of all identified requirements for 2,038 people. The Proposed Development will provide 19.32ha of Green Infrastructure compared to the required 19.24ha.

Economy- It is estimated that as a minimum this development will create 385 full time jobs from


the proposed on site community facilities, school and employment areas. This level of jobs could be considerably higher depending on what businesses choose to come to the new employment units.

Employment and unemployment – It was estimated that the proposed development would generate circa 520-991 full time equivalent jobs.

Mitigation and Enhancement

Only one adverse effect was identified. This relates to the potential deficit in secondary school places. This will be resolved by the proposal to contribute to this strategic infrastructure offsite.

The proposed development does offer the potential for enhancements to the local economy through securing opportunities for local employment and/or skills and training of local people during the construction phase of the project.

Conclusions

In conclusion it was considered that the proposed development would deliver a number of significant positive effects including:

• An increase in the number of new jobs generated and/or existing jobs supported in the construction industry;

• An increase in income to the local and District area, and potentially nationally arising from the construction works and the new employment land on site;

• Support to meeting the overarching objectives for economic development and growth arising from the development of modern and flexible facilities

that would support existing and new companies, and support inward investment to the local and District area;

• Assistance towards the Council 16,000 new homes target or 800 homes each year

Accordingly, it is concluded that the proposed development would offer a number of significant positive effects and would therefore be acceptable such that there are no overriding socio economic reasons, which can’t be removed through off site economic contributions, why the proposed development should not proceed.


ECOLOGY AND NATURE The Ecological and Nature Conservation Assessment considered the potential significant effects on legal and locally protected ecological sites, valued habitats for wildlife and protected species.

Baseline Conditions

The application site is dominated by large arable fields. Field boundaries are formed by a network of ditches and hedges, some of which are now sparse / defunct. Small areas of broadleaved woodland and rough grassland / scrub habitat also occur. The survey area is bisected by a railway corridor, which supports a mosaic of dense trees / scrub, tall ruderal and rough grassland vegetation. One footbridge and one road-bridge provide access over the railway and between the northern and southern parts of the site. There are two parcels of land south of Thanet Way (and either side of Heart in Hand Road) that are also related to development at the Site.

There are no statutory wildlife site designations within or adjacent to the Site.

Six internationally important sites occur within 10km of the site boundary. These sites comprise Special Protection Areas (SPAs), Ramsar sites and/or Special Areas of Conservation (SACs). Two of the six internationally designated sites which occur within approximately 3km of the survey area are also partly or wholly designated as nationally important Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and/or National Nature Reserves (NNR’s). A further two sites of regional / local importance, Local Nature Reserves (LNR), occur within 3km. Those within 5km of the application site can be seen on Figure 2.1 Environmental Designations Plan.

One non-statutory designated wildlife site, Reculver Country Park, occurs c.695m north of the Site. This site comprises coastal, grassland and marine habitat, supporting a number of notable bird species, and forms part of the Thanet Coast SSSI / SPA and Bishopstone Cliffs LNR.

Historical data was gathered to determine what species could be using the Site and in the local area. This data was supported by detailed site investigation work. This investigation work determined the following:

The site contains a series of hedgerows, some which are considered ‘important’ against the Hedgerow Regulations 1997.

There is a brown long-eared roost (of unknown type) located c.1km east of the Site along the railway line. A large soprano pipistrelle maternity roost of approximately 1100 bats is located c.1.1km to the south of the Application Site. A few trees along the railway line were assessed as having the potential to be used by bats for roosts. There was no evidence of any bat roosts within Sweechbridge House or its associated buildings and no emergence or return evidence was seen during survey work. Bat activity was recorded through survey work. This activity was dominated by Pipistrelle bats, which were recorded in low numbers using hedgerows and woodland habitats for commuting and foraging.

A badger survey in 2014 indicated no clear evidence of badger using the Application Site. Further surveys in November 2014 and October 2015 indicate that badgers are making use of the Site for foraging and there is a single outlying sett along the railway that bi-sects the Site. Further badger setts were identified just outside the application site in the most southern section.


All ditches within the Site were subject of a detailed assessment to establish the presence/absence of water vole in November 2015. Conditions in the ditches were not optimal for water vole and none were found in the surveys.

A Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) of the Site was undertaken in 2014. This identified a total of 40 bird species, of which 26 species were confirmed to be breeding on site. These breeding species include ones which are on the Red or Amber Lists of Birds of Conservation Concern (BoCC) and/or are S41 NERC Species of priority for conservation. These species on site include Grey Partridge, Skylark, House Sparrow and Whitethroat.

Broadleaved woodland and areas of dense tall ruderal and scrub were noted to the main habitats of importance for breeding birds, particularly either side of the railway corridor. Little bird activity was associated with the arable fields, with the exception of a small number of grey partridge and skylark territories.

A Wintering Bird Survey (WBS) was undertaken in the winter of 2014/2015 and recorded a total of 32 species using habitats on site or over the survey area. Again, several BoCC species were recorded, these included Kestrel, Black-headed Gull, Starling, Redwing, Dunnock and Bullfinch.

Greatest bird abundance observed during the winter surveys was associated with patches of broadleaved woodland, scrub, hedgerows and corridor railway vegetation. Activity within open farmland habitat was limited to low numbers of stubble feeding species, with activity within fields being dominated by black-headed gull, herring gull and carrion crow.

Reptile surveys across the suitable habitats with in the Site were undertaken between 2014 and 2016. They revealed a population of slow worm, common lizard and grass snake. Slow-worm and common lizard were found along several field boundaries in low numbers, particularly those with connectivity to the railway corridor which bisects the Site. Grass Snakes were found just outside the Site in the most southern section of the site. Adder was not found within any of the survey work and the habitats on the site are not deemed suitable for this species.

Survey work was undertaken on five ponds within 500m of the Site boundary to determine if there were Great Crested Newts (GCN) present. The assessment work determined that there were no GCN present in these ponds.


The construction of this development will result in a loss of arable land and some of the hedgerows, rough grassland marginal habitat. There is also the potential for impacts to occur to the retained hedgerows, trees and grassland habitats.

The woodland blocks on site are being retained. It is hoped that the retention of the woodland will assist the species that use them for feeding and shelter. There are individual trees being removed on the Site. However, none of these have been identified as being used by bats. This in conjunction with the retention of the hedges on the Site that are used for feeding means that the impact on the local bat population will be minimal.

The final design of the later phases of the development may require that the outlier badger sett near the railway line be closed. If this were to happen it would be done


with all the appropriate Environment Agency licences in place.

The BBS recorded that the Application Site is considered to be of Local level importance, due to the number of breeding bird species recorded and the presence of several Red / Amber BOCC listed and S41 species. The majority of breeding bird territories were associated with hedgerow features around the margins of the Application Site, primarily comprising hedgerows and associated scrubby habitats along the railway corridor, southern boundary hedge, eastern boundary (shelter belt and scrub on embankment adjacent to the Application Site) and in the north-eastern corner (hedgerow / tree line off-site associated with neighbouring properties) and south-western boundary (scrubby habitat along footpath). Wintering bird surveys also found these habitats to be of importance, with the railway corridor providing a key resource for wintering bird species. The majority of these boundary habitats will be retained and protected during construction, as will the woodland block within which Red list species territories have been recorded. However, there will be some loss of nesting, foraging and wintering habitat resource.

Red list species of open habitats (i.e. skylark) will be lost, however only two such breeding territories were recorded – a relatively low number given the size of the Site and the likely availability of other territory sites within the wider local landscape. Winter bird interest of open arable land was limited to relatively low numbers of herring gull (Red list), black-headed gull (Amber listed) and carrion crow (green listed), again with similar wintering opportunities being available locally for these species.

Survey evidence has revealed the presence of low populations of grass snake, slow-worm and common lizard within the Site, with reptiles being recorded along field margins, particularly where these have some connectivity to the central railway corridor which has good habitat suitability for reptiles and is likely to support a source population. The majority of rough field margins will potentially be impacted during the construction stage, with loss or temporary damage (e.g. during ditch improvement works). This would not only result in a decrease in available habitat for reptiles, but the potential for reptiles to be killed or injured (an offence under provision of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended)).

When the development is built out there will be the potential that the increased number of people in the local area and visiting the local statutory designated and non-statutory sites will increase. This increase level of interaction with these wildlife habitats could have a detrimental effect on the habitats. The same effect could occur on local water resources.

Given the close location of the Site in relation to Thanet Coast and Sandwich Bay SPA / Ramsar and Bishopstone Cliffs LNR and Recluver Country Park which cover part of this European designated site, it is considered likely that the operational phase will result in increased visitor pressure to these coastal sites. Large scale new residential development, such as that proposed at the Site, within a radius of 7.2km is expected to result in an increase in visitor pressure to coastal sites, with 90% of all regular visitors to these sites living within this radius. Increases in recreational pressure, primarily in relation to dog walking have been shown to result in a decline in the numbers of turnstone and golden plover


for which the SPA / Ramsar is designated.


The design of the site has worked to remain as much on the onsite hedgerow as possible. Only 200m of native hedgerow will be lost through this development on site and none that are lost are species rich or qualify as ‘important’ under the Habitat Regulations. Circa 1000m or new native hedgerow planting will be provided under the Masterplan for development over the wider site. In addition to this it is proposed that over 5.8ha of native meadow will be planted on the Site and a further 2.2ha of native tussock grassland. This new habitat will offer a greater diversity mix to the local ecology than the current arable farmland on the site.

A lighting strategy has been prepared for the development. The lights that are being proposed will have minimal light spill and the lighting used for the construction will only be needed in the winter months when most bats are hibernating. Therefore, the lighting proposed on the site will have minimal effect on the bat population.

It is hoped that the inclusion of large areas of Public Open Space and woodlands within the Application Site will encourage many of those who live locally to use these facilities for recreation and dog walking. Using these on site facilities will help to limit the number of people who visit the Thanet Coast and the local SPA and Ramsar sites. Such a design feature is hope to ensure that the impact on these statutory designated sites from increased recreational use is minimised.

The Applicant is also offering funding to the SPA sites so that they can develop further wardening to educate visitors, enforcement of dog control orders to protect

breeding birds within the SPA and ongoing monitoring of the bird populations and visitor numbers.

New wetland planting will be created along the retained ditch network which will also help with the drainage of the site. Other enhancement features will be installation of bat, bird and bug boxes within the site to offer greater habitat opportunities than there currently are.

A monitoring programme has been proposed within the Biodiversity Strategy that accompanies this planning application. It is proposed that this programme will continue for the first 10 years. Results from this monitoring will be submitted to the LPA and the local Biological Records Centre (KMBRC).


LANDSCAPE AND VISUAL IMPACT

Baseline Conditions

The Site is allocated with the emerging Local Plan for Canterbury District for circa 1,300 dwellings. It is proposed that this application would create 955 dwellings on the Site. The site currently comprises of 10 medium to large scale arable fields. The site is not located within any statutory or non-statutory landscape designations.

The Site is located within surroundings that already house residential areas, commercial areas, public highways, PRoW’s and recreational areas. Within a Landscape and Visual Assessment (LVIA) these features are known as receptors and were therefore assessed within the LVIA to determine the possible effect this Proposed Development would have on the local area.


The effects on landscape elements are limited to within the site boundaries and includes the direct physical change to the fabric of the land, such as the removal of

native trees, woodland, hedgerows or arable farmland to allow for the Proposed Development within the site.

The Proposed Development has tried to minimise the loss of native woodland and hedgerows within the site. There are trees and sections of hedgerow being removed due to create the necessary access roads through the site. However, the Masterplan has been designed to actually increase the amount of native woodland, trees and hedgerows on the Site.

The Proposed Development would require the removal of grade 2, 3a and 3b ALC arable farmland within the site resulting in a major (adverse/significant) effect on this landscape element. Ground engineering would be required on the gently undulating landform for access roads, commercial and residential parcels, balancing ponds and swales resulting in minor to moderate adverse/not significant effect on site topography.

Due to the limited visibility of the Proposed Development within the 2km study area, the landscape character of the NCA 133 North Kent Plain, LCA 27 East Kent Horticultural Belt and the Canterbury LCA 15,

VIEW FROM PUBLIC FOOTPATH TO SOUTH OF OSBORNE GARDENS (SOUTH DIRECTION)


Hillborough Arable Farmland covering the site would continue to prevail in the wider landscape.

The site is influenced by urban fringe land uses including existing residential areas on Puffin Rd, Petrel Close and Fulmar Gardens to the north, Sweechbridge Industrial Estate to the north east, the sewerage treatment works to the east, the A299 Thanet Way (dual carriageway) to the south, the supermarket (under construction) and Altira Business Park to the west, and Highfields Avenue, Churchill Avenue and Osborne Gardens to the north west of the site.

The Proposed Development would result in a major negative effect on the character of the arable farmland within the site itself as it would no longer be arable farmland. Although it is considered to result in a neutral effect on the wider character of the NCA 133 North Kent Plain, LCA 27 East Kent Horticultural Belt and the Canterbury LCA 15, Hillborough Arable Farmland due to the surrounding urban characteristics.

Visibility of the Proposed Development would generally be contained between existing residential properties

on Puffin Rd, Petrel Close and Fulmar Gardens to the north, Sweechbridge Industrial Estate to the north east, Sweechbridge Road to the east, the A299 Thanet Way (dual carriageway) to the south, Altira Business Park to the west and existing residential properties within Beltinge to the north west of the site.

Views from surrounding residential properties would generally include from Osborne Gardens, Coventry Gardens, Rosebery Avenue, Rowland Crescent and Richmond Drive which are to the north; from Puffin Road, Petrel Close and Fulmar Way to the north east and from Selbey Close, Bhutan Rd, Fairacres Close, Highfields Avenue and Churchill Avenue to the west of the site. The Proposed Development would result in major effect on the closest residential properties on Puffin Road, Petrel Close and Fulmar Way at year 1 reducing to moderate effect by year 15 once the boundary planting has established and the residents have become accustomed to the view. The Proposed Development would result in a neutral or negligible effect on the other residential properties surrounding the site.

VIEW FROM PUBLIC FOOTPATH NEAR CHARTWELL AVENUE (EAST DIRECTION)


Views from the surrounding commercial areas would generally include from the supermarket and Altira Business Park to the west and from Sweechbridge Industrial Estate to the north east of the site. The Proposed Development would result in neutral effect on the supermarket and Altira Business Park and neutral or negligible effect on the other commercial areas surrounding the site in the long term.

Views from the surrounding public highways and railways would include from Sweechbridge Rd to the east and the Margate Rd Interchange overbridge to the west of the site. The Proposed Development would not generally be visible from the A299 Thanet Way (dual carriageway) to the south or the Herne Bay to Birchington-on-Sea railway line passing through the site due to treecover. The Proposed Development would result in neutral effects on Sweechbridge Rd at year 1 and further reducing in effect by year 15. The Proposed Development would not generally be perceptible from Margate Rd near Broomfield, the A299 Thanet Way or the railway line passing through the sites resulting in neutral or negligible effect.

Views from the PROW within the site would include from public footpath CH51 between Osborne Crescent to the north west and Bogshole Lane; from public footpath CH47 crossing the site diagonally between Bogshole Lane and May Street severed by the A299 Thanet Way; and from public footpath CH52 crossing the site diagonally between Margate Rd and May Street (also severed by the A299 Thanet Way) to the south of the site. The PROW have been retained within the green infrastructure (GI) strategy within landscape corridors and public open spaces resulting in beneficial effects to visual amenity. The Proposed Development would result in major beneficial effects on the PROW’s within the site in the long term due to the Green Infrastructure (GI) strategy.

Night-Time Visual Effects

Street lighting would result in a degree of light spill, glare and skyglow to the east of Herne Bay. However, the additional effects of lighting are unlikely to be significant given the baseline lighting levels within the existing residential areas in Beltinge and Hillborough to

VIEW FROM A299 THANET WAY OVERBRIDGE (NORTH WEST DIRECTION)


VIEW FROM WITHIN SITE ON BOGSHOLE LANE (NORTH EAST DIRECTION)

the north and the A299 Thanet Way (dual carriageway) to the south of the site. The proposed street lighting would be directional to minimise any potential light spill, glare, or skyglow.

Cumulative Effects

The opportunities for combined and successive views between the cumulative schemes are limited. The Proposed Development would result in a neutral/not significant effect on the LCA 15 Hillborough Arable Farmlands also containing the Puffin Road residential project directly to the north and the supermarket and employment buildings within Altira Business Park to the west of the site.

Mitigation and Enhancements

The proposed planting that is shown within the Green Infrastructure Strategy (GI Plan) offers an increase in native woodland, trees and hedgerow to the current arable field layout. The design has tried to retain as much of the existing, established woodland etc as possible. The new planting that is proposed will

not be as tall as the existing planting, but within the first 15 years of the Proposed Development being in place the new planting will have grown to offer the necessary screening of certain receptors as well as it combining with the established vegetation. Such design mitigations will ensure that the visual implications of this development are minimised.


FIGURE 5.1: LANDSCAPE & HABITATS PLAN


TRANSPORT AND ACCESSThe Transport and Access Assessment considered the potential effects of the proposed development on traffic and access in relation to car and non-car users (pedestrians, cyclists and users of public transport) as well as the potential for users to experience separation, fear and intimidation and driver delays, specifically with regards a number of key transport links.

The Transport and Access Assessment was been carried out using information contained within the separately prepared Transport Assessment (TA).

Baseline Conditions

The A299 Thanet Way dual carriageway forms the southern boundary of the site, with agricultural land extending to the south. The southern part of the western boundary (south of railway line) is formed by the Altira Business Park. The remainder of the western boundary (north of the railway line) is defined by other land within the Hillborough Strategic Allocation site.

The Site is bisected by a railway line, the Chatham Main Lane, the railway is in a cutting as it passes through the site. A network of Public Rights of Way (PRoW) and highways also route across the site. The highways, whilst adopted by the Highway Authority are only suitable for off road vehicles. These consist of May Street, running broadly north to south from Sweechbridge Road/ Heart in Hand Road in the south towards Reculver Road in the north crosses the railway cutting with a brick arch bridge. Bogshole Lane, running broadly southwest to northeast from Thanet Way to May Street has a Traffic Regulation Order prohibiting use by motorised vehicles and passes over the railway cutting on a cast iron concreate bridge.

Walking and Cycling – The northern end of Sweechbridge Road between Reculver Road and Neville Road is street lit, with footways on the eastern side of the road, towards the location of the bus stops to the north of the road. At the junction with Neville Road, footways are provided on all arms of the junction, with a short section of footway extending south on Sweechbridge Road’s western side. All of the roads along Neville Road are street-lit, traffic calmed and feature footways on both side. There are no footways on the remainder of Sweechbridge Road (along the site’s eastern boundary), nor on Heart in Hand Road (again, on the site’s eastern boundary).

May street provides an unmade public highway through the Site, available for all vehicles, although it is signposted that it is not suitable for motorised vehicles. It is therefore mainly operating as a footpath and bridleway.

To the north, footways are present on the southern side of the Reculver Road until where it meets Rosebery Avenue to the east, where footways become present on both sides of the road providing good pedestrian routes to the north, as do the residential roads of Osbourne Gardens and Highfields Avenue to the northwest and west of the Site, accessed via the PRoW from the Site. All of these surrounding roads, to the north and west, are residential in character, with low vehicular volumes, street lighting, a 30mph speed limit, and footway to both sides of the carriageway. The same applies to The Boulevard to the southwest of the Site through Altira Business Park.

Sustrans identifies the nearest cycling routes being to the east of Reculver Lane’s junction with Brook Lane, and running parallel to the coast. The route can be


accessed from Bishopstone Lane into Haven Drive. Likewise, many of the residential roads to the north and west have little traffic using them and so are conductive to cycling.

Rail - The nearest railway station is Herne Bay Station, situated some 5km walk or cycle to the west of the site and accessible within a 20-minute bus journey. It is served by the Southeastern network, including Southeastern High Speed, and serves a number of destinations including two London stations.

Local Highway Network - The Site is bordered to the east by Sweechbridge Road, which provides links to Herne Bay town centre to the northwest (via Reculver Road) and the A28 Island Road to the south (at a distance of circa 6.5km from the Site). It also provides access to the A299 Thanet Way (which also forms the southern boundary to the Site) via a grade separated junction. The A299 Thanet Way provides a high standard strategic route from the Thanet towns in the east to the national road network at the M2 to the west, bypassing the coastal towns (including Herne Bay) and Canterbury. It is subject to the national speed limit and built as a two lane dual carriageway in the vicinity of the Site, with grade separated junctions and parallel service roads in places. It provides the key highway link from the Site, providing access to east and central Canterbury via the A28 at the Eddington roundabouts at Herne, west and central Canterbury via the A290 at Whitstable, and regional and national destinations via the M2 Junction 7.

The Sweechbridge Road route to the A28 is largely rural to the south of the Site, subject to the national speed limit, and circa 6.0m wide (with some narrowing in places). Its name changes at various locations to Heart in Hand Road, Ford Hill, Maypole Road, Hoath Road

and Babs Oak Hill – known here as the “Hoath Road Corridor”.

The A28 provides a strategic highway function, linking Canterbury to the west to the Thanet towns to the east, via Sturry and Hersden. It is accessed from the Site via the Hoath Road Corridor where it joins via a simple priority junction.

The south west corner of the Site provides links to Altira Business Park via the Boulevard and Margate Road, providing an additional link to the A299 Thanet Way, as well as links to Herne Bay town centre via Blacksole Bridge and Mickleburgh Hill.

Future Baseline

It is appropriate to test development impacts at the initial year of opening of the development, which is the year when the first part of the development is open for occupation – in this case, the year of opening will be 2019. However, at the request of Kent County Council (KCC), for a robust assessment, the impacts of the development proposal on the local highway network will be assessed for the year 2022, five years post i planning. The assessment takes account of traffic associated with the full development proposal taking into account committed development and appropriate background traffic growth.

In order to enable this to happen a series of traffic counts were undertaken on the local highway network in the immediate vicinity of the site in 2015 and 2016 during the morning and evening peaks. The planning submissions for each of the committed development sites have been analysed, to determine the distribution and assignment of vehicular trips from each site.



The main highway proposal in this development is a new vehicular link to Sweechbridge Road and associated introduction to shuttle working traffic lights, as well as a new access to Sweechbridge Road/May Street, and improvements to the A299 Thanet Way on and off slips to Heart in Hand Road. There will also be shared footways/cycleways along May Street to Reculver Lane and May Street to Rosebery Avenue.

The site clearance and construction phase has the potential to result in the following effects:

• Increased traffic congestion through changes in traffic flow

• Severance

• Driver Delay

• Pedestrian Delay

• Pedestrian Amenity

• Fear and Intimidation

• Risk of traffic accidents

• Public transport

• Cyclists

Construction Phase It is anticipated that the build programme will be 40 dwellings in year 1 and then 70 units per year, until the full 955 are constructed. Based on this programme of works it is anticipated that in year 1 there will be 134 arrivals and departures per day of which 35 are LGV and 5 are HGV. After the first year there will be 224 arrivals and departure per day of which 58 are LGV and 9 are HGV. The routing route for the HGV’s will be via the A299

Thanet Way from Sweechbridge Road and Heart in Hand Road, of which 75% will travel to and from the west and 25% will travel to and from the east.

Based on the monitoring equipment placed at the proposed Site access for a seven day period, the existing seven-day average daily traffic flow on Sweechbridge Road is 5,233 vehicles per day, of which 6.2% (324) are HGVs. Therefore, the proposed peak construction movement results in a 5.6% increase in HGV flow on the baseline, although the actual composition of traffic changes little, from 6.2% HGV to 6.3% HGV. Sweechbridge Road, with the proposed access junction and associated shuttle working traffic lights has sufficient width to accommodate HGV movements safely and there are no direct access points between site and the route to the A299 Thanet Way.

The existing annual average daily traffic (AADT) along the A299 is circa 32,800 vehicles per day, of which approximately 3,800 (11.5%) are HGVs. Thus the additional peak of circa 258 two-way vehicles per day (of which 14 will be HGVs) during construction months 13-157 on this road is equivalent to less than 1% of the total flow or an additional circa 0.4% increase in HGV flows.

Operational PhaseThe operational phase has the potential to result in the following effects:

• Increased traffic congestion through changes in traffic flow

• Severance

• Driver Delay

• Pedestrian Delay

• Pedestrian Amenity


• Fear and Intimidation

• Risk of Traffic Accidents; and

• Public Transport

The assessment considered what the traffic levels would be like in 2019 without any development on the Herne bay site; what it would be link in 2019 with Phase 1 built and finally what it would be like in 2019 with all 955 new dwellings built.

The presence of Phase 1 of the development in 2019 has a maximum net increase in vehicular flows over 10% on Sweechbridge Road between the proposed site access and the May Street only. Due to the residential nature of the development, it is considered that there will be close to zero HGV movements generated, and certainly less than in the construction phase. As this is below the 30% change in flow threshold (set by the IEMA guidelines) the presence of Phase 1 in 2018 would not significantly alter the traffic mix or flow rates on the highways around the Proposed Development.

The effects of the Proposed Development are greater when all 955 dwellings are built and so a wider area of study was considered. Within the wider area, it is considered that the sensitive receptors are Maypole Road (due to the presence of residential properties and concerns regarding vehicular speeds as raised by KCC Highways Officers on behalf of comments from the local Parish based on existing usage), Herne Village (A291 Canterbury Road), and the Reculver and Beltinge Surgery on Reculver Road.

The traffic flows along Maypole Road and past the Surgery of Reculver Road will increase by over 10% but less than 30%. In addition, flow increases are greater than 30% on Sweechbridge Road south of the access

and Heart in the Hand Road south of May Street and south of Thanet Way. All other links have flow increases of less than 30%.

Maypole Road, at this location, has no pedestrian provision, but the flow increase is less than 30%. The effect of the whole development on this location will therefore be a small negative one.

The Surgery on Reculver Road has an increase in traffic flow of 29% at the morning peak hour. However, it is considered that the current pedestrian road crossing facilities are satisfactory to accommodate the proposed demand to cross the road at this location and the Surgery does not open until 8.30am.

Sweechbridge Road (south of the access) and May Street (south of the access) both experience flow increases of over 60%. However, it is considered that few people wish to cross the road at this exact location and within the new site access designs, new pedestrian crossing options are provided. Furthermore, Heart in Hand Road (south of Thanet Way) also experience a flow increase greater than 30%, but there does not appear to be any local wish or need to cross the carriageway at this location. Therefore, no mitigation is required at these locations even when the full 955 dwellings are built.


Driver Delay A detailed review of an extensive range of junction modelling has been completed. The junction modelling demonstrates that none of the junctions in the vicinity of Sweechbridge Road, Heart in Hand Road, Maypole Road, or Reculver Road are at capacity in the full development scenario. There will be minimal changes in predicted delays per vehicle (as detailing fully in the Transport Assessment), and therefore driver delay for the Development is considered to not be significant.

Pedestrian Delay The level of pedestrian activity in the vicinity of the Site will increase with the introduction of the Proposed Development. Whilst there is the theoretical potential for increased pedestrian delay and amenity, this needs to be considered in the context of the proposal and the infrastructure which has been put in place to accommodate development in this location. Furthermore, the change in vehicular flows is far below the 1,400 threshold in IEMA, considered to result in pedestrian delay. Therefore, due to the introduction of new pedestrian crossings and new footways and low increase in flows, the Development will minimal impact on delays of pedestrians within the locality of the Site.

Fear and Intimidation It is clear that the greatest changes in traffic flow will be experienced in the immediate vicinity of the Site. Given that the volume of HGV traffic generated from the Proposed Development will be relatively small it is concluded that the Proposed Development will have a very small effect on pedestrian fear and intimidation that does not require mitigation.

Accidents and SafetyThe traffic assessment has concluded that the Proposed Development is unlikely to lead to any significant increase in the number of accidents occurring within the vicinity of the Site.

Public Transport The assessment, demonstrates that the site is well served by existing bus and rail services with the anticipated small increase in passengers’ numbers being easily accommodated on existing services.

Mitigation by Design

Phase 1 design has included these mitigation steps:

• Improved pedestrian and cycle access along May Street to Reculver Road to the north;

• Shuttle working on Sweechbridge Road at the site access;

• Provision of a bus route, bus stop and turning facility within the site.

The Masterplan for the whole of the Proposed Development has considered these mitigation steps:

• New pedestrian crossing incorporated into the roundabout access at Sweechbridge Road/May Street/Heart in Hand Road;

• New A299 Thanet Way westbound on slip and decommissioning of existing slip road

• New pedestrian and cycle access to Rosebery Avenue to the north;

• New Pedestrian and cycle access alongside access road to The Boulevard; and


• Pedestrian and cycle enhancements to the existing road over rail bridges within the site.

In addition to this there is a commitment to provide proportionate funding towards the improvements of the A291 at Herne. This is currently proposed to take the form of a Herne Relief Road, effectively bypassing the centre of Herne and upgrading Bullockstone Road, to remove all through traffic from the centre of the village.

A Framework Travel Plan has also been prepared and accompanies this planning application. This document sets out targets to reduce the number of vehicular trips from the site by 10% for a 12hr weekday within 5 years. This target, alongside a number of objectives and measures, will result in fewer vehicles on the roads.

Cumulative Impact with Other Nearby Developments

The other applications that have or are seeking planning permission in the local area have already been considered within the future traffic flow data and the road network has shown that it has capacity for these developments as well as this Proposed Development.


AIR QUALITYThe Air Quality Assessment considered the potential effects from the construction and occupation of the proposed development with regards achieving European Limit Values or UK statutory objectives for nitrogen dioxide and particulates (i.e. fine particles such as dust), and the effect on local residents.

Baseline ConditionsCanterbury City Council (CCC) has designated parts of the city centre and main roads coming into it as an AQMA for the annual mean Nitrogen Oxide (NO2). The application site is not located within this AQMA. CCC undertakes monitoring at four locations and 28 diffusion tube locations. The nearest is at a roadside site located on Military Road (CCC reference: CM3) which is approximately 10.5km southwest of the Application Site. The monitoring results at Military Road show that NO2 objectives are met in all years. The results from the Councils diffusion tubes show that at the monitoring locations closest to the application site the NO2 objective is met.

The Site covers approximately 56ha of land and is bound to the north by residential properties in Hillborough; Sweechbridge Road to the east; the A299 Thanet Way to the south; and the rest of the Herne Bay Strategic Allocation to the west. The Ramsgate Branch of the Chatham Main Line bisects the site in a cutting in an east-west direction. The nearest residential properties are within approximately 5m north of the Site.

Hillborough Sewage Treatment Works is located on the eastern boundary of the Application Site. These treatment works are already operational and so the

effect of odour on the Proposed Development needs to be considered.

Likely Significant EffectsDue to the fact that site is 56ha in size and that levelling work may be needed across the site as well as the total volume of buildings being built being in just less than 100,00m3 there is a high potential for dust emissions to occur.

The Air Quality Modelling exercise for this application has assumed a worst-case scenario that the whole of the site would be built out within one year. Realistically, this is not going to happen, but this way the worst case scenario on Air Quality in the area from dust and traffic emissions from construction is considered. Under this worst case scenario each day it is expected that over the course of the whole of the development there would be more than 50 HGV’s leaving the site each day. This number of HGV would have a large effect on the potential dust within the area.

The low number of HGV movements from the site each day, therefore emissions from construction traffic would be relativity small compared to the existing road traffic emissions on Sweechbridge Road, which currently has approx.5,233 vehicles traveling along it daily, of this 6.2% are HDV’s. As the Council’s monitoring shows the air quality in the local area is of a high standard when considering NO2, these increases in construction traffic on the roads will not lead to a dramatic decline in the air quality in the local area.

When the development is built out and operational the NO2 levels have also been considered. These have determined that the levels will be satisfactory for the


local community and in line with the requirements of the Council’s targets.

An Odour Modelling Study was undertaken, which determined that the Hillborough Sewage Treatment Works would have a slight effect on a small section of the western edge of the Site.

There are 4 cumulative sites located within 100m of the Proposed Development (see Noise section for a list). As with noise the cumulative impact would only be from dust if all schemes were to be constructed at the same time and none of the others were required to mitigate the dust that they each created.

Mitigation and EnhancementThe possible effect of odour from the Sewage Treatment Works is a very small area just to the west of Sweechbridge Road. The Proposed Development has been designed so that there will be no dwellings built in the area which may be affected by the odour from the Treatment Works.

A mitigation strategy will be put into place during the construction programme to combat any potential issue with dust. This would include measures such as damping down surfaces during dry weather; effective vehicle washing before vehicles leave the site; erecting appropriate hoardings to minimise dust dispersion and restrict public access.

The cumulative impact of construction of the number of sites would be resolved by each site having to control its own dust and emissions to be in line with the Council’s targets. This will be achieved through the same mitigation steps use on this site. If these mitigation steps are applied there will not be an issue if all of the

cumulative schemes were constructed at the same time.

Once the site is full constructed it is predicted to have a negligible impact on the local air quality and no mitigation would be required. However, a Travel Plan would be prepared to encourage car sharing, walking and use of Public Transport to try and minimise the engine emissions in the local area.

ConclusionAny air quality constraints on this site have been resolved through design mitigations or construction strategies to minimise the dust created by the development.


NOISE AND VIBRATIONThe Noise and Vibration Assessment considered the potential effects on local residents arising from noise and / or vibration from the construction phases of the proposed development, and from noise following the occupation of the buildings.

Baseline Conditions

Long term noise monitoring was undertaken at two locations on the edge of the Application Site. The survey work was undertaken over an 11-day period between 16th- 22nd April 2016. This period of noise monitoring covers a typical week and weekend conditions. Additional concurrent short term noise monitoring was also undertaken at key locations on the Site, in the wider Survey Areas and beyond in order to robustly quantify the existing noise environment over the Site and those local to the site.

Vibration surveys were also carried out over the same time period as the noise monitoring. The vibration monitoring equipment was located next to the railway line to determine the level of vibration that occurs from trains passing through the site.


It is anticipated that the Proposed Development will start to be constructed in 2019 with the whole of the 955 dwellings and all associated works being completed in 2033.

During ConstructionDuring construction noise will be generated from earthworks, piling, concreting and road paving. Noise levels associated with these works were predicted

based upon the typical source noise levels contained with the Standard BS 5228. The ‘ABC Method’ within this Standard was used. This method defines category threshold values which are determined by the time of day and existing prevailing ambient noise levels. The noise generated by construction activities is then compared with the threshold value. If the construction noise level exceeds the ‘threshold value’, a significant effect is deemed to occur.

During construction the implications of noise from actual construction and traffic from construction were considered. This development is currently not expecting the need for piling to take place. Construction traffic would account for less than 3% as a proportion of existing traffic flows. This would lead to an increase in noise of less than 0.1% of the current levels which would not cause any discernible increase in local noise levels.

The construction, if piling is used (but at this time it is not expected to be), there may be some local short term effect, within 20m of excavations whilst they take place. At this distance on properties on Puffin Road would be subject to this possible risk of vibration. The levels of vibration would be unlikely to cause any cosmetic damage to any properties.

Completed Development The majority of the site is experiencing daytime noise levels of <55dB, which the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommend needs to be preserved in order to protect the majority of people from serious annoyance. Generally, where noise levels are ≤55dB LAeq,16h, then standard thermal double glazing in combination with trickle ventilation should allow BS8322 internal ambient noise levels (IANL) to be achieved. Where façade noise


FIGURE 5.2: NOISE MONITORING LOCATIONS


levels are ≤50dB LAeq,16h, then daytime IANLs of BS8233 are likely to be satisfied with windows open. Once the Site is built-out, this is likely to be applicable to a large proportion of the Site with the exception of residential buildings located within the southern areas of the Site adjacent to Thanet Way (A299). Assessment has also determined that the proposed site for the school is suitable and the noise levels of less than 60dB can be achieved.

At this time the area of the Site that is proposed for employment is only seeking outline planning permission so no detail building designs have been created, nor is it clear what type of industry would be within these areas. However, Canterbury City Council have already stated that, if granted planning permission, a planning condition would be attached to the proposal that would restrict the noise levels these businesses could generate. When the detailed building design for the employment areas are created, the acoustic details can be considered and ensure that they are designed to meet any such planning condition.

The majority of the Site is currently exposed to night-time noise levels of ≤45dB LAeq,8h. Night-time noise levels of ≤45dB LAeq,8h indicates that the BS8233 internal ambient noise levels (IANLs) are likely to be satisfied with windows open. Areas within 90m of the southern Site boundary adjacent to Thanet Way (A299) however are identified as being exposed to noise above 45dB LAeq,8h. The main noise impact on these most southern properties is the traffic travelling at high speeds along Thanet Way.

The survey work has been able to determine that for the majority of traffic links; noise will increase as a result of the Proposed Development. However, the increases

in traffic noise are predicted to be less than 1dB, and are therefore insignificant. Two road links, Reculver Road and Heart in Hand Road, are forecast to have noise increases of 1.4 and 2.1 dB respectively, resulting in a slight negative effect. As the development is being built out over many years the traffic noise from these roads will be a gradual increase. When such a gradual increase is of less than 3dB, the increase in noise is deemed to not be perceptible and is therefore not a cause for concern.


As stated above, best practice measures would be carried out to further reduce the potential for noise from construction and demolition activities. This would include measures such as: limiting the working hours for potentially noisy construction activities, locating equipment away from the Site boundary, putting up noise-screens next to fixed plant and lowering materials carefully. These measures would be written into the Construction Environmental Management Plan (CEMP) which would be agreed with the Council before construction work starts. With these measures in place and given the distance between the site and nearest residential properties, there would be little/no the effect.

It is also suggested that the construction team need to engage with the local community and the occupiers of properties along Puffin Road to make them aware of the possibility of vibration from the excavation works. The occupiers of these homes would be told about the hours of works and the anticipated duration prior of the construction works.


Based on prevailing noise levels across the Site, design mitigation is only likely to be required at the Site boundaries within the vicinity of the surrounding road/rail noise sources in order to ensure residents have satisfactory noise levels within their properties. The provision of suitable glazing in combination with an appropriate ventilation strategy would allow this to happen. A detailed design for southern section of the site has not yet been created as this is a later phase of the development. However, the noise assessment has considered options to ensure that properties along Thanet Way can be constructed and offer their owners a home that is not too noisy. A mitigation option that was assessed was the creation of a new 3m bund across the southern site boundary, which would overlook Thanet Way (A229). With this bund in place; properties orientated so that their gardens are closest to the A229, suitable double glazing and ventilation the noise levels at this most southern properties would be satisfactory.

Cumulative Schemes

As part of the assessment the noise implications of all the other schemes in the local area being built out at the same time were considered. There are 3 schemes within 100m of the site. These are;

• LPPD Site 3 (part) – 345 dwellings – AE (Estate Developers Ltd) and Kitewood Estate Ltd.

• Puffin Road – 40 dwellings

• Altira Business Park – 5578m2 new supermarket, 3265m2 employment space

If all of these sites were to be built at the same time there would be a significant noise impact from the construction activities within the local area and on each of these developments. However, each of these

developments (as per this proposal) will have to submit as part of the construction plan its own Construction Logistics Plan (CLP) which will consider the possible implications of other sites being constructed near them and the steps that they would take to minimise the combined effects of construction traffic. This will go some way to minimise the possible implications of increased road traffic noise in the local area. However, in practice the risk of all four of these schemes being constructed at the same time are very low, due to the fact that all of the developments are at different stages with some already being built out (new supermarket).


WATER RESOURCES AND FLOOD RISKThe Water Resources and Flood Risk Assessment considers the potential effects of the proposed development on water quality, flood risk, the drinking water supply and foul drainage. The assessment was based on the findings of a separately prepared Flood Risk Assessment.

Baseline Conditions

A desk study and a site walkover has been undertaken to establish the baseline hydrology (surface water), flood hazards, and environmental quality of the Application Site and its immediate vicinity.

Aspects of the design of the site for surface water drainage, specifically the design of the water detention basins, have been agreed with Kent County Council and Canterbury City Council’s drainage engineers.

The gradient of the site falls away in a westerly direction with a maximum difference in height across the whole site of approximately 18m. Typical gradients within the site range between 1 in 40 and 1 in 65 in the flatter western areas. Steeper areas (1 in 10) are present in the eastern area of the site adjacent to the railway.

With respect to surface water drainage, the Application Site is drained by a series of agricultural ditches. North of the railway these ditches form field boundaries and run adjacent to Bogshole Lane and May Street. This ditch system drains around and through the woodland area into a brick culvert and water flows south under the railway. The ditches to the north of the railway receive surface water runoff from the housing development to the north of the Application Site in the vicinity of Puffin Road.

South of the railway, the culvert under the railway drains east through a culvert and ditch running parallel to the railway line and through another culvert under Sweech Bridge.

East of the culvert under Sweech Bridge the watercourse continues to drain east and runs south of the railway before flowing north under the railway in the vicinity of the Wantsum Walk footbridge and drains into the Hogwell Sewer by Brook Farm some 1.4km northeast of the application site and eventually into Herne Bay which is approximately 3.8 km downstream of the Site. The area of the Site south of the railway drains to the Sweech Bridge culvert via overland flow and a network of drainage ditches within the development site.

With respect to historic flood records, the SFRA does not record any historic incidences of flooding on the Application Site. Historic flood incidences in Herne Bay are predominately focused on tidal flooding, from the Plenty Brook in the centre of the town and surface water flooding in the low lying areas of Beltinge. These sources of flooding do not pose a risk to the Application Site. The Hogwell Sewer approximately 0.5km downstream of the Application Site is assessed by the Environment Agency as part of its River Basin Management Plan.


The construction and operation of the Proposed Development will disrupt the surface water sustainable drainage regime and have implications for local flood risk.

Potentially polluting activities including accidental spillages and leakages may occur during the


construction and operation of the Proposed Development which could have an effect on local water quality within onsite ditches

Mitigation and Enhancements

The surface water drainage system will incorporate stormwater storage in the form of detention basins and stormwater runoff will be discharged at a greenfield flow rates to the onsite ditch network. These measures reduce flood risk downstream and create wetland habitat

Good site management, adequate contingency planning and implementation of pollution prevention principles and best practice construction techniques will reduce the risk of a significant water pollution event occurring. The sustainable drainage system will also provide a degree of water treatment.


GROUND CONDITIONS AND CONTAMINATIONThe Ground Conditions and Contamination Assessment considered the potential for significant effects with respect to the existing ground conditions and contamination and their effects on human health and the environment.

Baseline Conditions

The Application Site occupies approximately 56 hectares of arable agricultural land in the City of Canterbury. The ‘Southern Railway’ line passes through the centre of the Site in an east-west direction. A review of historical mapping indicates that the Application Site has always been under agricultural use. The Application Site’s history is unlikely to have resulted in significant contamination.


The construction of the Proposed Development has the potential to affect ground conditions. Although not found to be present in significant quantities, contamination is present within the soils beneath the Site, and construction activities have the potential to mobilise the contamination either by creating new pathways into the deeper rock layers or from the creation of dust. Construction activities also have the potential to cause contamination through spillages and leaks of fuels and other liquids.

The operation of the Proposed Development could cause contamination through accidental leaks and spillages, with the potential to affect controlled waters and future site users, although this risk would be minimised by inherent measures built into the design.

The operation of the Proposed Development will bring new sensitive receptors on to the Application Site. Although the concentrations of contaminants have been found to be low, the introduction of new sensitive receptors could create a potential pollutant linkage.


The assessment determined that no specific ground remediation is required. However, there are a number of design mitigations that will be put into place such as increased areas of hard standing and oil separators.

During construction a Construction Environmental Management Plan will be implemented, which will ensure that good site practices are put into place and construction effects are appropriately mitigated.


AGRICULTURE The Application Site is 54.696ha (137.63 acres) and the majority of this is arable agricultural land. This assessment considers the implications of losing this area of agricultural land to development

Baseline Conditions

Soil survey work of the application site was carried out by the former Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) in 1988 and then further survey work for this application was completed in 2015.

All agricultural land is defined as by its possible productivity and is allocated a ‘Best and Most Versatile’ rating (BMV). The grading’s run from 1-5 with Grades 1-3a being considered BMV and Grade 3b-5 are not BMV. This site has a mix of Grade 2- Grade 3b within it, as well as some no agricultural land, such as roads and

the railway line. Approximately, 18.6ha (34.0%) of the Application Site is Grade 2, 10.2ha (18.7%) is Grade 3a and 24.75ha (45.3%) is Grade 3b. The remaining is non-agricultural land (2.0%).


If development is to take place on this land then it will be lost from agricultural use, this is unavoidable. It also known that Canterbury and Kent require more houses to be built to meet the housing needs of the growing and aging population.

The loss of this BMV land has to be considered in context with the wider mix of BMV land within the District. MAFF Provisional ALC information indicates that Canterbury District has a high proportion of Grade 1 and 2 land (31.5%) compared with England as a whole (16.9%). Therefore, the presence of Grade 2 land at the site is not unexpected, and the fact that over 440% of the Application Site is Grade 3b is a good opportunity to locate development on some of the poorest land available in Canterbury District.

Mitigations and Enhancements

There are no mitigations that can be taken. If development takes place on this land, then agricultural land will be lost

FIGURE 5.3: AGRICULTURAL LAND CLASSIFICATION


ARCHAEOLOGY AND CULTURAL HERITAGE The Archaeological and Cultural Heritage Assessment considers the potential effects on historic buildings and structures, the historic landscape and potential archaeology.

Baseline Conditions

The assessment has established, through previous archaeological fieldwork and analysis of cropmark evidence from aerial photographs, that significant archaeological remains of prehistoric and Roman date are present within the Application Site. This correlates well with previous archaeological investigations on neighbouring development sites where significant and extensive prehistoric and early Roman archaeology has also been identified.

There are 10 Conservation Areas located around the Site, the closest of which is Broomfield which is directly to the south. It is physically separated from the Site by the A299, which is a busy dual carriageway. There are also 21 Grade II Listed Buildings and 5 locally Listed Buildings, all of which are located outside the Site. The majority of these Listed Buildings are within the Broomfield Area.


These archaeological remains will almost certainly be destroyed by construction groundworks required for the Proposed Development resulting in the permanent loss of an archaeological resource. Judging by the nature of the archaeological remains found on neighbouring development sites, the archaeological remains within the Application Site are likely to be of local significance

although, given the size of the Application Site, they would contribute to our present regional understanding of the prehistoric and later agricultural landscape of the area.

The Proposed Development will not cause any significant effect to the Conservation Areas or Listed Buildings in the vicinity of the Site, including the Broomfield Conservation Area. This is due to the existing screening and/or distance between these heritage features and the Site.


In order to mitigate against the negative effects on the archaeology in the Site caused by construction groundworks an archaeological trial trench evaluation will be carried out in accordance with a scope of works which will be agreed in advance with the Canterbury City Council Archaeologist. In areas where significant archaeology is identified a programme of archaeological excavation and/or monitoring of the topsoil/subsoil stripping will be implemented. This will ensure that all significant archaeological remains within the Site are mapped and suitably excavated and recorded. The results will also be published in a suitable format. Once this process has been completed the overall effect on the archaeological resource will be minor.

No mitigation measures are proposed for the local heritage features such as Conservation Areas as the Proposed Development will not affect them.


FIGURE 5.4: CONSERVATION AREAS & LISTED BUILDINGS


The Environmental Impact Assessment has demonstrated that, following the implementation of the identified measures, there would be only a few significant adverse environmental effects resulting from the proposed development and no overriding environmental constraints that should preclude the development of this land for new residential dwellings, employment land, a new primary school, retail units, a care home and the surrounding improvements to local infrastructure.

6. CONCLUSION

www.pegasuspg.co.uk

Pegasus GroupPegasus HouseQuerns Business CentreWhitworth RoadCirencesterGlosGL7 1RT

Telephone: 01285 641717

COPYRIGHT The contents of this document must not be copied or reproduced in whole or in part without the written consent of Pegasus Planning Group.

Crown copyright. All rights reserved, Licence number 100042093.

PLANNING | DESIGN | ENVIRONMENT | ECONOMICS

hybrid planning application for mixed use development … at hillborough... · development. the...

Documents