Proposed residential development at land off Watlington Road
WELCOME TO OUR EXHIBITION Rainier Developments is promoting land south of Watlington Road for a new development of up to 45 dwellings to help South Oxfordshire meet its identified housing need. Where is our site located?
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D OA LR HIL
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THE SITE
B4009
Rainier Developments has previously presented a Lewknor Parish Council meeting on 12 June 2017 which was well attended by local residents. During the course of that meeting comments were received from attendees regarding the principle of the development proposed, as well as its design and how it could contribute towards the village. The key points raised as part of this consultation event are listed below and the exhibition boards presented at this exhibition relate to these matters. These are: • Highways; • Drainage; • Utilities; • Landscape; • Heritage; and • Sustainability.
Pegasus Group
This presentation has been prepared by Pegasus Urban Design (part of Pegasus Group) on be-half of Rainier Developments Ltd P17-1042_30b
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Prop o osed residential dev eve ev vel elop pment mentt at la me land nd off f Watlington n Ro oad
HIGHWAYS / UTILITIES / DRAINAGE Highways; An Automatic Traffic Counter survey was undertaken on Watlington Road close to the site between Thursday 22 June 2017 and Wednesday 29 June 2017 (prior to school holidays). What is the sites context?
THE SITE
A Manual Classified Count was undertaken at the junction between Watlington Road and B4009 was carried out on Tuesday 27 June 2017. However, in light of comments from local residents at the Parish Council meeting further traffic surveys will be undertaken in early September. In the interim, draft findings based on the surveys already undertaken indicate that the junction between Watlington Road and the B4009 will operate well within capacity despite the addition of the proposed development. Furthermore, the visibility splays shown for the proposed access exceed that which is required in that location.
Drainage; The proposed development includes Sustainable Urban Drainage in the form of an attenuation basin. This will be dry for the majority of the time, but will be used to hold water in the event of a severe weather event and release it slowly at the same rate as runoff from the field currently. In terms of foul drainage, Rainier has been in contact with Thames Water and investigations are ongoing into their preferred point of connection to the public sewer. Utilities; During the public consultation some residents raised the point that the village is not served by a mains gas connection. After evaluating the alternatives available Rainier have opted for a Liquid Petroleum Gas solution for the site, rather than individual oil tanks.
Pegasus Group
This presentation has been prepared by Pegasus Urban Design (part of Pegasus Group) on be-half of Rainier Developments Ltd P17-1042_30b
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Proposed residential development at land off Watlington Road
LANDSCAPE / HERITAGE Landscape; The site lies close to the boundary within the Chiltern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and therefore the design of any development must be respectful of this. Proposed Indicative Street Scenes
Use of simple porch and canopy details
Black barn cladding / weatherboard
Chimneys with brick detailing
Sash windows with detailed surround
Red brick and flint facing materials
Pitched roofs with plain clay tiles
A full Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment is currently being proposed to assess the potential impact of the proposals. Rainier’s landscape consultants have met with and received advice from the AONB Conservation Board in terms of which viewpoints should be used. The proposed layout includes a substantial landscape buffer on the southern boundary, in addition to the hedgerow that already exists, and open space in the south western corner.
Heritage; The site is located close to the Lewknor Conservation Area and listed buildings in the form of Home Farmhouse and the Leathern Bottle Public House. While the site does not lie within the Conservation Area, it does adjoin it. Design of the proposed buildings is important to this and as such the design consultants are undertaking a full assessment of the character of the village and responding accordingly. The use of traditional materials, particularly on prominent plots, would play a key part in assimilating the development into the village. These materials include flint for walls and clay tiles for roofs. Particular reference has been made to perceived good examples of modern development including on Hill Road and Lewknor Close.
Pegasus Group
This presentation has been prepared by Pegasus Urban Design (part of Pegasus Group) on be-half of Rainier Developments Ltd P17-1042_30b
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Prrop pos osed d res esid denti tial ial a dev e el elop opme opm op ment men nt at la land nd offf Wattli lin ngton ngto n Ro Road ad d
SUSTAINABILITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE Sustainability and Infrastructure; Concern was raised at the Parish Council as to the level of facilities available in Lewknor and its ability to accommodate residential development of the scale proposed. Proposed Indicative Visualisation
Lewknor contains a number of local facilities including a primary school, pub, village hall, church, pre-school, play area and recreation ground. It also has access to bus services to London, Oxford and Thame amongst others. As such, it is one of the most sustainable smaller villages in South Oxfordshire. Indeed, other villages in this category have had houses consented within them. Such as 65 houses at Newington Road, Stadhampton, 65 dwellings at Thames Farm, Lower Shiplake and 39 at High Street, Tetsworth in recent months. School capacity has been assessed and there is sufficient room to accommodate further pupils according to Department for Education records. The school currently has planning permission for a new classroom and Rainier would welcome the opportunity to contribute towards this should South Oxfordshire District Council regulations allow. The development also provides open space, children’s play facilities and Community Infrastructure Levy payments which would allocated to both Lewknor Parish Council and South Oxfordshire District Council to provide for infrastructure in the village and elsewhere This includes education, health and transport. One of the key benefits of the scheme is that it will provide for 40% affordable housing on site in a District that suffers from a lack of affordability. Current Government guidance on affordable housing is that on sites of 10 and under, affordable housing does not need to be provided. Therefore, without developments of a larger scale there will be very limited affordable housing delivered in Lewknor.
Pegasus Group
This presentation has been prepared by Pegasus Urban Design (part of Pegasus Group) on be-half of Rainier Developments Ltd P17-1042_30b
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Proposed residential development at land off Watlington Road
PROPOSED LAYOUT AND NEXT STEPS Proposed Layout; Our proposals have evolved through preliminary survey and assessment work which our team have undertaken to understand the site and the surrounding area. Proposed Indicative Site Layout
The proposed layout shows how the site could be developed and includes: • A residential development comprising of up to 45 new family homes; • A proposed vehicular access off Watlington Road; • A new pedestrian footway joining Watlington Road to the B4009; • A range of housing sizes and types, including detached, semi-detached and terrace; • 40% affordable housing provision, in line with planning policy requirements; • New landscaped public open space and a potential children’s play area; • The retention of the majority of existing trees and hedgerows; and • The provision of sustainable drainage features to manage surface water drainage.
Next Steps; If you have any questions about the proposals or wish to make any comments, please do talk to us or fill out one of the feedback forms provided. We welcome your views and will take them into consideration in developing the scheme further. Once we have had chance to review your comments and refine the scheme, an outline planning application will be submitted to South Oxfordshire District Council in the near future. Once the application has been submitted, the Council will undertake their own consultation and you will have another opportunity to comment on the proposals. Please fill out one of the feedback forms today and hand it in to a member of the project team, or post it to us at: Lewknor Consultation - Savills | Wytham Court | 11 West Way | Oxford | OX2 0QL Alternatively you can email us at; mdawber@savills.com Please submit any comments you may have by Friday 22 September 2017.
Pegasus Group
This presentation has been prepared by Pegasus Urban Design (part of Pegasus Group) on be-half of Rainier Developments Ltd P17-1042_30b
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30/08/2017 08:27