sustainability scoping report · 2015. 12. 8. · sustainability scoping report 1 of 39 16/04/2015...

NPCC, 1 Old School Place, Gorwell, Watlington, OX49 5QH

[email protected]

www.watlingtonnp.org.uk

Sustainability Scoping Report

Watlington Neighbourhood Plan Core Committee

16 April 2015

Our Community - Our


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Executive Summary

In October 2013 SODC approved all land within the Watlington Parish boundary as the Designated

Area for the WNP following a year-long discussion between the Parish Council, SODC officers, SODC

Councillors, and the Parish Councils (or Meetings) of Pyrton, Cuxham and Britwell Salome. This

discussion included requests for clarification and information from the Department for Communities

and Local Government in London.

This document follows Consultations 1 and 2 which identified the key issues of concerns to

Watlington Parish residents and some options for resolving those issues. It describes the scope and

issues to be addressed by the Sustainability Appraisal of the Watlington Neighbourhood Plan

following the drafting of that plan, scheduled for summer of 2015. It also includes some background

material to help familiarise the reader with the context and methodology behind the writing of the

WNP.

Much of the wording contained here is taken from documents published by a large number of both

government and non-government agencies and from voluntary organisations and is assumed for

the purposes of the WNP exercise to be accurate and complete.

The Watlington planning context is described in terms of environment, population, employment,

transport etc. and the consequent sustainability issues are defined. Submissions from statutory

consultees have been included following a screening exercise carried out by SODC late in 2014.

Aside from SODC, the statutory consultees who responded are English Heritage, Natural England

and the Environment Agency.

Also included are the requirements of Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes

Regulations 2004 and to be compliant with the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) March

2012; the Neighbourhood Planning (General) Regulations 2012, SI 2012 No. 637; and the Localism

Act 2011.

The responses from the statutory consultees together with examination of local and national policies

(Table 1: Plans, Programmes and Policies and Appendix A: SODC Core Strategy Policies) have

resulted in the sustainability objectives described in Table 7.


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Contents

1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................................... 1

1.1 Background 1

1.2 Designated area 1

1.3 Methodology 2

2 Policy Context ...................................................................................................................................................... 5

3 Sustainability Context ........................................................................................................................................ 7

3.1 Population 7

3.2 Housing 10

3.3 Employment 14

3.4 Tourism 15

3.5 Transport, paths, cycle ways, parking 15

3.6 Facilities 17

3.7 Retail, other commercial services 17

3.8 Natural Environment: Landscape character and key features 18

4 Alternatives.......................................................................................................................................................... 20

5 SWOT ..................................................................................................................................................................... 21

6 Next Steps............................................................................................................................................................ 24

6.1 Population 24

6.2 Housing 24

6.3 Tourism 25

6.4 Transport, paths, cycle ways, parking 25

6.5 Sustainability Assessment Framework 25

6.6 Strategic Environment Assessment: Responses from Statutory Consultees 27

6.7 Habitat Regulations Assessment: Responses from Statutory Consultees 29

Figures

Figure 1: Watlington Neighbourhood Plan Designated Area .............................................................................. 2

Figure 2: Outline Plan .......................................................................................................................................................... 3

Figure 3: Watlington Parish population distribution 2011...................................................................................... 8

Figure 4: Fraction of total population with ages in each year for the 10 to 29 age group ........................ 9

Figure 5: Economic deprivation ....................................................................................................................................... 10

Figure 6: Dwelling types ..................................................................................................................................................... 11

Figure 7: Distribution of house sizes ............................................................................................................................ 12

Figure 8: Employment status ............................................................................................................................................ 14

Figure 9: Comparison of employment of men and women ................................................................................. 15


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1 Introduction

1.1 Background

This document sets out the scope, and describes the procedural steps to be taken, in preparing the

Sustainability Appraisal for the Watlington Neighbourhood Plan (WNP). It represents the first stage

in the Sustainability Appraisal and is intended to provide the context in policy, environmental,

economic and social terms in which WNP will be set. It aims to meet the requirements of

Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes Regulations 2004 and to be compliant with the

National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) March 2012; the Neighbourhood Planning (General)

Regulations 2012, SI 2012 No. 637; and the Localism Act 2011.

The Localism Act of 2011 gives towns and villages such as ours the opportunity to have a greater say

in the future development of their area. This is done through a Neighbourhood Plan which defines

such items as where we would like new housing to be built; the mix of housing types needed; the

location of retail or commercial premises; green space to be protected; and the infrastructure needs

to support growth of the town. A properly prepared and approved Neighbourhood Plan has legal

status similar to the SODC’s Local Plan although it cannot override requirements included in the

Local Plan.

To achieve this legal status, a Neighbourhood Plan must satisfy an external examiner that that it

meets a number of basic conditions, including conditions relating its ability to achieve sustainable

development for the community. Where a Neighbourhood Plan could have significant

environmental effects, it may require a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) as defined in EC

Directive 2001/42/EC which is implemented in UK law through Environmental Assessment

Regulations 2004 (1). These regulations require that a plan is supported by a SEA if:

• the plan or programme sets the framework for future development consent of projects;

and

• the plan is likely to have significant environmental effects.

Both of these apply to the WNP because it will allocate preferred sites for development and provide

guidance on the types of development that are acceptable, and because most of the possible

development sites either adjoin or are very visible from the Chilterns AONB, in addition to any

specific environmental impacts the new development might have.

1.2 Designated area

In October 2013 SODC approved all land within the parish boundary (Figure 1) as the Designated

Area for the WNP following a yearlong discussion between the Parish Council, SODC officers, SODC

Councillors, and the Parish Councils (or Meetings) of Pyrton, Cuxham and Britwell Salome. This


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discussion included requests for clarification and information from the Department for Communities

and Local Government in London.

The issue behind this discussion was whether the WNP should include parts of the adjacent parishes

that bordered on Watlington to provide some local protection against the communities being

merged into each other. SODC were concerned a Neighbourhood Plan which excluded two of the

sites identified by their owners in the Strategic Housing land Availability Assessment (SHLAA) (2) as

suitable for housing development would not be acceptable to an examiner. The two excluded areas

fall within the Pyrton parish. The other three parishes decided they did not want to be included in a

Watlington area NP so Watlington Parish Council went ahead alone with an application for the full

parish area.

The two SHLAA areas outside the Parish will be included in the assessments and consultations for

the Neighbourhood Plan for the purpose of completeness, but any decision to include them in the

proposed development areas will require further discussion with Pyrton Parish Council.

1.3 Methodology

Approach

The approach to creating the Neighbourhood Plan has been created to align with the

Neighbourhood Planning Toolkit published by Oxfordshire County Council.

Figure 1: Watlington Neighbourhood Plan Designated Area


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The majority of the work will be undertaken by the Core Committee established by the Watlington

Parish Council early in 2014. This committee is supplemented by a group of volunteers who are

called upon on an ad-hoc basis as the workload demands. Advice from South Oxfordshire District

Council and district and county councillors will be sought on specific areas requiring technical

expertise and for guidance on the schedule of work.

A key element of the plan is interaction with the community of the Parish of Watlington, whose plan

this will become once the referendum has been held. This interaction is a key element of success of

the whole plan creation process and is described in more detail below.

The overall timescale, as outlined in Figure 2 has been determined by not only practical

considerations of the work required but also political timescales (e.g. the election of May 2015) and

the necessity to build in elapsed time for the examination period and the notice required for the

referendum.

Consultations

Consultations are the main formal mechanism of interacting with the community. Three

consultations will be held:

• Consultation 1 – to identify the key issues of concern to residents

Figure 2: Outline Plan


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• Consultation 2 – to present the vision and objectives of the plan and invite ideas to address

the issues recorded in Consultation 1

• Consultation 3 – to invite comment on the draft plan before submission to the examiner and

the referendum.

Consultations will run for a minimum of a 6-week period and will be supported by open days and

exhibitions on the content. All comments will be recorded by individual and responses to comments

and questions logged.

Community Engagement

Aside from the formal consultations other community engagement activities will be carried out with

the aim of engaging as many in the community as possible. These activities will consist of:

• Invitation to inspect plans and data held both in hard copy and online on the

neighbourhood plan website (www.watlingtonnp.org.uk)

• Attendance at meetings of local clubs, e.g. the Business Association, U3A, sports clubs etc.

(There are over 50 such organisations in Watlington so it is unlikely all will be reached

individually)

• Presentations to public bodies such as the schools, the care home and the fire service

• Representation at public events such as the British Legion Fair and the High St Christmas

Fair.

• Public presentations, e.g. of the Traffic survey report; the content of consultations etc.

Record keeping

The Parish Office filing system and the computer system will be the central repository for all records,

e.g. background data such population census and results from consultations and surveys. These will

be maintained by the support assistant to the committee and are available for inspection on

request. Electronic files will be backed up weekly as a security measure and the office will be

registered with the Data Protection Registry.

A key aspect of record keeping will be the recording of all comments and questions raised by

members of the community. Responses to questions will be tracked and the resulting response

logged. A list of all individuals and parties interested in the production of the plan will be kept,

including statutory consultees.

Committee meetings will be held monthly and the minutes formally recorded. The work of the Core

Committee will be overseen by a Steering Group appointed by the Parish Council.


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2 Policy Context

The WNP has to be consistent with the legislative framework within it fits. This includes not only

planning for housing, but also traffic and transport, and environmental policies and requirements.

Table 1 below lists the major sources of these requirements and gives an indication of how these will

affect the WNP.

Table 1: Plans, Programmes and Policies

Relevant Plans And

Programmes

Relevance to Watlington NP

The National Planning Policy

Framework (2012) (DCLG)

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) consolidates and

replaces national guidance set out in preceding Planning Policy

Statements, Planning Policy Guidance, and a number of related

circulars, into a single document. The NPPF describes three

dimensions to sustainable development: economic, social and

environmental, and sets out proposals for delivering sustainable

development through the planning system.

Elements of the NPPF of particular relevance in preparing the WNP

are:

• Allowing people and communities to participate in planning

• A presumption in favour of sustainable development that is

the basis for every plan

• Neighbourhood plans must be in general conformity with the

strategic policies of the Local Plan.

National Planning Practice

Guidance (2014) (DCLG)

Must apply – need only include additional requirements. Need to

identify where (if) any are needed.

South Oxfordshire Core

Strategy (2012) (SODC)

Must apply – need only include additional requirements. Need to


Included as part of the Local plan is the Sites and Policies document

which includes an allocation of houses to each of the larger villages in

the District, including Watlington. This is the origin for the 79 new

homes included in the WNP documentation.

South Oxfordshire Local Plan

2011 (2006) (SODC)

The SODC Core Strategy supersedes a number of the Local Plan 2011

policies – the generally ‘strategic policies.’ The “Development

Management” type policies (i.e. the detail to consider in a planning

application) are still adopted policy and some of these might have a

slight impact on the plan– the Neighbourhood Plan policies will

eventually supersede these detailed policies. Any issues not covered

by NP policies about will default back to the Local Plan.


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Relevant Plans And

Programmes


South Oxfordshire Housing

Strategy 2008-2011 (SODC)

Most of what is in this strategy is out of date but it has not been

officially superseded. The Strategic Housing Market Assessment

(SHMA) provides an update on a number of the issues covered. The

Plan will also, where necessary consider the housing policies

documented in: http://www.southoxon.gov.uk/services-and-

advice/housing/housing-policies

South Oxfordshire Sustainable

Community Strategy 2009-

2026 (SODC - SCS)

This will be taken into consideration during the Sustainability

Appraisal. It is a “test of soundness” for the Local Plan (Core

Strategy) to conform to the SCS.

Strategic Housing Land

Availability Assessment (SODC

2013)

Identifies 12 sites around Watlington which their owners have put

forward as possible development sites.

Oxfordshire Strategic Housing

Market Assessment 2014

(OCC)

This could potentially increase the number of houses we must provide

by a significant number beyond the 79 allocated in the Core Strategy.

It will not be clear what this increased number is until Oxford City

gives its definitive number of houses they will provide and SODC has

completed a local plan review.

Water Resources Management

Plan 2015-2040 (Thames

Water)

The Plan will take into consideration implications on enlarging the

sewerage plant capacity

River Basin Management Plan

– Thames River Basin District

(2009) (EA)

As above

Thames (2014) & Cherwell,

Thame and Wye Catchment

Abstraction Licensing

Strategies (2012) (EA)

Not relevant

Oxfordshire LEP Strategic

Economic Plan - SEP (March

2014)

The SEP is the major driver for investment especially for infrastructure.

The Plan must not preclude anything that is planned in the SEP – e.g.

proposing a housing site on a piece of land identified for a road.

(Note: there is little in the SEP of concern to Watlington specifically –

mostly it focusses on Oxford, the “knowledge Spine” and ‘Science

Vale.’

Preliminary Flood Risk

Assessment 2011 (OCC)

The maps and commentary at:

https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/cms/content/oxfordshire-preliminary-

flood-risk-assessment-pfra

and at:

http://www.southoxon.gov.uk/services-and-advice/planning-and-

building/planning-policy/evidence-studies/district-flood-risk

will be used to inform the identification of development sites


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Relevant Plans And

Programmes


South Oxfordshire District

Council and Vale of White

Horse District Council Strategic

Flood Risk Assessment (2009)

(SODC & VOWH)

In addition to the above the maps at

http://maps.environment-

agency.gov.uk/wiyby/wiybyController?x=468500.0&y=194500.0

&topic=floodmap&ep=map&scale=9&location=Watlington,

Oxfordshire&lang= e&layerGroups=default&distance=&textonly

=off#x=468663&y=194503&lg=1,2,&scale=10

will be used to confirm the maps above

Oxfordshire Local Transport

Plan 2011-2030 (2011) (OCC)

Need to get reference to relief for Watlington traffic problems

included in LTP4

Oxfordshire’s Biodiversity

Action Plan 2015 (OCC BAP)

Production of the BAP has been temporarily halted. The Plan will take

into consideration impact on Target Conservation Areas described at:

https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/cms/content/oxfordshires-

biodiversity-action-plan

Oxfordshire Draft Rights of

Way Management Plan 2014-

2024 (2014) (OCC)

The Plan should not conflict with this, and if there are any identified

areas for improvement in Watlington then you might want to consider

helping to achieve that. Any rights of way are preserved and look for

opportunities to enhance them. This plan might support yours e.g. If

there is a local feeling that some stiles need to be replaced.

Village appraisals/design

statements/parish plans

(relevant parish

council/community group)

Suggestions for a Better Watlington (2002), Watlington Speaks

(2012), Watlington Conservation Area (1997)

Chilterns AONB Management

Plan 2008-2013 (Draft plan

published for 2014-2019, final

plan scheduled to be

published in spring 2014) (The

Chilterns Conservation Board)

Building on areas within AONB, impact on view from AONB:

The AONB is a nationally important landscape designation in the

NPPF (paras. 14, 109 and 115), and is also protected by local

landscape policy (CSEN1) although this policy also provides for certain

development. Any proposed development would need to take into

account the views of the Chilterns AONB Board about, who are likely

to oppose this sort of development in principle. The justification for

development can be made through the Plan. You will need to

consider the “Chilterns Buildings Design Guide”

http://www.chilternsaonb.org/conservation-board/planning-

development/buildings-design-guidance.html

3 Sustainability Context

3.1 Population

Information in this section has been taken from the 2011 census results (3).

Watlington has a population of 2727 most of whom live in the Town, with about 10% in the hamlets

of Christmas Common, Greenfield, Howe Hill and other more rural locations. Comparison with the


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previous census shows that the population grew by 13% in the period 2001 to 2011, a rate of

increase significantly higher than the UK growth rate and the SODC growth rate (5%) for the same

period. (4).

The age profile for the population (Figure 3) shows a strong deficiency for the full parish of 16 to 29

year olds in comparison with both the District and the County. The fraction of the population in this

band is half of that for the full County and about two-thirds of that for the District. In contrast the

Parish has proportionately more over 60’s than the District and the County.

A more detailed analysis (Figure 4) shows that the relatively low number of residents in the 10 to 29

age group is evident for all ages from 15 upwards, but that it is particularly marked for those over

20. For the 25 to 29 group the proportion of the population in this band in Watlington is about

two/fifths (41%) of that for the County as a whole and 55% of that for the District. In contrast, the

proportion of children under 14 is very similar to that for the County and District.

Figure 3: Watlington Parish population distribution

2011


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In the period between then2001 and 2011 censuses the parish population has aged with a 6.5%

reduction in the under sixties matched by an equivalent increase in the over sixty age group.

The 2011 Census provides information on four dimensions of deprivation as a measure of the

economic health of an area. The deprivation measures for a household are:

Employment: Any member of the household who is not a full time student is either unemployed or

on long term sick leave.

Health: Any member of the household has a general health rating of “bad” or “very bad” or

has a longer term health problem.

Education: No person in the household has at least level 2 education (GCSE’s), and no person

aged 16-18 is a full time student.

Housing: The household’s accommodation is overcrowded, with an occupancy rating of -1 or

less, or is a shared dwelling, or has no central heating.

Figure 5 compares the deprivation measures for Watlington with those for the SODC area as a

whole. Watlington has a slightly higher level of deprivation than the district as a whole (0.66

dimensions compared with 0.63), but with most of this being at the one or two dimension levels.

Figure 4: Fraction of total population with ages in each

year for the 10 to 29 age group


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This level of deprivation is nevertheless relatively low in comparison with the average of the 0.88 for

England.

The picture that emerges is of a Parish with an aging population but with an average population of

children whose parents are possibly older than average for the County because of the low number

of people in their twenties.

3.2 Housing

The information in this section is taken from the 2011 Census data for all household spaces

occupied at the date of census, and are figures for the full Parish unless otherwise stated. There

were 77 dwellings listed as having “no usual residents” at the date of the census either because they

were temporarily unoccupied or because they were second homes, and these are not included in the

information given below.

Watlington has a central core of older buildings centred on the High Street, Shirburn Street and

Couching Street with many properties dating back to the 17th century, as well as a smaller number of

old dwellings in the vicinity of St Leonards church. There has been some infill developments ranging

from individual buildings to about 50 properties during the last century, as well as growth beyond

the historic centre at various times, with the largest development being Marlbrook in the 1980’s.

Not all of the development over the past 100 years has been sympathetic to the older vernacular

style although the Lilacs provides a good example of what is achievable (see the historic

development map in 5).

Figure 5: Economic deprivation


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The range of house types in the Parish shows that in comparison with the rest of the South

Oxfordshire, there are more semi-detached houses and fewer detached houses (Figure 6). This

difference is even more marked when only the town is considered. The first consultation for this

neighbourhood plan revealed that for those who responded one of the more important housing

issues was the shortage of both small (1 or 2 bedroom) dwellings and larger dwellings. Figure 7

confirms that relative to the District the Parish has slightly fewer large houses than the district

average, and a more detailed examination of the census data shows that the proportion of 4 or

more bedroom houses reduces even further if the outlying rural parts of the parish east of the town

(Christmas Common, Howe Hill, Greenfield etc.) are excluded. (Over a quarter of the dwellings with

5 or more bedrooms are in the 10% of dwellings outside the town.)

On the other hand the census data shows that the Parish has a slightly larger proportion of 1 and 2

bedroom dwellings than does the District as whole, which does not fit with the responses from

Consultation 1. At least in part this can be explained by the large number (about 20%) of the

smaller dwellings that are reserved for older people in developments such as Orchard Walk and Old

School Place. This is illustrated in Figure 7 where the dwellings with a lower age limit of 55 years

are shown as diagonal shading.

Figure 6: Dwelling types


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A survey of the need for affordable housing1 was carried out in 2010 by Oxfordshire Rural

Community Council for the Parish Council (6). This survey was based on a questionnaire delivered to

every home in the Parish which achieved a 24% return rate which compares favourably with similar

postal surveys of that type. This survey found 13% of respondents had members of their family (53

individuals in total) who had moved away from the parish due to difficulties in finding a suitable

home locally. The survey identified a need for a mix of property within five years as shown in Table

2. A similar survey conducted 5 years previously achieved a rather larger response (40%) and is also

1 The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) defines affordable housing as social rented,

affordable rented and intermediate housing, provided to eligible households whose needs are not

met by the market. Eligibility is determined with regard to local incomes and local house prices.

Affordable housing should include provisions to remain at an affordable price for future eligible

households or for the subsidy to be recycled for alternative affordable housing provision.

Social rented housing is owned by local authorities and private registered providers (as defined in

section 80 of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008), for which guideline target rents are

determined through the national rent regime. It may also be owned by other persons and provided

under equivalent rental arrangements to the above, as agreed with the local authority or with the

Homes and Communities Agency.

Affordable rented housing is let by local authorities or private registered providers of social

housing to households who are eligible for social rented housing. Affordable Rent is subject to rent

controls that require a rent of no more than 80% of the local market rent (including service charges,

where applicable).

Intermediate housing is homes for sale and rent provided at a cost above social rent, but below

market levels subject to the criteria in the Affordable Housing definition above. These can include

shared equity (shared ownership and equity loans), other low cost homes for sale and intermediate

rent, but not affordable rented housing.

Figure 7: Distribution of house sizes


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included in Table 2. The numbers included in this table take account of the respondents’ ability to

afford the properties using financial information that they have provided. This number, rather than

the total number of people needing housing, is the relevant number for Neighbourhood Plan to

address as it refers to those who could afford new houses to be developed under the plan. It does

not include those who need social rented housing at rents controlled by the national regime

although there is also undoubtedly a need for this housing. The ORCC survey includes only those

who have a clear connection with the town through residence, employment or family connections

and so represents an underestimate of the total number who could want affordable housing in the

parish.

Table 2: Affordable Housing need

2010 survey 2005 Survey

Size of

dwelling Rental

Shared-

ownership Rent

Shared-

ownership

1 bedroom 7 31 7

2 bedroom 3 5 7 3

3 bedroom 2 4 2 5

The Policy CSH3 of the SODC Core Strategy requires that all developments which provide an

increase in the housing stock of three or more must include 40% affordable housing. For the

allocation of 79 new dwellings to the parish in the SODC Local Plan: Sites and General Policies

document (4) this implies a total of 32 affordable houses to be provided under this Neighbourhood

Plan. This is about 50% higher than the need identified in the 2010 survey and comparable with the

2005 survey.

More of an issue is the breakdown between rented and shared ownership needs. The SODC Core

Strategy (7) follows NPPF guidance in requiring a 75% : 25% split between rental and shared

ownership which is close to what the 2005 survey showed, but does not compare well with the 57% :

43% split reported in the 2010 survey. The Neighbourhood Plan will have to justify the use of

anything other than a 75% : 25% split.


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3.3 Employment

The 2011 census shows employment levels within the Parish that are broadly similar to those for the

District as a whole (Figure 8). The main difference is a larger number of self-employed people

matched almost exactly by a lower number of full time employees. When compared with the

District, about 4% more of the working age population are self-employed rather being in full time

employment. The next largest difference is that a higher fraction of the population in the Parish are

retired, which is not unexpected given the higher than average number of over 60s in the Parish.

Figure 9 compares the employment breakdown between residents of the Parish and of the District

for men and women separately. In both cases the largest difference between the Parish and District

is for full time employment and self-employment where for both men and women the Parish has

about 4% more people self-employed and a similar number less in fulltime employment. The

proportion of retired people for both genders is about 2.5% more than the District average.

There have been numerous requests directed to SODC over the last few years from those seeking

business premises in the region. They cover a wide variety of business types and likely number of

employees, those the most common are for services businesses (including retail and office space).

Figure 8: Employment status


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3.4 Tourism

Watlington is situated at the edge of the southern Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

(AONB) with easy access to many walks and attractive countryside, and the Ridgeway long distance

trail passes close to the town. It is conveniently situated near the M40 motorway and two large

conurbations (Oxford and Reading), and attracts a large number of walkers and cyclists throughout

the year. The town itself has a wealth of old and attractive buildings, including the Grade 2* listed

Town Hall, with all of the central area being included in a Conservation area. It is a regular stopping

point on “Midsomer Murders” tours as a number of the towns building have been used in the TV

series.

The tourism potential is not strongly exploited and potential exists for promoting the town’s

attractions more widely to boost local business opportunities.

3.5 Transport, paths, cycle ways, parking

Watlington is a rural community situated at the foot of the southern Chiltern Hills, and provides

services for a number of the smaller villages in the surrounding areas. It offers many essential

services but inevitably residents of the town have to travel to larger centres for a wider range of

services as well as for employment. The neighbouring towns of Henley, Wallingford and Thame are

all readily accessible by road and are within eleven miles of the town. The larger centres of Oxford,

Reading and High Wycombe are slightly further away but are also easily accessible by road.

Junction 6 of the M40 motorway is 3 miles away and provides a convenient route to London as well

Figure 9: Comparison of employment of men and women


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as connections to the rest of the motorway network through the M25 and through northward

connection from the M40 at Birmingham.

The town is served by an hourly weekday bus service to Oxford, as well as daily shoppers’ services to

Thame, Wallingford and Reading. In addition there is a coach service to central London from

Junction 6 of the M40, although sadly the connection service from Watlington to Junction 6 no

longer runs. The nearest rail connections are at Princes Risborough for trains to Marylebone in

London, from Oxford to Paddington, Birmingham and to the west and from Reading to the south as

well as London and the west.

In town there is a network of footpaths which provide routes to the centre of the town that to a

large extent separated from through road traffic. The largest recent development at Marlbrook was

not provided with convenient footpath access to the town, a situation that needs to be avoided in

any future developments. There are no dedicated cycle paths in the town, although many of the

footpaths are regularly used by cyclists.

The 2011 census shows (Table 3) that most people in work travel by car or van, either as driver or

passenger but this figure (67%) is very similar to the average for the District. The most notable

differences from the District are in the number of people who work at home (2 percentage points

more in the Parish) and who walk to work (one percentage point more in the Parish). The Parish, as

might be expected from the distance to the nearest rail station, has 2 percentage points fewer rail

commuters than the District as a whole.

Table 3: Travel to work

Method of travel to work Parish District

Work mainly at or from home 11.7% 8.9%

Rail 3.2% 5.2%

Bus, minibus or coach 3.2% 3.1%

Taxi 0.1% 0.1%

Motorcycle, scooter or moped 0.5% 0.8%

Driving a car or van 63.8% 62.7%

Passenger in a car or van 3.1% 3.9%

Bicycle 1.9% 3.7%

On foot 12.1% 11.0%

Other method of travel to work 0.5% 0.6%

Within the town, Watlington has severe traffic problems. These are addressed in a separate traffic

survey report (8) and are not repeated here.


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Parking is another issue within the town as many of the properties within the conservation area do

not have off-road parking and there are only two public parking areas. These are a relatively small

area serving the sports field and pavilion on the northern edge of the town and the larger car par

park in Hill Road near the centre of town. The Hill Road car park is free to users and is funded to a

large extent by contributions from the retail businesses in town for use as a shoppers’ car park.

About a quarter of the car park has a two hour parking limit on it, but this frequently insufficient to

cater for shoppers.

3.6 Facilities

Watlington is a small market town that provides a hub for the surrounding rural communities, and

so offers a wide range of services. The key facilities are marked on the Key Places map in (5). The

town has both primary and secondary schools, which share the same site and provide schooling for

residents of the parish and of neighbouring parishes. The primary school is effectively fully

subscribed but the secondary school may have some surplus capacity as a result to the changes in

school bus provision within the county. The secondary school is however starting to offer sixth form

classes in the 2015/16 academic year which will to some extent absorb any spare capacity that

exists. In addition to the schools, there are a number of pre-school facilities (both commercial and

voluntary) in the town. There is a popular public library in the High Street which as well as books,

videos and music provides a number of computers with Internet access for public use.

There is a GP surgery in town with three GPs employed. There is also a Hospital and Care Home

which provides both short term convalescent care and long term residential care for the elderly.

There is a private dental practice in town, but no NHS practice.

The town has a large and well equipped recreation ground and sports field on the outskirts of town,

which is used actively by a cricket club and a football club. There are also tennis, bowls, and squash

clubs in town with their own facilities in town. The schools have a large area of playing fields. In the

centre of town are two small public parks, one of which has play equipment for younger children.

There are three churches with active congregations in town (Church of England, Methodist and

Catholic).

The town has three public houses in town with a fourth in Christmas Common on Watlington Hill, as

well as restaurant and take away food outlets. There are number of well-used meeting and social

venues including the Town Hall, Sports Pavilion, Memorial Club and Community Centre.

3.7 Retail, other commercial services

The town has a small but active retail area with a mix of grocery and food suppliers as well as a

number of more specialist shops. Watlington’s distinctive role as a provider of local services for the

surrounding rural community is dependent on its ability to retain and improve the core shops and

services that are currently available in the town.


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A separate survey of the business community was carried out as part of the information gathering

for the Neighbourhood Plan and is reported separately (9). The main issues raised by the

businesses that responded were:

• Increased parking availability for both staff and customers

• Better enforcement of parking restrictions

• More affordable housing

• Better traffic management and enforcement of HGV restrictions

• Need for some form of relief road to reduce the congestion in town.

3.8 Natural Environment: Landscape character and key features

Landscape character

Watlington lies in a beautiful, unspoilt corner of England. It is only a few miles to the north-west of

London and yet has a very rural character. The rolling countryside around Watlington is dotted with

farms, hidden valleys, sleepy villages and medieval hamlets.

There is a wonderful network of rights of way, including the Ridgeway National Trail, offering many

possibilities for walking. You can either stick to the flatter routes in the Vale or climb up the wooded

Watlington Hill or other viewpoints on the ridge for magnificent views.

The character of the area is dominated by the Chilterns scarp slope that rises behind the town. The

gently rolling hills are swathed in beech woodland and chalk downland, providing a haven for

wildlife. Wildflowers found on the downland in summer include abundant orchids and the rare

Chilterns gentian. The area is also the perfect place to watch red kites soaring overhead. These

distinctive birds of prey were re-introduced to the Chilterns from Spain in 1989-1994 after human

persecution drove them to extinction in England by the end of the 19th century.

Around Watlington itself many attractive villages with their traditional brick and flint cottages nestle

around medieval churches. It is particularly rewarding to get off the beaten track and discover such

gems as Swyncombe with its historic church, the sleepy hamlet of Cookley Green, Christmas

Common with its magnificent views, the traditional Chilterns villages of Cuxham and Lewknor, and

many more like Pishill, Pyrton, Shirburn, Brightwell Baldwin and Britwell Salome.

Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty

In 1965, 833 square kilometres of the Chilterns were designated by the government as an Area of

Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). This recognises that the Chilterns countryside is amongst the

finest in the country, on a par with National Parks. The main aim of the AONB is to conserve and

enhance the natural beauty of the area, which means that the Chilterns is protected for future

generations to enjoy. There are 40 other AONBs across England and Wales.

Prehistoric trackways such as the Ridgeway and the Iron Age hill forts scattered along the Hills give

a sense of the ancient history of the Chilterns. Today, the area continues to provide a living for


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farmers and foresters. Millions of visitors every year enjoy walking, cycling and riding in the Chilterns

using the dense network of lanes, footpaths and bridleways

Site of Special Scientific Interest

The single SSSI in the Parish is catalogued as follows:

WATLINGTON AND PYRTON HILLS

This site supports a mosaic of chalk downland, chalk scrub, mixed broadleaved and yew woodland

habitats, with areas of leached and more acid grassland and scrub on the upper slopes. The site

supports some of the most floristically diverse grassland in the Chilterns and is also notable for its

lower plant flora and butterfly populations. Watlington and Pyrton Hills consist of a section of the

Chiltern Escarpment, with moderate to steep north and west-facing slopes.

Table 4: SSSI information

Status: Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) notified under Section 28 of the

Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981

Local Planning

Authorities: South Oxfordshire District Council

National Grid

Reference: SU705936

Ordnance Survey

Sheets:

1:50,000: 175

1:10,000: SU79 SW/SU69 SE

Date Notified (Under

1949 Act): 1955

Date of Last Revision: 1977

Date Notified (Under

1981 Act): 1986

Date of Last Revision: 1989

Area: 110.88 ha 273.9 ac

Further information can be found at:

http://tools.wmflabs.org/os/coor_g/?pagename=List_of_Sites_of_Special_Scientific_Interest_in_Oxfor

dshire&params=SU705936_region%3AGB_scale%3A25000

Chalk Pits

Watlington Chalk Pits is an area of land bounded by the Icknield Way to the west and Hill Road to

the south and extends east beyond the Thames Water reservoir. The western part of the site is

owned by South Oxfordshire District Council and the land to east around and beyond the reservoir

is owned by Watlington Park Estate. The whole area, with the exception of the reservoir area, is

leased by Watlington Parish Council, and is managed for the Parish Council by the Watlington

Environment Group following the Site Management Plan prepared in 2003 by the Northmoor Trust.


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A large part of the area falls within the Watlington and Pyrton Hills Site of Special Scientific Interest.

The conservation objectives for the site are to:

• Maintain the existing open areas of chalk grassland

• Expand and connect these patches where possible, at the expense of scrub

• Maintain the population of juniper

• Maintain the mosaic of chalk grassland, scrub and woodland.

In addition, the site has been declared a Local Nature Reserve is open access on foot, with two

public footpaths crossing the site and a number of other well-used paths through the site. The need

to gain public support and interest in the site is recognised, with the need to provide on-site

interpretation included in the management plan.

The White Mark

The Watlington White Mark was designed by local squire Edward Horne, who felt that the parish

church of St. Leonard, when viewed from his home, would be more impressive if it appeared to have

a spire. He had this unusual folly cut into the chalk escarpment of Watlington Hill in 1764. It is 36

feet (11m) wide at its base and 270 feet (82m) long.

Farming

Agriculture has been taking place in one form or another for thousands of years in the Chilterns and

today farming practices account for 75% of the total AONB land area making a major contribution

to the appearance of the Chilterns landscape. There are two main types of farming: arable, which

involves growing crops for human or animal consumption, and livestock which involves raising

animals for milk or meat. Farming activities vary across the area, depending mainly on soil type and

the topography or shape of the land. On the steep scarp slopes at Ivinghoe Beacon and Whiteleaf

Cross, ploughing would be dangerous and the soils are thin, chalky and infertile. Here, grazing of

sheep or cattle is the preferred form of agriculture rather than growing of crops. On the gentle

slopes of the plateau where the soils are thicker, arable crops are grown. Where farming has ceased,

for example on much of the scarp slope, bushes and trees quickly colonise changing the appearance

of the landscape

4 Alternatives

The Visions, Objectives and Options report (10) sets out the sites available for development and

suggests a limited number of approaches to using these sites to meet the housing need for

Watlington. The document provides a brief summary of the processes by which these development

alternatives were derived and the information used to reach this set of alternatives. This includes an

initial public consultation to identify the issues that the residents of the parish were important to

consider in the Neighbourhood Plan, and a series of subsequent exercises including a business

survey, a land ownership survey, a detailed traffic study and further targeted community


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consultations or meetings reported separately (11). The targeted consultations were aimed at those

members of the community who had shown significant interest in the earlier consultations and

publications and who had provided detailed comments on their views.

Summary information for each of the potential development sites and for the illustrative

development options is included in Visions, Objectives and Options. A series of maps (5) shows the

relationship of the potential development sites to significant features of the area including transport

links, areas of special designation (AONB, Sites of Special Scientific Interest, Conservation areas,

flood risk zones, nature reserves, Air Quality Management Area ), and key facilities in Watlington.

The Maps document also shows the four illustrative development options, and the outcomes of the

targeted community consultations from which these options were derived.

5 SWOT

In October a group of interested residents met to discuss environmental sustainability issues that

could be relevant to the Neighbourhood Plan as an Environmental Sustainability Assessment Group

(ESAG). They produced an extensive list in the form of a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and

Threats (SWOT) analysis which concentrated mainly on environmental topics but did also cover a

range of other topics including societal and economic sustainability. Their comprehensive list

ranged in detail from very broad topics down to more specific issues. It has been summarised and

reorganised to follow the topics adopted for the main Consultation 2 document, namely Traffic,

Housing, Retail and Business, Environment, Getting around and Services. For convenience, the

environment category has been further split into three subsections: natural environment, built

environment and pollution & climate change. Not all of these topics are included in in each the

SWOT categories.

The resulting SWOT analysis is presented in Table 5 and Table 6 below. No attempt has been made

in this scoping report to expand further on each of these issues, although for some of them further

information is available from the original record of the ESAG meeting as well as from other studies

such as the traffic study, business survey, affordable housing survey and land ownership survey.

Although not listed in the tables below, the group also identified failure of the Neighbourhood Plan

as a threat to the community.

Table 5: SWOT analysis – part 1

Strengths Weaknesses

Traffic:

o ?

Traffic:

o Location of haulage company/HGVs

o Through-traffic / rat run

o Congestion

o Lack of safe on-road cycle routes

o Unsafe narrow pavements


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Strengths Weaknesses

Housing:

o Well preserved old centre of town

Housing

o Lack of top-end and bottom-end

housing options

o Lack of front gardens

Retail and business:

o Quality of shops

o Local hub for surrounding villages

Retail and business:

o Vacant Shops

Environment - natural environment:

o AONB

o Accessibility of countryside

o Rural character

o Quality of farmland

o Good quality chalk streams

Environment - natural environment:

o Lack of wildlife corridors

o Low local food production & limited

options to ‘buy local’

Environment - built environment:

o Quality and variety of built environment

o Conservation area

o Attractive roofscape

o Open spaces

o Rights of way including lanes and

passageways

Environment - built environment:

o Water spray damage from traffic in

conservation area

o High Energy use of older properties

Environment – pollution & climate change:

o Sense of community

o Good recycling

o Environment groups (Chilterns Society,

WEG, WIB, FOWH, OCCA)

Environment – pollution & climate change:

o Poor air quality (AQMA)

o Flooding

o Sewage treatment

o No Community Green energy

production

Getting around:

o Network of pedestrian only paths

Getting around

o Lack of connectivity to Marlbrook

Estate

o Insufficient Public Transport, including

link to Oxford Tube and connectivity to

local villages

Services:

o Wide range of facilities (retail,

recreation, social)

o Range of medical facilities

o Good schools & nurseries

o Campsite

o Allotments

Services:

o Areas of poor or non-existent

broadband capability

o Lack of entertainment for teenagers

o Lack of self-promotion – relatively

unknown beauty spot

o Lack of tourist information/

museum/arts centre


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Table 6: SWOT analysis - part 2

Opportunities Threats

Traffic

Development planning to:

o Improve connections with surrounding

villages by cycle and footpath

o Traffic management to reduce

congestion

Traffic

o Increased traffic and ill-considered

travel patterns for new homes

Housing

o ?

Housing

o Lack of balance with housing needs

o Poor design or construction

o Poor energy performance

o Not reflecting local vernacular/

inappropriate architectural style

o Developer led planning

Retail and business

o Help protect the retail and business

community by restricting loss of

suitable premises

Retail and business

o Inadequate resources for increased

population

Environment - natural environment

Exploit environmental opportunities to:

o Improve existing wetlands to provide

flood plains

o Protect and improve chalk streams and

culverts to manage flood flows

o Allow habitat and wildlife corridor

creation

Environment - natural environment

o Loss of green space

o Damage to historic fabric

o Landscape threatened by

developments on or in view of AONB

Environment - built environment

Design guidance to:

o Create a diverse mix of housing

o Use green technology in housing

o Foster the local vernacular

o Developments with front gardens

Environment - built environment

o Lack of diversity in demographic

o Isolated development (like Marlbrook)

Environment – pollution & climate change


o Incorporate green energy production

o Increase local food production through

allotments, community gardens and

orchards

Environment – pollution & climate change

o Air quality not addressed before

developments approved

Getting around


o Encourage walking & cycling

o Reduce car use in centre

o Ensure adequate off-road parking

Getting around

o Public Transport provision inadequate

o No footpaths or cycle paths from new

developments

o


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Opportunities Threats

Services

o Planning to improve community

facilities

o Economic and societal gains from

development such as:

• Promotion of tourism

• Enhanced facilities for schools

and recreation

a)

Services

o Increased population leading to

insufficient infrastructure

improvements

• Sewerage

• Roads

• Telecoms

• Schools

• Health issues including GP

provision

6 Next Steps

The results from the second community-wide consultation and the various studies and workshops

use to look at specific issues will be used to identify a set of preferred options to be included in the

Watlington Neighbourhood Development Plan. These options will be examined in the Sustainability

Appraisal for compliance with the set of sustainability objectives developed below from the

sustainability context described in sections 3 to 5 above.

6.1 Population

The SODC Core Strategy favours a policy of population growth in proportion to the current size of

existing communities, and on this basis has derived an estimate of 79 new dwellings to be provided

in the Parish, or more accurately, in the town. This number may be increased as a result of the

Strategic Housing Market Assessment and the need to accept some of the housing need of Oxford.

With the average household size of 2.4 (from the 2011 census) this implies a population increase of

187 for the next 12 years. For comparison the increase in the 10 years between the 2001 and 2011

censuses was 322 people. Watlington should be able to absorb the expected increase.

More of a problem is the upward shift in the age profile with a 6.2% increase in the number of over

sixties in the town, coupled with a significant shortfall in the number of young adults of working age

(see Figure 4). The additional housing should be targeted at ensuring that the town maintains a

sufficient population of working age residents.

6.2 Housing

Public consultations have shown that there is a need for both larger homes (4 or more bedrooms) as

well as small homes (1 or 2 bedrooms suitable as initial homes for younger people). There is clearly

some connection between these two needs with the availability of larger homes freeing up some of

the smaller dwellings, but there is no certainty the dwellings left by families moving to large homes

would be within the price range of those trying to establish themselves in the Parish.


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Provided the new housing meets the Core Strategy Policy CSH3 the identified need for affordable

housing as defined in the NPPF will be met.

6.3 Tourism

Reputedly England’s smallest town, nestling in the shadows of the Chiltern Hills, Watlington offers a

traditional market town welcome.

The Town has much to offer residents and visitors alike with a number of specialist shops, pubs and

other small businesses.

A lot of filming takes place in and around Watlington including the very popular Midsomer Murders.

Midsomer walks can be found at http://www.visitmidsomer.com/

The Chiltern Hills is one of South England’s finest landscapes and rise above the town to offer much

to the outdoor enthusiast. The Icknield Way (Ridgway National Trail) runs within half a mile of the

town as does the Oxfordshire way. Watlington is the heartland of the re-introduced red kites which

can often be seen soaring above the roof tops.

6.4 Transport, paths, cycle ways, parking

The town is skirted by the Icknield Way (part of The Ridgeway National Trail) making it a popular

stop-off for walkers, naturalists, cyclists and horse riders. There are several pubs in the town and a

number of shops offering a range of speciality foods and goods. The countryside around Watlington

is dotted with farms, hidden valleys, sleepy villages and medieval hamlets. There is a network of

rights of way offering many possibilities for walking.

6.5 Sustainability Assessment Framework

The SODC in preparation of their Core Strategy documents carried out a sustainability assessment

based on a set of sustainability objectives. These objectives are considered appropriate for a

sustainability assessment in support of Watlington Neighbourhood Plan, and are set out Table 7

below with some minor modifications to make them more specifically relevant to this Parish.

Table 7: Sustainability objectives

No. Sustainability Objective

1 To help provide existing and future residents with the opportunity to live in a decent

home appropriate to their needs and affordable within their means.

2 To help to create safe places for people to use and for businesses to operate, to reduce

anti- social behaviour and reduce crime and the fear of crime.

3 To improve accessibility for everyone to health, education, recreation, cultural and

community facilities and services.

4 To maintain and improve people’s health, well-being and community cohesion and

support voluntary, community and faith groups.


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5 To reduce harm to the environment by seeking to minimise pollution of all kinds.

6

To reduce road congestion and air pollution by improving travel choice and

accessibility, reducing the need for travel through congested built-up areas and

shortening the length and duration of journeys.

7 To conserve and enhance biodiversity.

8 To protect and enhance the town’s open spaces and countryside and in particular, those

areas designated for their landscape or environmental importance .

9

To protect and enhance the town’s historic environment and conservation area, and to

ensure that new development is of a high quality design and reinforces local

distinctiveness.

10

To seek to address the causes of climate change by:

a) Securing sustainable building practices which conserve energy, water resources

and materials;

b) Maximising the proportion of energy generated from renewable sources;

c) Ensuring that the design and location of new development is resilient to the

effects of climate change.

11

To protect and restore the watercourses through the parish, and reduce the risk of

flooding and resulting detriment to public well-being, the economy and the

environment.

12 To seek to minimise waste generation and encourage the re-use of waste through

recycling, composting or energy recovery.

13

To improve efficiency in land use and reduce development pressure on the countryside

and natural resources/material assets, such as landscape, minerals, biodiversity and soil

quality.

14 To ensure high and stable levels of employment and facilitate employment

opportunities and inward investment within the Parish.

15

To assist in the development of:

a) A thriving market town economy in Watlington;

b) Small firms, particularly those that maintain and enhance the rural economy;

c) A strong and innovative economy that delivers sustainable, low-impact, value-

added activities to support the local community.

16

To assist in the development of a skilled workforce to support the long term

competitiveness of the district by raising education achievement levels and encouraging

the development of the skills needed for everyone to find and remain in work.

17 To encourage the development of a buoyant, sustainable tourism sector.


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18 Support community involvement in decisions affecting them and enable communities

to provide local services and solutions.

6.6 Strategic Environment Assessment: Responses from Statutory Consultees

All documents pertaining to Consultation 2 of the Neighbourhood plan were sent to all Statutory

Consultees (approximately 36) and a number of voluntary consultees (around 8) early in 2015.

Responses have been received from four, as follows:

1. Natural England

The Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010 (As amended)

Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes Regulations 2004

Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (As amended)

SEA & HRA Screening for Watlington NDP:

Having considered the document sent through from the local planning authority in relation

to the need for SEA and HRA to be carried out for the Watlington Neighbourhood

Development Plan and given the location of the parish Natural England would be agreeable

to the conclusion that both would be required.

Given the location of the Plan area, being mostly within the Chilterns Area of Outstanding

Natural Beauty (AONB) and the two Sites of Special Scientific Interest – Watlington and

Pyrton Hills SSSI and Pishill Woods SSSI that are found in the AONB section of the parish

area, an assessment of the impacts both in terms of sustainability (SEA) and impacts on

biodiversity (HRA) would be required. This would ensure that the plan was in line with the

National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) in respect of protecting SSSI’s for instance, as

stated in paragraph 118. The setting, largely within the Chilterns AONB, would require

consideration under paragraph 115 of the NPPF with relation to any impacts upon the

landscape of the area from proposed developments as part of the allocations being

considered.

The update that the Local Authority is planning to carry out should only be as long as

required to address the issues, as long as impacts are appropriately considered through

effective sighting of housing allocations and consideration of effective mitigation being

implemented where required; such as around the potential new road schemes bypassing the

village.

2. English Heritage statement

We note that the plan will, potentially, allocate sites for development either within the

Watlington Conservation Area, or in its setting, resulting in the potential to have a significant


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impact on its character and appearance and therefore potential significant long-lasting

environmental effects. Predictable effects will be to the fabric and setting of historic

buildings, impacts on townscape and landscape views of the conservation area and on

activity and use, including generation of additional traffic and parking pressures, which

should be taken into consideration in determining the likely effects of these allocations.

Strategic Environmental Assessment is required to determine the potential cumulative

impact of allocations and options on the Conservation Area as a sensitive historic landscape

protected through national legislation and to identify any conflict between policies required

to protect and enhance the character and appearance of the area and other policies within

the plan.

We note that the plan will allocate sites for development with potential effects for previously

unidentified heritage assets, including archaeological remains, with the potential for

cumulative impacts. Scoping the requirements of Strategic Environmental Assessment should

consider how the potential for the presence of previously unidentified heritage assets should

be assessed, including the potential for assets of national and regional importance and the

need for the plan to include policies to sustain and enhance the significance of non-

designated heritage assets, as well as any potential conflict between these policies and

others of the plan that ensure its sustainability

We note that the plan will, potentially, allocate sites for development within, or in the setting

of the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Whilst this is not a ‘designated heritage asset’,

the landscape that justifies the Area of Outstanding National Beauty is the result of an

historical process of development, with numerous heritage values that contribute to its

landscape character. As such, the plan presents potential for cumulative impacts long-lasting

environmental impacts on the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, a landscape of cultural

significance and requires Strategic Environmental Assessment. Scoping of the Strategic

Environmental Assessment should give consideration to how the impacts of the plan’s

policies, including allocations and options, on the AONB will be assessed, including using

tools such as view analysis and impacts on historic landscape character.

3. Environment Agency statement

We have no detailed comments to make on the conclusion of South Oxfordshire District

Councils (SODC) Screening Statement.

However, we note that SODC have highlighted that there are environmental constraints that

could potentially affect the site allocations proposed. We welcome this as there are areas of

flood risk and a main river which could be impacted upon through development.

4. SODC conclusion


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The Watlington Neighbourhood Development Plan will have potential significant effects on

Natura 2000 sites and, therefore, requires an Appropriate Assessment.

The District Council intend to address this by updating the Appropriate Assessment for the

Submission Core Strategy to include the effects of allocations made to larger villages.

The Watlington Development Neighbourhood Plan seeks to allocate sites for a minimum of

79 houses. There is a high probability that these allocations will have significant effects on

the environment, including potential effects on the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural

Beauty, which is a nationally protected landscape. These effects are not likely to be reversible.

On this basis the Neighbourhood Plan should be accompanied by an assessment that

examines the environmental impacts of allocating each site. The results of the assessment

should then be used to determine which sites are appropriate to be allocated for

development.

The Watlington Neighbourhood Development Plan is to determine the use of small areas at

a local level.

It is determined that, as a result of the screening undertaken by the Council, a Strategic

Environment Assessment is required for the Watlington Neighbourhood Plan, particularly to

address potential environmental impacts on the AONB. Other impacts that should also be

considered are those to the area of flood risk; the Watlington & Pyrton Hills SSSI and Pishill

Woods SSSI and the significance and setting of the range of important historical assets in the

town and the conservation area.

6.7 Habitat Regulations Assessment: Responses from Statutory Consultees

A response to the Consultation 2 document has been received from SODC, as follows:

1. The Local Authority is the “competent authority” under the Conservation of Habitats and

Species Regulations 2010, and needs to ensure that Neighbourhood Plans have been

assessed through the Habitats Regulations process. This looks at the potential for

significant impacts on nature conservation sites that are of European importance, also

referred to as Natura 2000.

2. This Screening Assessment relates to a Neighbourhood Development Plan that will be in

general conformity with the strategic policies within the development plan (the higher

level plan for town and country planning and land use). This Screening Assessment uses

the Appropriate Assessment of South Oxfordshire District Council’s Submission Core

Strategy and the Assessment of Habitat Sites document prepared in relation to the

emerging Local Plan 2031 as its basis for assessment. From this, the Local Authority will

determine whether the Watlington Neighbourhood Development Plan is likely to result in

significant impacts on Natura 2000 sites either alone or in combination with other plans

and policies and, therefore, whether an ‘Appropriate Assessment’ is required.


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3. Legislative Basis - Article 6(3) of the EU Habitats Directive provides that:

Any plan or project not directly connected with or necessary to the management of

the [European] site but likely to have a significant effect thereon, either individually or

in combination with other plans or projects, shall be subject to appropriate

assessment of its implications for the site in view of the site's conservation objectives.

In the light of the conclusions of the assessment of the implications for the site and

subject to the provisions of paragraph 4, the competent national authorities shall

agree to the plan or project only after having ascertained that it will not adversely

affect the integrity of the site concerned and, if appropriate, after having obtained the

opinion of the general public.

4. Assessment and Conclusion

There are four Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) considered to be within influencing

distance of the Watlington Neighbourhood Development Plan. These are as follows:

• Aston Rowant

• Chiltern Beechwoods

• Little Wittenham

• Hartslock Wood

The Watlington Neighbourhood Development Plan will have potential significant effects

on Natura 2000 sites; therefore, an Appropriate Assessment for the Watlington

Neighbourhood Development Plan will be required.

In order to address this, the District Council intends to prepare an update to the

Appropriate Assessment of the Submission Core Strategy which will identify whether the

allocations made to the larger villages would either alone, or in combination with other

plans and policies, adversely impact any Natura 2000 sites.


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Appendix A : SODC Core Strategy Policies

Policy

No.

Description Relevance to Watlington

CS1 Presumption in favour of

sustainable development

Applies

CSS1 The overall strategy Applies but no Watlington-specific

requirements

CSM1 Transport Applies, especially points (v) to (ix)

CSM2 Transport assessment and travel

plans

Applies to all development proposals

for Watlington because of existing

traffic congestion

CSEM1 Supporting a successful

economy

Must apply – need only include

additional requirements. Need to


CSEM2 The amount and distribution of

employment

Applies but no Watlington-specific

requirements

CSEM3 Culham Science Centre Not applicable

CSEM4 Supporting economic

development


requirements

CSEM5 Oxford Brookes University Not applicable

CSH1 Amount and distribution of

housing


requirements

CSH2 Density Applies but no Watlington-specific

requirements

CSH3 Affordable housing Need to allow for the policy-defined

percentage of affordable housing

CSH4 Meeting housing needs As identified in the SODC local plan

which is currently subject to revision

CSH5 Gypsies, travellers and travelling

show people

Need to allow for possible minor

extension or intensification of Webb’s

Yard and/or Bucklands Paddock.

CST1 Town centres and shopping Support initiatives which safeguard

and enhance their role and function.

Proposals for out of centre

development will not be permitted.

Changes of use within defined primary


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and secondary retail frontages will be

managed to maintain the role of the

town centre.

As a ‘Large Village’ not tied to Town

Centre strategy however worth

considering provision of adequate free

car parking and improved

enforcement, support independent

retailers & farmers markets, & try to

ensure accessibility to elderly.

CSR1 Housing in villages As a market town or ‘larger village’

Watlington is covered by housing

allocations and other SODC housing

policies aimed specifically at that

category of settlement

CSR2 Employment in rural areas Aim to support agriculture, home

workers, and that employment should

be in accessible locations close to

transport corridors & high speed

Broadband & amenities are available

& where cycling & walking are

possible. Avoid adversely affecting

heritage or natural assets and

encourage schemes which support

tourism based on the character of the

area and do not rely on heavy

transport.

CSR3 Community facilities and rural

transport

Aim to maintain & improve town

centre and visitor attractions retaining

important views and approaches. Aim

to improve car parking and access &

to improve air quality. Also

maintaining health & education

services and an enhanced quality of

life.

Proposals which result in the provision

of facilities and services in the rural

areas will be encouraged, those which

result in the loss of services and

facilities will be resisted. Rural

transport initiatives that improve

movement particularly to access

services and employment will be

encouraged.


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CSEN1 Landscape Applies with specific comments from

relevant bodies such as the

Environment Agency described in

Section 6

CSEN2 Green belt Applies with specific comments from



Section 6

CSEN3 Historic environment Applies with specific comments from



Section 6

CSQ1 Renewable energy Aim to include technologies such as

solar thermal water heating, ground

source heat pumps (GSHP), air source

heat pumps (ASHP), photovoltaics (PV)

domestic scale biomass boilers and

potentially wind. AONB designations

are likely to place a significant

constraint on large scale turbines and

large scale wind farm however there

may be scope for installation of

smaller scale turbines in less intrusive

locations where there are suitable

wind speeds.

Proposals for development for the

generation of energy from renewable

resources will be permitted provided

they do not have an adverse impact on

the landscape, heritage & biodiversity

of an area, traffic generation or the

amenities.

CSQ2 Sustainable design and

construction

Ensure that new development achieves

high standards of energy efficiency

and secures a proportion of its energy

demand from renewable energy

sources. Nationally recognised

standards exist for sustainable design

and construction in the form of the

Code for Sustainable Homes,

EcoHomes and BREEAM. National

guidance16 is clear that these

standards should be used.


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CSQ3 Design New residential development of less

than 200 dwellings should achieve at

least Code Level 3 of the Code for

Sustainable Homes.

From April 2013, proposals will need to

demonstrate that at least Code Level 4

will be achieved;

CSQ4 Design briefs for greenfield

neighbourhoods and major

development sites

Proposals for housing allocations &

major development sites must be

accompanied by a design brief that

includes:

1.A clear vision for the type of place

that could be created building on the

overall vision for the town and district.

2.A Design Brief which must

demonstrate:

*integration with the surrounding area

both built & natural, in particular

maximizing existing & potential

movement connections with the

existing environment to encourage

walking, cycling and public transport

use.

*quality of development & positive

sense of place and identity

*high level of accessibility & good

connections to public transport,

community facilities & local services.

*community facilities, suitable

infrastructure & other amenities to

meet the needs of all the community

including provision of education &

training facilities, health care,

community leisure & recreation

facilities

*a clear structure of open spaces &

landscape network to ensure that

open space standards are met and that

new spaces relate well to each other

and to existing areas.

CSG1 Green infrastructure Applies with specific comments from



Section 6


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CSB1 Conservation and improvement

of biodiversity

Applies with specific comments from



Section 6

CSI1 Infrastructure provision Promote accessible high quality

healthcare, cultural, leisure, sport and

other services.

CSC1 Delivery and contingency Identify land for new homes, support

the conversion of rural buildings for

employment and support people

working at home


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Appendix B : Reference Documents

1 The Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes Regulations 2004 , SI 1633, July 2004

2 Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment, SODC, July 2013

3 Data taken from http://www.ukcensusdata.com/watlington-

e05006595#sthash.7Dy488Xl.OEP5mnEN.dpbs

4 Watlington Village Profile, Local Plan: Sites and General Policies, SODC, July 2013

5 Maps, NPCC - Consultation 2, December 2014

6 Housing Needs Survey Report, ORCC, March 2010

7 South Oxfordshire Core Strategy, SODC, December 2012

8 Watlington Traffic Study, Transport Planning Practice for NPCC, November 2014

9 Business Survey, NPCC - Consultation 2, December 2014

10 Visons, Objectives and Options, NPCC - Consultation 2, December 2014

11 Community Engagement Data, NPCC - Consultation 2, December 2014