Reigate and Banstead Borough Council
PARK 25 DEVELOPMENT BRIEF
DRAFT
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Section Number: Page No:
1. Introduction 3
2. Background 5
3. Planning Policy Context 7
4. Site Characteristics and Area Context 12
5. Proposals and Aspirations 16
6. Design Principles 20
7. Public consultation 20
APPENDICES:
A Site Location Plan
B Illustrative Layout of Business Development with Outline Planning Permission – to follow
C Constraints Framework– to follow
D Opportunities Framework – to follow
E Planning History of the Site
1 INTRODUCTION
Purpose of Development Brief
1.1 The purpose of this brief is to provide the context and set out detailed requirements for a possible residential development of the Park 25 site. It will consider the basis for such development as an alternative to the employment use for which the site is allocated in the adopted Reigate and Banstead Local Plan (1994) and for which redevelopment permission has been granted. On 8th July 2004 the Executive of Reigate and Banstead Council resolved to adopt this brief for the purposes of public and technical consultation subject to the later full consideration of any planning application by the Council’s Planning Committee.
Land Ownership
1.2 All of the land identified in red on the site location plan (Appendix A) is owned by Schroder Exempt Property Unit Trust (Schroders). This is the land to which this brief applies. Schroders also owns the industrial units on the land to the north (Foxboro Park) which is identified in blue through which another point of access will be created to minimise HGV traffic in St Anne’s Drive (see paragraph 4.3 below). Schroders have indicated their intention to work in partnership with the Council to agree a strategy for redevelopment of the site. This development brief is the result of joint working between the Council and Schroders.
The Development Site
1.3 The Park 25 site is 10.56 hectares in extent and is outlined in red on the attached location plan. It is bounded by railway lines (on embankments) to the east and west, by the Foxboro Park estate to the north, and by residential development in St Anne’s Drive to the south. The site is located to the north east of Redhill Town Centre. The mainline railway and bus stations and shopping centre facilities are all within 1 kilometre.
1.4 The site is separated from the adjoining residential development to the South by a landscaped area with a lake and fountain designated Urban Open Land on the proposals map of the adopted Borough Local Plan. There are two adjoining road access points in the South West corner currently giving access to St Anne’s Drive to the South and Wiggie Lane to the North.
1.5 To the east, beyond the railway embankment, lies land within the Metropolitan Green Belt where there is a large worked out mineral extraction site. This site is identified in the adopted local plan as an “Area of High Ecological Quality” and is now designated as a “Site of Nature Conservation Interest” (SNCI). This designation is of county significance, and the land has now been restored.
1.6 The Park 25 site originally extended to 14.6 hectares but the three industrial buildings in Foxboro Park have been constructed to the north and these are now separated from the site by the internal estate road of St Anne’s Boulevard.
1.7 To the west, beyond the other railway embankment lies established residential development.
The rationale for the development
1.8 This site is identified as an Employment Area in the Reigate and Banstead Borough Local Plan, adopted in 1994, where the policy is to “resist the loss of land and suitable premises in industrial, storage and distribution use”.
1.9 The Council recognises that future planning decisions and new policies will need to reflect new Government and Regional Planning Guidance that encourages the re-use of employment land for housing.
1.10 Central Government encouragement to re-use employment land for housing is consistent with the Council’s own assessment, based on marketing evidence, that there is no longer a clear need for an employment development in this location . Furthermore, there is a need for additional housing in the Borough to meet Structure Plan requirements and this warrants consideration of an alternative residential development of this site.
1.11 The site meets the rigorous site selection criteria for housing development set out in Government guidance (PPG 3), is in a location that has the potential of being provided with accessibility enhancements to improve its sustainability. Such improvements could result from minimising HGV traffic in St Anne’s Drive and by improving pedestrian, cycle and public transport facilities.
1.12 A residential development of the site will almost certainly generate less traffic than the permitted employment use and a different pattern, tending to focus on outbound movement in the morning and inbound in the evening (the opposite pattern to that of an employment use). This should be confirmed by a Transport Assessment submitted with the eventual planning application. There will also be fewer HGV and general commercial vehicles than with an employment use. This should lead to a reduced impact on the road network and on the amenity of the surrounding area.
The need for the development brief
1.13 The principle of considering residential development of land previously identified for employment uses when reviewing local plans is well established in national, regional and Structure Plan policy. This principle is also consistent with the current needs of the Borough to meet a challenging Structure Plan housing requirement and the particular circumstances of the site.
1.14 However, this site is allocated for employment uses in the adopted Reigate and Banstead Borough Plan and has extant outline planning permission for development of 37,500 sq metres of B1 employment floorspace. Residential development would therefore be a departure from the development plan that requires both detailed consideration and proper public and technical consultation prior to the submission of a planning application. The brief is intended to fulfil these requirements. It provides the policy context for residential development and background information regarding the scale and form of development that would be appropriate.
Outline of the development brief
1.15 The remainder of this development brief sets out the background to the proposed development in more detail and describes the various components of the development and principles that would be applied if the development were to proceed. It therefore considers:
a) the background to the development (Section 2);
b) the planning policy context (Section 3);
c) an analysis of the site and its area context (Section 4);
d) a description of the development concept – site specific proposals and aspirations for the local area (Section 5);
e) design principles that would guide future developers when preparing detailed development proposals for the land (Section 6).
2 BACKGROUND
Synopsis of site planning history
2.1 The site is identified as an “Employment Area” with Urban Open Land along its Southern boundary, in the Reigate and Banstead Local Plan (adopted in 1994). At the time the Plan was adopted the site was known as the Foxboro Works and was occupied by Siebe plc as an engineering works. This ceased to operate in 1997 and the site then became vacant and is consequently deemed to comprise “previously developed land” in terms of Government policy.
2.2 The site, as outlined in red on the attached location plan, has a history of commercial use and commercial development proposals. It benefited from a certificate of lawful use for B1(a) (office) use of the former Foxboro building and now has outline planning permission for business use development, the latest permission providing for buildings totalling 37,500 sq metres and parking for 1,170 cars. An illustrative layout of this development is attached as Appendix B.
2.3 Land to the north of the proposed residential site has already been cleared and re-developed to provide three industrial units now known as Foxboro Park.
2.4 Details of the various planning permissions for business use of the site are set out in Appendix E.
The case for alternative uses
2.5 The case for alternative development must be considered in the context of the site’s status as an Employment Area in the Reigate and Banstead Local Plan, adopted in 1994.
2.6 However, the needs and circumstances of the Borough, and the requirements of Government, Regional and the Replacement Structure Plan policy have changed since the Plan was adopted. The Borough must therefore have regard to these new circumstances and requirements as new “material considerations” in determining planning applications.
2.7 Government planning guidance on housing (PPG 3) indicates that some land previously designated for employment use may no longer be required for that purpose and the designation may therefore be a wasted resource. In these circumstances the allocation for employment use can be reviewed with a view to housing. This principle was amplified by the Deputy Prime Minister in a speech on 9 April 2003 where he indicated that unless there was a convincing case otherwise, local authorities should allow land allocated for industrial or commercial use to be used for housing or mixed use development. This has now resulted in a formal proposed change to Government policy in PPG 3 (see paragraph 3.12 below).
2.8 The existing PPG 3 makes clear that local authorities should have regard to the policy in the PPG as material considerations which may supersede the policies in their plan when considering planning applications for development (PPG 3, para 38).
2.9 Regional policy advocates the re-use of prevously developed land and also gives Redhill “transport hub” status. This translates in the Replacement Structure Plan 2002 as needing to make the best use of such land in support of Redhill as an identified “Centre of Strategic Importance”. Both employment and housing redevelopment of the Park 25 site would be consistent with this in principle; each would bring economic benefits. As the Park 25 site has an existing employment allocation, there needs to be sound evidence that its loss to a housing use would not prejudice Redhill’s success as a Centre of Strategic Importance.
2.10 In the context of this policy background, the Council has reviewed local economic factors relating to this site. The Council monitors the availability of commercial floorspace on a regular basis, by type and location. The key factors (at December 2003) are that: total non-retail commercial floorspace commitments in Redhill are at their highest level since 1994; Redhill’s commercial commitments account for 70% of the Borough’s total, indicating the volume of the availability; over two-thirds of the office space available to let at the end of 2002 was still available one year later, indicating a very slow take-up recently; even at the average annual take-up rate in Redhill experienced between 1997 and 2001, there is now an outstanding office floorspace stock sufficient for six years without including the Park 25 site.
The above suggests that the retention of the site for employment use would not be in the community’s best interests in the light of alternative pressures for housing. Analysis of the market demand for employment land in the Borough by Stiles Harold Williams, long established, locally and regionally based, commercial agents, indicates that despite a significant and extensive marketing campaign, Park 25 has not attracted any potential occupiers for the permitted business floorspace. This analysis also shows clear evidence that both locally and regionally, the market conditions are such that vacancy rates are increasing and occupier demand is falling.
2.12 It is clear from Government policy that the preferred alternative allocation in these circumstances is for housing and this is consistent with the Council’s own assessment of the housing needs of the Borough, including the need for affordable housing.
2.13 However, the Council must judge the particular merits of residential development in this location, consider what form the development should take and the requirements that it should meet. It must consult the public on these matters and, overall, ensure that the development is successful and beneficial. This is the purpose of this brief and will establish a sound basis for any decision to depart from the adopted development plan in considering a planning application for residential development.
2.14 The site is now vacant but the potential impact of any alternative development must be judged against that of an employment use and, more specifically, the development that has planning permission.
2.15 The site meets the rigorous site selection criteria for housing development set out in paragraph 31 of PPG 3 and is in a location that has the potential of being provided with accessibility enhancements to improve its sustainability. This can be achieved by minimising HGV traffic in St Anne’s’ Drive and by improving pedestrian, cycle and public transport facilities in order to better integrate the site with the rest of the urban area and in particular the town centre.
3 PLANNING POLICY CONTEXT
3.1 This section brings together the planning policy sources that are relevant to the development of the land at Park 25 for residential purposes, beginning with national planning policy guidance and then moving on to regional planning guidance for the South East, strategic planning policy (Surrey Structure Plan), local planning policy (Reigate and Banstead Borough Local Plan) and finally Supplementary Planning Guidance.