to accompany outline planning application: landscape
TRANSCRIPT
Barrow LandsCompany Limited
Landscape & Visual Impact report
prepared by david Lock associatesMembers, Institute of Environmental Management and AssessmentJanuary 2013
proposed deveLopment of Land to the westof whaLLey road, Barrow, LanCashire
report reQUested By riBBLe vaLLey BoroUGh CoUnCiLto aCCompany oUtLine pLanninG appLiCation:
The Barrow Lands Company Ltd
Proposed residential and associated development on land west of Whalley Road, Barrow, Lancashire
LANDSCAPE AND VISUAL IMPACT REPORT
Prepared by
David Lock Associates
Members, Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment
JANUARY 2013
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CONTENTS PAGE
1.0 INTRODUCTION 3 2.0 LANDSCAPE SETTING AND PLANNING POLICY FRAMEWORK 6 3.0 SITE FEATURES AND LANDSCAPE CHARACTER 10 4.0 CONCLUSIONS 14
PHOTOGRAPHS
Photograph No.1 – Relationship of site (on left of photograph behind hedgerow) with development at Whalley Road, Barrow Photograph No.2 – Northern edge of the application site (and existing allotments) Photograph No.3 – Relationship of Barrow Enterprise Park with Pendle Hill AONB
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1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Barrow Lands Company Ltd (BLCL) has prepared an outline planning
application for the development of some 8.4 hectares of land on the western
side of Whalley Road, to the south-west of Barrow, to accommodate up to
190 new homes and associated development, including means of access to
the site (‘the proposed development’). This report forms part of the outline
planning application submission and should be read in conjunction with the
other application documents.
1.2 This application follows the submission of an earlier outline planning
application (App. No. 3/2012/0630) by BLCL for up to 504 dwellings and
associated development on a larger 18.26 hectare site (incorporating this site)
to the west of Whalley Road, Barrow. BLCL lodged an appeal against the
non-determination of this application in December 2012. This earlier
application was accompanied by a Landscape and Visual Impact Report
prepared by David Lock Associates, on behalf of BLCL, at the request of the
Ribble Valley Borough Council (RVBC) Development Management team after
seeking and receiving pre-application advice on the earlier proposal. For
consistency, it has been assumed that RVBC will require an updated
Landscape and Visual Impact Report for the current application, even though
it is for a much smaller development (up to 190 dwellings) on a significantly
reduced site area (8.4 hectares). The development to which this smaller
application relates is located on the northern portion of BLCL’s total (20.6
hectare) land ownership at Barrow. This application site is located between
the footpath extension of Whiteacre Lane (Public footpath No.7) and the
existing settlement edge of Barrow at Catlow Terrace.
1.3 Given the planning policy background of the land owned by BLCL (it was part
of the formal ‘Alternative Option E’ - known colloquially as "The Barrow
Option" - that was considered as part of the Council’s Generation of
Alternative Development Strategy Options for the Draft Core Strategy
prepared for public consultation in June 2011); the fact that it is free from any
statutory designations; and in view of its features and context;' BLCL did not
submit an Environmental Impact Assessment and Environmental Statement
with the earlier outline planning application for up to 504 dwellings (App. No.
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3/2012/0630), now the subject of an appeal. BLCL submitted a detailed
formal Screening Request in November 2011, along with further information in
December 2011, but the Council failed to issue a Screening Opinion within
the relevant statutory time period.
1.4 However, in August 2012 following the submission of the application (App.
No. 3/2012/0630) the Council issued a Screening Opinion under the Town
and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2011
(‘the EIA Regulations’) indicating that the proposal required an Environmental
Impact Assessment. Later in August 2012, BLCL asked the Secretary of
State to make a Screening Direction (under Regulation 10 of the EIA
Regulations) on whether or not the proposal was ‘EIA development’ within the
meaning of the EIA Regulations. In September 2012 the Secretary of State
decided that the proposal would be unlikely to have significant effects on the
environment by virtue of its nature, size or location and that the proposed
development was not ‘EIA development’ within the meaning of the EIA
Regulations. The Secretary of State went on to comment that ‘the visual
impact [of this larger proposal] would be unlikely to be significant as it would
be seen against the backdrop of existing housing and an industrial
development which is in the vicinity. The site also slopes away from the main
road through the village (Whalley Road) which will limit the visual impact for
existing houses’. Hence, no EIA has been submitted with this application on
a smaller site and proposing considerably less development.
1.5 The preparation of this report has been informed by the non-statutory
Guidelines for Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment prepared by the
Landscape Institute and Institute of Environmental Management and
Assessment endorsed by, among others, The Countryside Agency
(succeeded in 2006 by Natural England) and the Environment Agency but
specifically adapted to suit this particular outline planning application
submission.
1.6 The site is located on the western side of Whalley Road, at the south western
edge of Barrow, a former industrial (cotton printing) village situated between
Clitheroe and Whalley in the Ribble Valley in Lancashire. The site is adjacent
to the Whalley Road (former A59 until Barrow was bypassed by the new A59
to the east) with the Ribble Valley railway line to the west (where, as a
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separate consideration not connected with the outline planning application,
BLCL has made allowance for a new Barrow Station to be accommodated at
some time in the future to serve Barrow in its role as the leading strategic
employment site in the Borough). The southern boundary of the site is
effectively delineated by the footpath extension of Whiteacre Lane (Public
footpath no. 7); there is scrub woodland with Barrow Brook beyond enclosing
the northern boundary of the application site.
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2.0 LANDSCAPE SETTING AND PLANNING POLICY FRAMEWORK
2.1 Planning polices at national, regional and local level that bear upon BLCL’s
outline planning application for the proposed development of land at Whalley
Road, Barrow are summarised in the Planning Statement which forms part of
the submission, and which should be read in conjunction with this report. In
summary, under the National Planning Policy Framework published in March
2012, national statutory landscape designations - of which there are none
covering the site - remain in place despite recent planning policy reforms and
simplifications; and the statutory Regional Spatial Strategy (TheNorth West
Plan) published in September 2008 confirms the application of those policies
to strategic landscapes in the region - such as to the Forest of Bowland Area
of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) - none of which cover the site. The
Government has declared its intention to abolish the North West Plan
sometime soon.
2.2 At the local level, RVBC is producing a new Core Strategy, which is at Draft
Submission Version (Regulation 22) stage and presents RVBC’s chosen
spatial development strategy. However, the Examination of the Core Strategy
has been suspended for a minimum of six months after the Inspector
appointed to hold the Examination raised fundamental concerns about the
evidence base underpinning the Core Strategy and did not consider it would
stand up to scrutiny through the Examination hearings.
2.3 The Draft Core Strategy has been the subject of Strategic Environmental
Assessment and Sustainability Appraisal (March 2012), which includes a
summary of the findings on the "Barrow Option" (Option E). BLCL has made
representations on these documents and does not repeat its comments here.
However, it is important to note that the Council’s Sustainability Appraisal
recognises that the "Barrow Option" would avoid the most environmentally
sensitive areas of the Borough and would be likely to have similar landscape
and related effects as Option D or ‘Standen Strategic Site’, which is effectively
the preferred option set out in the Draft Submission Version (Regulation 22)
document. The Appraisal concludes that, as with Option D, new development
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at Barrow provides a number of opportunities to enhance the sustainability of
the community.
2.4 Public Examination of the Core Strategy was scheduled for December 2012
but has now been delayed for at least six months whilst the Council
undertakes work to address the problems with the evidence base highlighted
by the Inspector. Adoption of the Core Strategy is therefore still some way
off. In the meantime, the statutory development plan comprises (in addition to
the North West Plan) some ‘saved’ policies in the Ribble Valley District Wide
Local Plan (1998). These policies (variously G4, H15, H16, H17, H20, EMP9,
RT3, ENV2, ENV3, ENV13 and RT8) have the effect in summary of seeking
to protect the Forest of Bowland AONB and open countryside and
characteristic features of the Borough's landscape such as stone walls (none
on the site) and woodlands (scrub only on the site); and of bringing new life to
redundant farm buildings. Also, new open space is sought in new
developments.
2.5 These "saved" policies are to be weighed in the planning balance against
other planning pressures such as the need for new homes and economic
development, which are also relevant ‘other material considerations’ in the
determination of the outline planning application; the determination of that
planning balance is the focus of the present consultations on the Draft Core
Strategy.
2.6 There are no statutory designations within the site or within 1km of its
boundaries. The most significant designation is the Forest of Bowland AONB
located some 1.4 km to the east at Pendle Hill, which is separated from the
main part of the AONB by the Ribble Valley. The site is about 2.4 km away
from the south-eastern edge of the AONB.
2.7 There are no areas of Ancient Woodland on the site, or adjoining it, and no
Scheduled Ancient Monuments or Listed Buildings within 1km of the site.
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2.8 There is a surface water drainage lagoon to the south-west of the site, owned
by BLCL, which has been designated a Biological Heritage Site - a local non-
statutory wildlife site - but which is not affected by the proposed development.
2.9 Existing allotments on the site are excluded from the planning application
boundary and are unaffected by the proposed development.
2.10 The site is identified on the Agricultural Land Use Classification as Grade 3.
However, the Phase 1 Geo-Environmental Desk Study (prepared by Capita
Symonds) submitted with the application indicates that from a ‘Soils Site
Report’ the land does not appear to be of particularly high quality.
2.11 The route of the existing public footpath (No.7) across the southern boundary
of the site is not proposed to be altered.
2.12 There are no specific planning policy constraints on the site in the "saved"
aspects of the Local Plan, though as may be expected the site is outside the
present settlement boundary for Barrow (it immediately abuts it to the rear of
Catlow Terrace and across Whalley Road), which was set before the need for
more housing somewhere in the Borough was acknowledged.
2.13 The Landscape Character Assessments of the area are a snapshot
description of the present transient condition, without explanation of how it
has occurred or what might happen in the future. Such assessments, where
they apply to a particular site or its setting, enable a discussion to occur of the
nature of the change that a proposed development may bring about, but they
do not of themselves prevent, inhibit or shape that change. Sustainable
development requires a balanced consideration of social, economic and
environmental considerations: the snapshot landscape character - the
"receptor" landscape - is useful information, but not a determinant by itself.
2.14 At the national strategic level of importance, the site is within Natural
England's Area 33 "Bowland Fringe and Pendle Hill" and close to Area 35
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"Lancashire Valleys". The change within these areas that would be brought
about by the proposed development would be undetectable and, being a
change only to the size of an existing village, would be benign.
2.15 At the County level the site is described as being within Area 5E "Lower
Ribblesdale" in the Lancashire County Council report A Landscape Strategy
for Lancashire: Landscape Character Assessment commissioned in 1999.
Again, the change that would be brought about by the proposed development
would be practically undetectable and benign, being a change only to the size
of an existing village. It should also be noted that Barrow has experienced
significant growth and expansion in recent years, including new homes and
commercial and industrial development at the Barrow Enterprise Park
immediately across Whalley Road.
2.16 The Ribble Valley District Wide Local Plan (1998) included a Landscape
Character Assessment in Appendix 2. The planning application site appears
to be in the character area of "Lowland Fringe Farmland", but when
developed as a modest extension to the existing village, it would have no
discernible impact on the character area as a whole.
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3.0 SITE FEATURES AND LANDSCAPE ASSESSMENT
3.1 The site itself slopes westerly/south westerly from Whalley Road (77m AOD)
towards Barrow Brook (66m AOD) in the west. New development will
therefore have very little impact visually for properties on Whalley Road, the
views from which will largely oversail the site. The existing hedgerows and
trees on the site will soften the views into the site from the north-west and
west, setting the proposed village extension in the context of a village that is
an established urban, prominent feature in the landscape with a strategic
employment site (Barrow Enterprise Park) on the higher ground to the north-
east of the application site. The relationship of the site with existing
development on the eastern side of Whalley Road, Barrow is shown on
Photograph No.1 below.
Photograph No.1 – Relationship of site (on left of photograph behind high hedgerow) with development at Whalley Road, Barrow
3.2 The application site is currently grazing land. There is an area of allotments
surrounded by a hedge to the north of the site (but excluded from it as the
allotments are to be retained as existing). To the north-west of the site is a
disused drainage works surrounded by conifers: otherwise the site is pasture
with some deciduous trees.
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3.3 The northern edge of the site is marked by a belt of young trees; other
boundaries are characterised by native hedgerows with some trees. These
create a marked strong sense of enclosure and have been incorporated into
the proposed development wherever possible although the group to the north
were originally scrub that grew on this area of previously developed land. The
strong sense of enclosure of the site is shown on Photograph No.2 below,
which is taken from the application site facing due north, with the allotments
on the left hand side of the image.
Photograph No.2 – Northern edge of the application site (and existing allotments)
3.4 Overall the application site is enclosed. Its inherited landscape features, in
terms of hedgerows and trees, provide the opportunity to soften the visual
impact of the proposed development when viewed from afar where it would
be seen as part of the much wider landscape and would appear as the
foreground of an already expanded established industrial village and strategic
employment centre in the heart of the Ribble Valley. Locally the visual
impacts will be very few and limited to the immediate locality along Whalley
Road, although this will only be in the short-term until the new planting and
landscaping becomes established. The current experience of walking the
retained public footpath to the south of the site would of course be changed
but not to such an extent as to cause harm in the context of the Borough's
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need to accommodate new development and the inevitable urbanisation that
this involves on the edge of affected settlements.
3.5 To put this into context and in relation to Barrow, Photograph (No.3) below
shows the relationship of recent commercial development at the Barrow
Enterprise Park, the Borough’s principal strategic location for employment,
with the Pendle Hill AONB; the AONB can be seen in the distance in the
background of the image. Further industrial and commercial development is
committed and planned for the area in the foreground of the photograph.
Photograph No.3 – Relationship of Barrow Enterprise Park with Pendle Hill AONB
3.6 All of these considerations were taken into account by the Secretary of State
when deciding whether the earlier outline planning application (App. No.
3/2012/0630) for a much larger development of up to 504 dwellings on a
18.26 hectare site required an Environmental Statement. As indicated at
Paragraph 1.4 of this report, the Secretary of State concluded that the
proposal would not be likely to have significant effects on the environment
due to its scale, size or location, either alone or in combination with other
development. The Secretary of State did not see any significant effect on the
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setting of the Forest of Bowland AONB, considered that the visual impact
would be unlikely to be significant as it would be seen against the backdrop of
existing housing and an industrial development [Barrow Enterprise Park] and
felt that the topography of the site would limit the visual impact for existing
houses.
3.7 In essence, the Secretary of State concurs with our assessment, albeit in
relation to a larger proposal on a larger site.
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4.0 CONCLUSION
4.1 The proposed development forms part of the "Barrow Option" put forward for
public consultation by RVBC in June 2011 (officially referred to as ‘Alternative
Option E’), which was considered as part of the Council’s Generation of
Alternative Development Strategy Options for the emerging Core Strategy.
This tested eight development strategy options, and the "Barrow Option"
included the application site. This option was derived from RVBC's evidence-
based work and supported by a Sustainability Appraisal; if there was any
major environmental, landscape or other reason why Barrow was not
considered suitable, in principle, for further major development as shown by
RVBC (which, it is emphasised, was significantly more extensive than
proposed as part of either of the current BLCL proposals) this option would
not have been proposed or tested. Furthermore, the Sustainability Appraisal
has not identified any significant or demonstrably harmful landscape impacts
for the "Barrow Option".
4.2 Our report confirms that the south-west part of the "Barrow Option", part of
which is now brought forward in outline for development by BLCL, was well
chosen by RVBC: it is land that is not subject to any national, regional or local
statutory landscape or environmental designations; it is within two areas of
present identified landscape character each of which is extensive enough for
the impact of the proposed development to be undetectable from afar and
when viewed locally, as an extension to an established village and strategic
employment location, is benign; the topography of the site, which slopes away
from Whalley Road, will limit the visual impact of the development when
viewed by existing residents and neighbours; and the hedgerows and trees to
be retained on site further soften the impact of any landscape and visual
changes that development would bring about.
4.3 Importantly, these conclusions have been agreed and accepted by the
Secretary of State in his EIA Screening Direction on the earlier outline
proposal.
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4.4 To be set against these relatively minor changes, even at the local level, are
the wider questions in the planning balance with which RVBC must wrestle in
its Draft Core Strategy: providing the homes and jobs that people need in the
most sustainable manner, with least possible harm and greatest possible
benefit to the Borough.
4.5 The proposed development of the application site would be in accordance
with the landscape principles of the statutory development plan but also
compliant with the National Planning Policy Framework as the benefits would
outweigh any limited impacts and would be consistent with principles of
sustainable development (as set out in the NPPF) for reasons stated in this
and other application documents, including the Planning Statement
accompanying the BLCL application. There is the real opportunity (in keeping
with Paragraph 55 of the NPPF) by locating development in Barrow to
enhance the vitality of the settlement, which accommodates the Borough’s
principal strategic employment site (Barrow Enterprise Park). The proposal
would be consistent in scale, character and setting with existing development
in the village and would have an indiscernible impact.
4.5 For these reasons it is confirmed that there is no landscape or visual impact
reason why the proposed development of the application site should not be
viewed as acceptable in planning or environmental terms.
daVId LoCK assoCIaTEs LIMITEd50 NORTH THIRTEENTH STREET, CENTRAL MILTON KEYNES, MK9 3BPTEL: 01908 666276 FAX: 01908 605747 EMAIL: [email protected]