GNLP0430

Again this site was rejected under the SNC Local Plan, presumably because access and egress is via a relatively narrow opening, and the site itself is located close to a particularly dangerous meeting of two fairly width restricted lanes.

The access to this piece of land is through a narrow access, not wide enough for 2 vehicles. The access also opens onto a stretch of road near a notoriously dangerous junction between Station Road and Mill Lane. At the rear of the existing houses is a sewage pumping Station owned by Anglian Water servicing houses on Station Road. This pumping Station needs to be accessed by an Anglian Water vehicle on a regular basis for maintenance work. The presence of this pumping station, which serves the 5 newest houses built in this location, means that there must be some problem with sewage provision of this site and will most certainly also affect a larger scale development here.

1. Brown & Co act for the landowners, Mr & Mrs J Burridge, in relation to land at Station Road, Pulham St Mary.
2. The following comments are submitted in support of the suggested allocation of the land at Station Road (ref GNDP0430) for housing.
3. It is noted that the site is classified as being suitable for housing development in the Council's Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (HELAA) 2017. However, a number of technical issues are identified as potential constraints on development, and these issues are addressed below.
Access to services
4. Pulham St Mary is identified in the current Joint Core Strategy as a Service Village. It benefits from a post office and shop, community centre, church and children's play area (see below). In addition to providing a community venue, the Pennoyer Centre provides a café, business meeting space, training courses and social events. The village centre is approximately 380 metres from the proposed development site, and would be readily accessible from it on foot or by bicycle 5. A number of bus services operate on weekdays and Saturdays through the village, providing links to Norwich, Diss, Pulham Market, Long Stratton and Harleston (Konectbus service 83, Semmence & Co service 584 and Simonds service 40). The nearest bus stops to the site are located around 400 metres away in the village centre.
6. Pulham Market is located a short distance to the west of Pulham St Mary and provides a range of other local services, including a primary school, doctors surgery, public houses, shops and church. A dedicated footway/cycleway along Norwich Road provides a safe link between the two villages. Pulham Market Primary School is around 1.7km away from the proposed site, within the maximum recommended walking distance of 2km.
7. Accordingly, it is considered that the proposal development would benefit from good access to local services, and would accord with local and national planning policies which indicate that to promote sustainable development in rural areas, housing should be located where it will enhance or maintain the vitality of rural communities. Given their accessibility, existing local businesses and services would be likely to derive support from the development due to the addition to the local economy of the spending power of new residents. In these respects, the proposal would support the social and economic dimensions of sustainability as defined in the NPPF.
8. It is acknowledged that due to the site's rural location, residents of the proposed development would be reliant to a degree on car travel for their main shopping and leisure trips. However, a number of sustainable transport options would nonetheless be available to access local services, including walking, cycling and public transport.
Local character
9. The land proposed for development comprises an open field located on the southern edge of the village, but is well-contained visually by existing housing to the north and west and by established boundary hedges and trees elsewhere. From Station Road, views of the proposed houses would be limited to glimpsed views along the new access, whilst from Dirty Lane to the south, the site would be screened from view by a series of established hedgerows. Consequently, whilst the proposal would inevitably result in a loss of openness, its impact on the landscape setting of the village and the character of the area generally would be limited.
10. The established pattern of development in the vicinity is mixed, but is made up predominantly of detached and semi-detached houses and bungalows set in good sizes plots. Historically, development has extended south-westwards from the village centre along Station Road in a broadly linear form. However, this pattern of development of building has been consolidated by development in depth behind frontage properties in a several places, including immediately to the north of the site where bungalows are arranged in circular fashion in a short cul-de-sac, and at the Old Maltings just to the north-east. 11. As demonstrated by the submitted concept layout (see below), the site could be developed in a way that would be consistent with the surrounding pattern of development and so would not appear out of place. The density of development envisaged of around 25DPH would also be compatible with its surroundings and would enable the relatively spacious character of the area to be maintained.Highway safety
12. Access to the site is available directly off Station Road between existing houses (Rosedial House and The Hawthorns). It is proposed that a new access road would be constructed here in accordance with relevant highway standards. Suitable provision would also be made for pedestrian movement along Station Road. Highway consultants are being instructed to design appropriate an appropriate access, and further technical information to support the proposal will be provided as soon as it is available.
13. In the meantime, it is noted that Station Road provides a direct link to the village centre and is constructed to a good standard, providing for two-way traffic and benefitting from street lighting. The road is subject to 30mph speed limit. Good visibility would be available from the proposed access onto Station Road in both directions. Existing footways stop short of the proposed site entrance, but there are wide highway verges along this section of Station Road. These verges currently provide safe refuge for pedestrians and would in the future facilitate the construction of any necessary new footway links to serve the proposed development.
Heritage assets
14. The southern and eastern boundaries of the site proposed for development adjoin the Pulham St Mary Conservation Area. The Conservation Area encompasses the historic core of the village, together with a broad swathe of farmland on its southern fringe. Only limited views of the development would be available from the Conservation Area due to the screening effects of boundary hedges and hedges. It is also envisaged that the proposed houses would be well back from these boundaries, which would diminish their visual impact. Where visible the proposed development would be seen against the backdrop of existing housing to the north and west, and would appear as a natural rounding-off of this part of the village .
15. There is only one listed building in the vicinity of the site, The White House, which is located around 100 metres away to the south-west on the opposite side of Station Road. The significance of this Grade II listed timber framed house appears to derive principally from its architectural form/details and historic fabric, together with its setting in grounds on the edge of the village. Given its separation from the site and the screening effects of intervening houses and vegetation, it is considered that the proposed development would not have a material impact on the setting of this listed building.
Flooding
16. Whilst a small area of the site adjacent to the southern boundary is at risk of fluvial and surface water flooding, the majority of the site falls with Flood Risk Zone 1 (low risk). The proposed development would be located on higher ground away from any flood risk areas. Further technical work, including a site-specific flood risk assessment, is being commissioned to demonstrate that the proposed development would not be a risk of flooding or be likely to result in an increased flood risk elsewhere in the locality. This will submitted in support of the proposed development as soon as possible.
Proximity to sewage works
17. It is noted that a sewage treatment works (STW) is located to the south-east of the site on land off Dirty Lane. To address this issue an Odour Assessment is being commissioned to inform the form and layout of the proposed development. Appropriate separation distances will be provided between proposed houses and the STW to ensure that future residents enjoy a good standard of amenity.
Land at Station Road, Pulham St Mary 5
Ecology
18. An Ecological Assessment1 of the site has been carried out (copy attached), which found that the development of the site would be unlikely to impact on any designated sites, and that the development site itself lacks any features of note, with the exception of boundary hedgerows which would be retained. For the protected species scoped-in as potentially present (including breeding birds, hedgehogs and invertebrates), it was concluded that, due to the lack of scarce or specialist resources within the site, any individuals present would be part of a larger local population.
Delivery of development
19. No significant infrastructure constraints have been identified to date which would be likely to delay or impede the development of the site for housing. The site is in a single ownership and no further land is needed to enable the land to be brought forward for development. The land is currently available for development and so, subject to approval being given, could delivery housing in the short term.
Benefits of development
20. The proposed development would make a positive contribution to the supply of housing in the area. The proposal would also add to the range of housing sites available in the locality, providing flexibility and a wider choice of development opportunities to the market, and thus strengthening the local supply of housing land.
21. Existing local businesses and services would be likely to derive support from the development due to the addition to the local economy of the spending power of new residents, given their accessibility from the site. The construction of the development would also provide some economic benefits, albeit temporary. New residents would also add to the vitality of the local community.
22. Additionally it is considered that Pulham St Mary would represent a sustainable location for development of the modest scale envisaged, given the range of local services available and the range of sustainable transport options available. The proposal would also be consistent with the pattern and character of development in the area.
23. In these respects, the proposal would support the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainability, as defined in the NPPF. It would also be consistent with the various growth options proposed in the draft Local Plan, including dispersal, dispersal plus settlement and dispersal plus urban growth.

Objection - Station Road (ref GNDP0430) for housing development.
It is noted that the site is classified as being suitable for housing development in the Council's Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (HELAA) 2017. However, in comparison to other potential sites across the village (particularly GNLP1052R) there are a number of technical issues and constraints to developing this land. Therefore, I am of the opinion that GNDP0430 is the least favorable site if the village was allocated in the draft Local Plan. My reasons are explained below.

1) Whilst the land promoter has suggested that Pulham St Mary is a service village its services are limited. Realistically the site is unsustainable as it ignores how services and facilities are located and should be provided. Ultimately it would encourage car use to bigger service villages/towns that have a wider selection of services and amenities. It is noted that the village has bus links. However, there this is a restricted timetable as evidenced through the very limited direct bus timetable to Norwich. Some journeys have three changes. Ultimately, this indicates how the site is unsustainable compared to other options.

2) The nearest bus stop and services to the site are located in the village centre. This would encourage more pedestrians to walk along Station Road. Worryingly, this road does not sufficiently provide road safety for pedestrians especially adults with children who would consequently have an unsafe walk to the nearest primary school in Pulham St Market. Whilst there are verges along Station Road this would not be a good enough road safety measure long term for additional pedestrians especially young children whose parents do not have access to a car.

3) Pulham Market is located a short distance to the west of Pulham St Mary and provides a range of other local services, including a primary school, doctors surgery, public houses, shops, and church. Therefore site GNLP1052R is more suitable if the village was allocated in the draft Local Plan.

4) Access to the site is very restricted and is between two houses (Rose Dial and The Hawthorns) therefore it would significantly impact on their inhabitant's road safety alongside the inhabitants of the surrounding frontal properties. As recognised by the Highways agency there is no possibility of creating suitable access to the site. Furthermore, the narrow access road does not have a suitable access for pedestrians, therefore, it does not provide necessary visibility splays and so there are again significant road safety concerns.

5) There is a dangerous junction very close to the access road just off Mill Lane where there have been several accidents. Vehicles turning onto Station Road from this junction could encourage collisions due to stationary cars/maintenance vehicles stopping on Station Road while they wait to turn into the narrow access road. As it is not wide enough for two vehicles, vehicles wanting to enter the site would be forced to wait on Station Road near this dangerous junction until the access road was free from oncoming traffic.

6) The development site would mean that the frontal houses on Station Road would be overlooked (Willow House, Rosedial House, The Hawthorns, the Poppies, Naple House and the circular positioned bungalows). This would mean that previously private areas would be overlooked. This constraint would not be a concern for GNLP1052R.

7) Frontal houses on Station Road would experience unacceptable disturbance such as noise during the development stage, which would be intrusive. Furthermore, heavy construction vehicles would create excessive noise and pollution due to the poor narrow access road and its proximity to Willow House, Rosedial House, The Hawthorns, the Poppies and Naple House. The circular positioned bungalows would also be disturbed by noise and pollution. In particular, the boundary of Rosedial House and The Hawthorns is adjacent to the narrow access road, therefore, their inhabitants would be at a further disadvantage. Furthermore, they would experience long-term disturbance due to the increased traffic flow driving between both properties as a result of them frequently accessing the new and inhabited housing development.

8) Waste collection vehicles would struggle to gain access to the site due to the narrow access road, as would the emergency services.

9) There are concerns about the current sewage system that serves Station Road. Therefore, an additional housing development would not have adequate sewage support provided by the nearby pumping station which already struggles to supply reliable sewage services and needs regular maintenance for a very small number of houses.

10) The site was accessed as not being suitable and therefore rejected when it was considered under the South North Council Local Plan. The constraints remain the same as before. I also understand that planning permission has previously been denied for this site.

11) The ecology assessment acknowledged that the hedgerows on the south and east are considered to qualify as a habitat of principal importance. There is a risk that these could be damaged during the construction phase of the housing site. It has also been identified that breeding birds, hedgehogs, and widespread invertebrates are potentially present on the site. While they may be part of larger populations, they are nonetheless declining species with the status of Species of Principal Importance.