Contact: Stephen Blyth, ext 6777 email: [email protected]

1. Summary

1.1 The following decision is sought:

That Rushmoor Borough Council be:

(i) thanked for closely liaising with Hampshire County Council on Project Connaught and Aldershot Urban Extension and consulting the County Council on the Revised Supplementary Planning Guidance for Aldershot Urban Extension;

(ii) advised that the Supplementary Planning Guidance for Aldershot Urban Extension accords with the Hampshire County Structure Plan Review 1996-2011 and is supported; and

(iii) asked to amend the Supplementary Planning Guidance to indicate:

(a) as Waste Disposal Authority, Hampshire County Council will seek a contribution towards the cost of providing the capital infrastructure to deal with household waste arising from the new community;

(b) the County Council will seek a contribution towards the set-up costs of additional social service infrastructure;

(c) there will be consideration given to establishing an eco-centre in conjunction with the household waste recycling centre; and

(d) the formal process by which the Supplementary Planning Guidance will be reviewed.

2. Reason

2.1 This decision supports Aim 2 of the Corporate Strategy (Stewardship of the Environment) by supporting a brownfield development providing not only housing but also a wide range of community services and facilities. The objective of the development is to integrate different transport modes both within and beyond the site, and the need to minimise travel, especially by car. The aim is also to create an exemplar of best practice in the use of resources, in particular through waste management practice.

2.2 The Supplementary Planning Guidance provides the planning framework to guide the development/redevelopment of land surplus to military requirements at Aldershot, the scale of which is of strategic significance and the broad principles accord with the Hampshire County Structure Plan 1996-2011 (review).

3. Other Options Considered and Rejected

3.1 Not to respond to the consultation.

4. Conflicts of Interest Declared by the Decision Maker or Other Executive Member Consulted - None.

5. Dispensation granted by the Standards Committee - Not applicable.

6. Reason(s) for the Matter being dealt with if Urgent - Not applicable.

Approved by: Date:

Councillor J K Glen

7. Summary

7.1 Rushmoor Borough Council has published for public consultation draft revised Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG) for Aldershot Urban Extension. Comments are required by 17 May 2004. The SPG covers the area surplus to military requirements to be released by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for civilian development, and is in response to the Enquiry by Design event held last December. This prepared a draft masterplan for the development which has been used by Rushmoor Borough Council to revise the SPG for Aldershot Military Town, adopted in 2002.

8. Background

8.1 As part of the Government's Strategic Defence Review, changes are proposed to the military estate at Aldershot. The changes are being implemented under the Project name `Connaught'. This will result in the eventual release of land surplus to military requirements for civilian development.

8.2 In 2002, in response to Project Connaught, Rushmoor Borough Council adopted Aldershot Military Town SPG. This set out a series of development principles and policies against which proposals for development would be assessed. The adopted SPG covers both the retained areas and the land to be released. The County Council was involved in its preparation, and the Environment Policy Review Committee and Executive Member for Environment considered a report on the guidance in March that year.

8.3 The land to be retained for military purposes, amounting to 215 hectares, is known as Project Connaught. The Borough Council resolved to grant planning permission for this development in March this year. The land eventually to be released for development is now known as the Aldershot Urban Extension.

9. Aldershot Urban Extension

9.1 The master-planning for the urban extension has been a collaborative approach involving Rushmoor Borough Council, Hampshire County Council, the MoD and its consultants, English Partnerships, the Prince's Foundation and other agencies. In December last year, over five days, an Enquiry by Design workshop took place in Aldershot to master-plan the development. Officers from the Environment Department were part of the core team that facilitated the event. Other officers from County Council departments, including Education, Recreation and Heritage and Social Services, contributed to themed briefing sessions. County Council Members also attended stakeholder presentations. By the end of the week a draft master-plan was prepared that could be used to provide between 4,000-4,500 houses, including affordable housing, supported by community and leisure facilities, workplaces and shops.

10. Revised Supplementary Planning Guidance

10.1 The Borough Council has used the master-plan to revise the SPG adopted in 2002. The revised Guidance focuses on the land to be released and will provide the policy framework for determining the planning application(s) for the urban extension. The draft SPG has been published for public consultation, which commenced on 5 April and closes on 17 May 2004.

10.2 The SPG covers the area shown on the attached plan. The land to be released totals some 137 hectares. The MoD's withdrawal from the site will probably be phased between 2004 and 2011, with land likely to become available for development in two stages, 2004-2006 and 2009-2010. The developer will be required to agree a broad phasing plan with the Borough Council and must provide details of how community facilities will be incorporated into the new development.

Sustainability

10.3 Overall the aspiration is to achieve a community where people will wish to live and continue to do so in the long term, and to create an integrated and comprehensive development that will be designed to a high quality to maximise its potential to be a vibrant addition to Aldershot. Sustainable development principles will be addressed throughout the development, from the concept stage through to detailed design and construction. This will include minimising potable water consumption as well as using sustainable construction materials and energy-efficient design.

Mix of Uses

10.4 A `character area' approach will be adopted to develop the master-plan. This will involve developing a hierarchy of character areas, where high-density `urban boulevards' accommodate local community facilities and form the core of the community. The majority of housing will exist in quieter neighbourhood areas. This approach seeks to create an environment where all facilities are accessible on foot within the whole development.

Housing

10.5 The development will provide for a range of different types and sizes of dwellings to appeal to a wide and mixed community. Areas for housing will be required to be developed at a net density of a minimum of 30 dwellings per hectare; 35%-40% of dwellings will be required to be affordable homes. Key worker housing must be provided on site to meet the needs of the Blackwater Valley sub-region. The affordable housing must be integrated into the layout, within private housing areas.

Community Facilities

10.6 The development will be required to provide sufficient educational capacity to provide for the future requirements of the residents of the urban extension. The development is likely to generate the need for one 3-form entry and one 2-form entry primary schools. Should a secondary school be required an area of land will be made available. If the threshold for a new secondary school is not met, secondary education will continue to be provided at Wavell and/or Connaught schools.

10.7 Care for the elderly must be built into the proposal. An existing building must be safeguarded as a nursing home for older people, the exact nature of which will need to be determined.

10.8 Plans for the community centre must take account of the need to provide library, information and learning resources to the new community. The community facility should also allow sufficient space to co-locate social service staff, such as social workers or occupational therapists.

10.9 Provision must also be made for a site and building for an Enterprise Centre to provide low-cost premises for business innovation, potentially linked to education facilities.

Transport and Movement

10.10 The principal aim is that the development incorporates sustainable transport choices to encourage a change in the traditionally car-based travel patterns from new developments. This would be achieved through the integration of different transport modes both within and beyond the development area, and the need to minimise travel, especially by car. To help reduce the need to travel, high accessibility by public transport, walking and cycling to local shops, jobs, schools and other services and facilities will be required. Fundamental to the development's success will be the provision of a new and significantly improved `people mover' public transport service which will need to be provided from the earliest phase of development and provide links from the development and the military garrison to Aldershot town centre and rail station, the major employment centre at Farnborough, Farnborough town centre and the mainline rail station, and North Camp station. The SPG says this may be in part based on a guided track. (The SPG does not define `people mover' but it could be a high profile, quality road based system powered by an alternative fuel and potentially run on a segregated track. It could operate from early morning to late at night, with a frequency of 10 minutes or better, serving transit interchanges built to a high design affording security and comfort for users).

10.11 A Transport Assessment will be required. This must consider the implications of the development on the local and strategic road network, eg North Lane, A323, A325, A331 M3 junctions 4 and 4A. Detailed studies of Lynchford Road (including St Albans roundabout), North Lane, Farnborough Road (A325), Wellington Avenue, High Street, Ash Road and Holly Bush Lane will also have to be undertaken. Car parking will be provided in accordance with the County Council's Parking Standards and Strategy. An overarching Travel Plan is necessary. Individual travel plans will need to be provided for residential, employment, retail and educational uses. Finally, appropriate targets will need to be agreed between the highway authorities and local planning authority to ensure that the objectives for walking, cycling, public transport and car use are being implemented. This will involve regular monitoring to establish whether the targets are being met.

11. Comments by the Director of Environment

11.1 The County Council has worked closely with Rushmoor Borough Council on Project Connaught and more recently on the Aldershot Urban Extension. This partnership approach involving both officers and Members is welcomed. It is the authority's intention that it will continue in future to help progress this important development.

11.2 The Aldershot Urban Extension is of strategic significance. The revision of the adopted SPG to guide its development and reflect the themes and principles in the draft master-plan that emerged from the Enquiry by Design is to be particularly welcomed, as the workshop and outcomes were judged to be a success by those participating from the County Council.

11.3 The principle of a housing development supported by community and leisure facilities, workplaces and shops is supported, being consistent with the Hampshire County Structure Plan 1996-2011 (Review) urban regeneration policies.

11.4 The affordable housing element required as part of the development, together with the need to make provision for key worker housing (to be met through the shared ownership proportion of the affordable housing), is particularly important and is to be welcomed. The County Council has some 30,000 staff providing key public services and considers that housing for key workers is a vital component of affordable housing provision.

11.5 The SPG identifies all the key transport requirements which were highlighted at the Enquiry by Design process and specifies the need for the transport proposals to be fully funded and implemented in association with the development proposals. The more detailed transport assessments, which the SPG requires to be prepared, will identify development impacts and appropriate mitigation measures in relation to timing, funding and implementation.

11.6 In relation to wider sustainability issues, the County Council's Natural Resources Initiative Team has advised the Borough Council how sustainable practices could be achieved at the urban extension and throughout Rushmoor Borough in its `Project Rushmoor' proposal produced for the Enquiry by Design. This aims to make the urban extension an exemplar of best practice in the use of natural resources, with particular reference to best waste management practice. The intention is to then use this learning as a springboard for best practice across the borough. The embedding of good sustainable practice/principles within the SPG is therefore supported.

11.7 Securing provision of new infrastructure and services with new development is a major objective of the Structure Plan Review. Developer contributions help finance infrastructure and services arising from the needs of new development. Accordingly, officers from the Environment Department have been liaising with other County Council departments and coordinating the advice to the Borough Council on its requirements and the contributions it is seeking as part of the development to help fund the provision of essential public services and facilities, and these have largely been incorporated into the SPG.

11.8 The SPG identifies that a site for a Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) will be required to be set aside. However, the County Council requests that reference also be made to consideration being given to establishing an eco-centre in conjunction with the HWRC. This would accommodate voluntary and/or small business activities in promoting sustainable use of waste.

11.9 The SPG should also indicate that the County Council as Waste Disposal Authority will seek a contribution (per dwelling) towards the cost of providing the capital infrastructure to deal with household waste arising from the new community.

11.10 The County Council's Social Services Department will also seek a contribution towards the set-up costs of additional social service infrastructure.

11.11 The urban extension is likely to take over 10 years to complete, during which time it is probable that development requirements will evolve and change. Consequently the SPG will need to be amended to reflect these changes. Therefore the Borough Council is requested to build into the SPG a formal process to indicate when it will be reviewed. For example the trigger could be the number of houses completed or relate to time periods.

11.12 A small number of other minor changes need to be made to the text and these will be pursued with Borough Council officers.

12. Local Members' Views

12.1 The local Members (Councillors Mrs Devereux, Kimber and Roberts) were consulted at an informal meeting of the Project Connaught Members' Working Group on 26 March 2004 and endorsed the proposed response set out above.

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