The development proposals
Award-winning housebuilder Redrow is preparing a full detailed planning application for a high-quality development of circa 56 new family and affordable homes, landscaped public open space and extensive planting to enhance biodiversity in line with the the “Protect and Restore” Green Infrastructure policy.
Click on the image below to find out about the development masterplan
The site
The approximately 2.7ha site is located immediately adjacent to the existing Yew Tree Hill development, a strategic allocation on the southern edge of Droitwich, part of which has been developed by Redrow. The site lies outside the surrounding Green Belt designation protecting land to the west of Pulley Lane.
With no landscape designations or protections, the site has been identified as a development opportunity in the Council’s Strategic Housing and Employment Land Availability Assessment (“SHELAA”) - referred to as site CFS0968 – Land at Pulley Lane and Newland Road. The SHELAA advises that the site is available within 5 years and concludes that it should be included within the SHELAA as a suitable residential site.
The site is well contained by the existing Yew Tree Hill development and the road network and forms an obvious infill development to complete the Yew Tree Hill development. This will create a new, strongly defined and defensible settlement boundary defined by Pulley Lane itself, with protected Green Belt land beyond to the west.
New family and affordable homes
The proposed development will deliver a mix of high quality homes, including 2, 3 and 4 bed family homes. In line with Wychavon District Council’s policy, it is anticipated that 40% of the new homes will be designated as affordable homes for key workers and those on lower incomes.
Site access
Vehicular access to the development site is intended to be via a new junction on Woodland Way. Woodland Way has a 2m wide footway on the northern side of the carriageway and a 3m wide footway/cycleway on the southern side, which the new site access will tie into.
A public right of way crosses the northern section of the site, which will be retained.
Housing development on the site will be within reach of a network of non-motorised routes that provide connectivity to the wider area, putting a number of shops and facilities within walking and/or cycling distance from the site.
Traffic surveys and an assessment of junction capacity have been carried out as part of the collection of data in support of the proposals.
An assessment of the development’s impact on the A38/ Pulley Lane/ Copcut Lane junction has been undertaken, and the results show that this junction is expected to operate within capacity with the development having no discernible effect on highway safety.
In conclusion, the site is in a sustainable location and the development is deemed to be acceptable in highways terms.
Click on the image below to view the site access plan
Technical matters
Local policy – housing land shortfall
The site is not currently designated for any particular purpose in the now outdated South Worcestershire Development Plan (SWDP). However, it has been identified in the Council’s Strategic Housing and Employment Land Allocations Assessment as a suitable residential site and deliverable within five years.
The SWDP is now being reviewed to bring it up to date and Redrow has put the site forward for inclusion in the draft Review.
Recent appeal hearings have found that with the SWDP out of date, there is a shortfall in specific deliverable sites sufficient to provide a minimum of five years’ worth of housing to meet the Council’s local housing need. This shortfall puts Wychavon District Council at risk of speculative development from land promoters in unsuitable locations where a five-year land supply cannot be identified.
Given the policy background locally, and the need to identify housing land supply, it is appropriate to bring forward a planning application on this site to provide an opportunity for Wychavon District Council to contribute to its housing shortfall at an unconstrained, sustainable location which has been assessed by the Council as being suitable for residential development, and in so doing protect more sensitive sites from speculative development.
Arboriculture
Trees and hedgerows are largely limited to the site boundaries and as such will generally be retained and incorporated into the development proposals. However, some tree cover will be lost to facilitate the delivery of infrastructure (i.e. vehicular access arrangements).
Most of the trees on site have been assessed as Category B (moderate quality) or Category C (low quality) trees, however there is one Category A (high quality) Oak tree within the western hedgerow boundary; this tree will be retained.
As part of the proposals new scrub, hedgerow and tree planting will be provided to enhance the biodiversity value of the site.
Landscape
A Landscape and Visual Appraisal has found that the site is more related to the edge of Droitwich Spa than the wider undeveloped landscape to the south and west of the site, and the development can be accommodated, without causing undue harm, within the landscape and its surroundings.
Ecology
The habitats on site are largely considered to be of relatively low ecological value, habitats of higher value include the boundary hedgerows, which will generally be retained.
The site will be the subject to protected species surveys, as required, with mitigation measures and ecological enhancements proposed as part of the development, where necessary.
Other technical matters
In preparing a planning application for the site, a full suite of technical studies will be completed, including Highways, Flooding and Drainage, Ecology etc. It is not anticipated that there will be any significant technical constraints to delivering high quality, sustainable development at this site. Indeed it is expected to be less constrained than other nearby allocated sites which are significantly constrained by noise from the M5 and are likely to deliver compromised residential amenity.
Contributions to local facilities
To date, Redrow’s portion of the Yew Tree Hill development has delivered financial contributions to local facilities and infrastructure, including:
- £1.4 million to local sports and leisure facilities
- £380,048 to local schools
- £261,043 towards local transport strategy
- £141,000 towards public transport locally
- £37,500 for public art in the local area
- £46,700 towards local policing