Regulation 19 Rutland Local Plan
Stamford North urban extension
The Rutland County boundary with Lincolnshire is close to the town of Stamford in South Kesteven. Evidence has shown that the most appropriate location for the future growth of the town of Stamford is to the north of the town. This development needs some land located in Rutland in order to achieve a comprehensive and sustainable development. This plan therefore includes a proposal for land to form the western end of a larger urban extension to the north of Stamford.
What will the policy do?
The policy allocates the site, in Rutland for housing development as part of the Stamford North development. The policy restricts the scale of development to 650 homes and requires the inclusion of a country park, local centre, and a road access from the Old Great North Road to Little Casterton Road to connect through to Ryhall Road to the east. This road connection is critical to the delivery of the whole Stamford North development. It is essential that the part of the site within Rutland is developed as part of a comprehensive proposal alongside the development in Lincolnshire.
Policy H2 – Cross-boundary development opportunity – Stamford North View comments
Land at Quarry Farm (also known as Monarch Park), Little Casterton, is allocated for development as part of a larger development opportunity extending eastwards known as Stamford North. The majority of this development site is allocated in South Kesteven District.
The portion of land within Rutland will only be brought forward for development in conjunction with the land in South Kesteven as part of a comprehensive mixed-use scheme known as Stamford North.
A proposal for the development of the Quarry Farm site will only be supported where it is in accordance with an agreed Masterplan or Development Brief or as part of a comprehensive planning application for the whole of the Stamford North development area.
The masterplan and planning application is expected to include:
- an appropriate full transport assessment and phasing plan for the entire site, based on the latest Stamford Traffic Model;
- residential development of no more than 650 homes (on the site within Rutland) of a mix of type, size and tenure as evidenced in the latest Housing Market Assessment (HMA) and in accordance with Policy H4 and to include:
- 30% of the site capacity as affordable housing to meet the need arising in Rutland;
- the requirements of Policy H5 (Accessibility Standards) for accessible and adaptable homes;
- 2% of site capacity to be provided as serviced self-build/custom build plots;
- a country park incorporating the appropriate mitigation of potential harm to biodiversity and wildlife assets, including the appropriate translocation of notable species;
- a distributor road facilitating the connection of the Old Great North Road, Little Casterton Road and Ryhall Road and any associated junction improvements arising from this new road, including increasing capacity at the A1/A606 junction;
- localised traffic and highway safety measures in accordance with the requirements of an agreed Traffic Impact Assessment and travel plan;
- appropriate community infrastructure to support the scale of development included on the site, through the payment of CIL and either by direct on-site provision or as a site-specific financial contribution to off-site provision serving the wider Stamford North development;
- safe and convenient highway, footway, cycleway connections throughout the site connecting it to local schools, community facilities and into the wider town;
- a layout which positively respond to green infrastructure opportunities and provides sensitive landscaping to the northern and western edges of the site and provides at least 10% biodiversity net gain on site;
- evidence of early engagement with Anglian Water to determine capacity and connection to water supply. A planning condition phasing the connection of properties to water supply may be necessary to ensure customers do not suffer from low water pressure;
- Foul drainage connection via the 1050mm foul sewer in Uffington Road, via a pumping station. A foul drainage pre-commencement planning condition will be necessary to ensure the sewer network upgrades are in place and sewer flooding is avoided;
- an appropriate buffer for the protection and enhancement of the setting of the Roman Town Scheduled Monument at Great Casterton, the area of this buffer should be determined through a Heritage Impact Assessment;
- the protection and retention of existing hedgerows and hedgerow trees around the site wherever possible. Protect and enhance two parcels of woodland by providing tree planted corridors to connect the two as part of the Biodiversity Net Gain;
- the provision of green infrastructure and landscaping incorporating an appropriate amount open space, for each relevant typology using the standards in Appendix 3, this should include LAPs, LEAPs, NEAPs and MUGAs to meet the need for children's play and new playing pitch provision as required by the Playing Pitch Strategy and Sport England's Playing Pitch calculator; and
- the submission of a Health Impact Assessment to identify and respond to the impacts of development on health and well being.
*The entire Stamford North proposal can accommodate 2000 homes, including land within South Kesteven, however only the 650 homes delivered at Quarry Farm (Monarch Park) will contribute towards Rutland's housing need.
For Information:
An application for this site should be accompanied by the following evidence/surveys which include, where appropriate, evidence that the necessary mitigation measures have been planned into the design and layout of the development:
- Full Transport Assessment
- Detailed Design of off-site highway works
- Health Impact Assessment
- Historic Impact Assessment
- Archaeological Assessment
- UKHab Survey
- Hedgerow Survey to assess the value of linear features
- Great Crested Newt survey of all onsite ponds and ponds within 500m
- Badger survey
- Reptile Survey
- Construction Ecological Management Plan (CEMP)
- Ground level tree assessment
- Bat survey
- Contaminated Land Assessment
- Air Quality Assessment (in liaison with SKDC)
- Noise Impact assessment
- Agricultural Land Survey (if there is not enough information available from previous data)
- SUDs Drainage System
Why is this policy needed?
The NPPF advises plan makers that the supply of a large number of new homes can often be best achieved through planning for larger scale development, such as new settlements or significant extensions to existing villages and towns, provided that they are well located and designed, and supported by the necessary infrastructure and facilities.
The Local Plan process also requires Local Authorities to work together to ensure effective delivery across county boundaries, through the duty to co-operate. Rutland County Council has been working with South Kesteven and Lincolnshire County Council over a number of years to ensure that future development of Stamford is carefully planned.
The parish boundary for Little Casterton adjoins the edge of Stamford, a market town within South Kesteven District, making this a sustainable location albeit outside the administrative boundary for Rutland. As such there is scope for development within this area to support a comprehensive scheme and to overcome infrastructure constraints, and it is proposed that Rutland County Council will continue to work jointly with South Kesteven District Council. It is expected that development on the Rutland part of this comprehensive scheme would contribute to Rutland's housing needs.
In developing new Local Plans for both South Kesteven District Council and Rutland County Council, the two authorities have worked jointly to assess the need for, and suitability of land which spans the County boundary to the north of Stamford. This work has concluded that some land within Rutland will be needed as part of a larger urban extension to support the sustainable growth of the town and to facilitate an appropriate road connection and necessary infrastructure improvements to support the amount of growth proposed.
The portion of the development area known as Stamford North lies within Rutland is known as Quarry Farm (or Monarch Park). This site will only be brought forward for development in conjunction with the land in South Kesteven as a comprehensive mixed-use scheme which delivers a new road connection between Ryhall Road in the east and the Great North Road to the west. Any housing developed on the Quarry Farm site will contribute towards Rutland's housing supply and CIL monies and any specific S106 or onsite infrastructure provision directly related to Quarry Farm will be made to Rutland County Council.
A part of the Quarry Farm site is identified as a candidate wildlife site and would not normally be considered appropriate for development. However, the wider economic and social benefits arising from a comprehensive development in this location which delivers this new road connection is considered to outweigh the potential impact of development on wildlife in this instance. The candidate status of the site is due to the identification of important flora on site. The Leicestershire County ecologist service has worked with Rutland County Council to assess the potential impact of development on the wildlife interest and how this could be mitigated. The development proposal therefore requires the creation of a new wildlife site and the translocation of the notable species.
The developers and landowners of the sites which comprise "Stamford North" within RCC and SKDC have jointly prepared a Stamford North Delivery Statement which sets out a proposed means of delivering the scheme in an appropriate and coordinated manner to the benefit of the communities in both council areas. Together they have prepared a draft masterplan which sets out how the requirements of both councils can be met on site. Alongside this a Traffic Assessment has been prepared which proposes improvements to relevant junctions and highways safely measures in the town. Both Local Planning Authorities will need to approve the details of the masterplan and the relevant highway authorities, including Highways England will need to be satisfied that the proposed highway improvements are appropriate.
Supporting Evidence
Capacity and Limits to Growth Study for Stamford (2015)
South Kesteven Local Plan
