LITTLE HADENS
7th May 2020
Planning Addendum Key Changes
Buckinghamshire Council will start a formal period of consultation from 14 May 2020 following the submission of a revised suite of designs and plans for Little Haldens in the Gomm Valley.
The planning application submitted in January 2019 was the product of a process of widespread and intensive public consultation and stakeholder involvement and Little Haldens has been refined in response to further review and comments; the revisions we have made reflect a process of refinement rather than wholesale change. These refinements – described and illustrated below - are, we believe, robust and ready and further improve the scheme before it proceeds to Planning committee for determination later this year.
A formal period of public consultation will run for 30 days from 14 May, and as this runs we will continue to be in dialogue with the Highways Authority and Local Planning Authority (LPA) to resolve all outstanding transport and planning matters. When the period of consultation closes, we will work with the LPA to review and agree if any further final changes to the proposals are required.
The revised pack containing the amendments to the design is available for inspection on the Council’s website using the link below and the application reference 19/05281/OUTEA. Please do review the information and provide any comments you may have through the Council’s portal to ensure they are heard.
Click here to view Council's websiteDetails can also be found below
What changes have been made
Junction with Cock Lane relocated
The Cock Lane vehicle access point has been relocated to the north-west corner of the site.The new location requires minimal widening of Cock Lane, tying in with proposals for the Ashwells development site to the north. This location minimises the loss of hedgerow in order to achieve appropriate visibility splays. This is due to the prior widening of the carriageway immediately to the north. The revised location of the Cock Lane junction also provides an opportunity to improve the public right of way which crosses Cock Lane in this location. Design proposals for the junction include making improvements to the pedestrian crossing environment.
Street design amended
The Neighbourhood Street - Ashwells Lane - is the main spine road of the Little Haldens neighbourhood and while retaining the elegance and quality of this as a liveable street and lane and defending its function in serving new residents ofLittle Haldens and others living nearby who want to use the newly accessible green spaces and facilities and services in the square (rather than people passing through) we have agreed to the following changes:
- widening the carriageway to 5.5m with regular sustained narrowings of 4.8m to slow traffic and retain the character.
- tight bends have been adjusted to ensure easier navigation for larger vehicles
- introducing pedestrian crossing points at regular intervals throughout the length of the street at intersections of key pedestrian paths. Here, the carriageway narrows to 3.2m, encouraging slower vehicle speeds and safer crossing points.
- Adjustments to kerbside activity to ensure better visibility splays from parking courts.
- A new, continuous 3m wide shared (pedestrian and cyclist) footway introduced on the ‘uphill’ side of the street. This will make it far safer for children to cycle and scoot without impeding people walking.
Layouts and dwellings
We have done more work on the illustrative masterplan to show how the proposed dwellings can be laid out in a sensitive and attractive way, minimising visual impact.
School site relocated
At the behest of the Education Authority a number of changes have been made to the school site design. These include:
- relocation to the rear of Little Haldens Square area to make it easier to provide conventional sports and play areas and a site of 1 hectare in total
- a full-size grass sports area equivalent to a U11football pitch
- revision in the design of the school building to make sure it stands alone without touching other buildings in the square
- reduced the school to 2 storeys in height rather than the 3 we had shown previously
- created a dedicated access and drop-off area even as families will be encouraged and supported in avoiding car use for school journeys
- re-design of the adjacent residential buildings to ensure that there is no overlooking
- further design studies have also been undertaken to demonstrate that the school building can be easily accommodated on the site. The building has been designed to DfE standards for a single form entry school.
Sheltered housing building removed
To accommodate the relocated school site, the sheltered housing building has been omitted from the application.
Larger parks
The provision of localised play and green spaces has been amended so that there is now one larger park space located within each village area as follows:
OrchardVillage
The park is located between Parcels 6 & 7 to the north of the small square in Parcel 6with good natural surveillance from surrounding houses.
HillsideVillage
The park is located to the north of Parcel 11 between the end of the housing area and the footpath in an open area which will benefit from neighbourly overlooking.
UrbanVillage North
A public park is provided here.
UrbanVillage South
This park is now located to the west of Parcel 23 in the ‘switchback’ of the community street where it is overlooked by adjacent houses.
Ecological connection between railway and local wildlife site widened and enhanced
The proposed corridor has been widened to be a minimum of 10m including a swale, grass land and an informal avenue of native trees.
Ecological link between Little Gomms Wood and Pimms Wood widened and otherwise enhanced
This connection has been widened to be a minimum of 5m and will contain an informal avenue of trees
Removal of paths in the SSSI
The original application showed managed footpaths within the SSSI; the amended proposals show no footpaths within the SSSI.
Pedestrian and cycle connection to Pimms Grove added
A pedestrian and cycle connection has been added connecting Pimms Grove to parcel 14.
Building heights reduced in Parcels 9, 11, 14 and 23
The following amendments have been made following further review of the Landscape and VisualImpact of the proposals:
- reduced height of southernmost block in Parcel 9 from 3 storeys to 2.
- height reduction in development plots around upper street in Parcel 23 from 3 storeys to 2
- the most prominent development plot inParcel 23 is to be reduced from 3 storeys to 2
- a gap will be introduced betweenParcels 22 & 23 to reinforce ecological connections
- a reduced section of the 3-storey block in Parcel 11 backing onto Pimms Grove to 2 storeys
- reduction in height in parts of Parcel14 from 3 storeys to 2
- greater symmetry between street tree planting in the parameter plans and key views
- a reduction in the quantum of tree planting on the south-eastern shoulder in Parcel 20 to retain more of the current character
Street trees
More detail has been provided in regard to the plan for street trees to ensure effective mitigation according to the landscape and visual impact assessment. No such scheme was previously shown on the illustrative masterplan.
Informal parking added in the Orchard Village (Parcels 4 and 6)
Informal on-street parking has been added to the community street areas in the OrchardVillage (Parcels 6 & 7).
Parking courts sub-divided into smaller areas
Parking court shave been reduced in size and enclosed to allow private access only. The parking spaces on the uphill side sit underneath rear gardens to reduce the visual impact of the courts and further increase their security. Spaces on the downhill side remain unallocated for flexible use by the neighbouring residents and continuous runs of parking have been broken up with informal planting. A detailed account of these changes to the illustrative masterplan and parameter plans are described in the DAS Addendum, Therevisions aresupported by technical analysis contained within the Environmental ImpactAssessment inclusive of drainage and transport strategies.