In accordance with local policy a percentage of the homes provided on this site will be classed as affordable housing.

This will ensure local people from first-time buyers to families, can access high-quality housing, helping more residents stay close to the community they know and love.

Affordable housing is available to households who otherwise could not house themselves, for example, because they would struggle to afford the cost of housing in the open market, or they need a specific type of house which is not commonly available.

Types of affordable housing can include:

Shared ownership housing is provided through a Registered Housing Association and helps households who can afford a small mortgage, but that are not able to afford to buy a property outright.

To be eligible for a shared ownership property, the annual household income can be no more than £80,000 and applicants must be registered on the Home Buy Register.

It enables purchasers to buy a share between 10% and 75% of the home’s full market value and then pay rent to the landlord for the share they own.

Social rented housing is owned by local authorities and Registered Providers, for which guideline target rents are determined through the national rent regime.

The rent is calculated using a set formula that takes into account the value of the property, the average earnings in the area and the number of bedrooms.

Social Rented properties are the most affordable tenure type, typically around 60% of an open market rent. Housing Benefit is available to qualifying households where they are unable to pay their Social Rent.

Intermediate housing includes homes for rent and sale provided at a cost above social rent but below market levels.

Affordable Rent (Or intermediate rent) is housing is let by Local Authorities or Registered Providers 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.

Rent to Buy means you rent a newly built home at approximately 20% below the market rate for up to five years (exact period of time varies by property). During that time period, you have the option to buy the property or to buy part of the property under a Shared Ownership scheme. When you get to the end of the time period, you either have to buy part of the property or move out.

Section 106 agreements and CIL payments are two important tools in UK planning used to secure funding from new development to help improve local infrastructure and services.

Section 106 Agreements (S106) is a legal agreement between a developer and the local planning authority.

To make a development proposal acceptable in planning terms, by securing contributions towards things the development will impact.

Examples of what S106 funds can provide:

• Affordable housing
• School places
• Road improvements
• Parks or green spaces
• Health services

Key Features:

• Negotiated case-by-case for specific developments
• Directly related to the development
• Must be reasonable and proportionate
• Can be inconsistent between developments or areas

Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) is a standard charge per square metre of new floor space, introduced by the Planning Act 2008.
It is designed to help fund infrastructure needed to support new development across a wider area – not just tied to a single site.

Examples of what CIL funds can provide:

• Transport links
• Schools and hospitals
• Flood defences
• Community centres

Key Features:

• Set as a fixed rate by the local authority
• Applies automatically to eligible developments
• Collected upfront or in stages

Your feedback is important to us and we want to understand local priorities and ideas.

This is your opportunity to share your views through this consultation website.

Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) is a planning requirement in England that ensures new developments leave the natural environment in a measurably better state than before.

Under current legislation, most developments must deliver at least a 10% increase in biodiversity value compared with the existing site.

This is assessed using a recognised metric that measures the quality, type and condition of habitats on the land. Developers can achieve this by retaining and enhancing existing habitats, creating new wildlife areas such as wildflower meadows, hedgerows, ponds or woodland, and managing them to support plants and animals over time.

To make sure these improvements last, Biodiversity Net Gain must be secured for a minimum of 30 years.

This is typically done through legal agreements attached to the planning permission, such as planning conditions or Section 106 agreements, which require the habitats to be created, maintained and monitored according to an approved management plan.

In some cases, off-site habitat improvements or statutory biodiversity credits may also be used if the required gain cannot be delivered entirely within the development site.

This approach helps ensure that new homes can be delivered while also supporting the long-term recovery of nature.

This is a Green Belt site.

The Green Belt exists to prevent towns from spreading endlessly, stop neighbouring settlements merging together, protect open countryside, preserve the setting of historic places, and encourage redevelopment of land within existing towns.

Grey Belt refers to land within the Green Belt that does not strongly fulfil the main purposes the Green Belt was created to protect.Grey Belt land is identified when an area contributes only weakly to these goals. This might be because the land is already influenced by development, has limited openness, is contained by roads or buildings, or does not play a meaningful role in keeping settlements separate.

Because it performs less strongly against these purposes, Grey Belt land may be considered more suitable for development than other parts of the Green Belt, provided important environmental, landscape, and community factors are still carefully considered.

Any development on Grey Belt land must meet what are known as the ‘Golden Rules’. This require schemes to deliver clear public benefits, including high levels of affordable housing, significant green space, and supporting infrastructure. In line with these principles, the proposal will provide over 5 hectares of open space (almost 70% of the whole site), 50% affordable housing, and improvements to local infrastructure.

An outline planning application is used to agree the key principles of a development before the detailed design is prepared. It does not fix every aspect of the scheme, but it does set important parameters that must be followed when a future reserved matters application is submitted.

These parameters help provide certainty about what can be built on the site. They usually include:

• Developable area – the parts of the site where buildings and housing can be located.
• Amount of open space – how much land must be kept for landscaping, and other green or community spaces.
• Building heights – the maximum heights that new buildings are allowed to reach.
• Character areas – the general layout and feel of different parts of the site, such as where homes, streets or green spaces are focused.
• Access and movement arrangements – the key routes for vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists, and where the main access points to the site will be.

Once these parameters are approved at outline stage, the reserved matters application must work within them. The reserved matters stage then provides the detailed design, such as the appearance of buildings, exact layouts, and detailed landscaping.

Parking for residents and their visitors will be provided depending on the size of the home (based on the number of bedrooms) and with reference to the Council’s parking policy

Cycle parking will be provided for each plot, and provision will be made for electric vehicles as well.

The application will be supported by a flood risk assessment which analyses the site’s current level of flood risk and how this could change once the site is developed. 

It also considers how rainfall will be collected and directed to the existing water courses and the impact this could have on the current flow and capacity of these water courses. 

The FRA has to demonstrate that the development of this site will not increase the risk of flooding either for the new homes or existing homes. 

The appearance of the new homes will be determined at a future Reserved Matters stage, but it is anticipated that the appearance will be informed by the context and local character of the area.

Reserved Matters are the detailed aspects of a development that are not fixed at outline stage and are approved later.

If outline permission is granted, then following this Reserved Matters Approval (RMA) must be obtained before development can begin.

The five reserved matters are:

• Access – site entry for vehicles and pedestrians

• Appearance – design, materials and architecture

• Layout – arrangement of buildings, roads and spaces

• Scale – height and size of buildings

• Landscaping – planting, open space and boundaries

The local authority assesses whether these details comply with the outline permission.

Should planning permission be granted and at a later  date in the process construction will be managed in accordance with a Construction Method Statement (CMP) to be agreed with the Council by condition.

The CMP will include safeguarding measures to deal with matters such as:

• Point of access into the site for construction vehicles
• The parking of vehicles of site operatives and visitors
• Loading and unloading of plant and materials
• Safety hoarding
• Wheel washing facilities
• Measures to control the emission of dust and dirt during construction
• Waste recycling
• Working hours, including deliveries
• Large vehicle and delivery routing plan

There is currently a significant undersupply of housing that meets local needs. While the Local Plan process is continuing, the Council needs to find additional sites for housing. 

The Council have supported the delivery of a planning application on this site for a number of years: bringing an application forward enables the Council to deliver on its housing targets as soon as possible.

A Sustainability Statement will accompany the planning application, setting out measures relating to energy efficiency, water use, waste, transport, air quality and open space.

Homes will meet or exceed relevant Building Regulations, with sustainability embedded through design, construction and technology.

This includes:

• Complying with the Future Homes Standard
• Using appropriate materials and techniques to maximise insulation, air tightness and heat recovery
• Procuring materials from sustainable sources
• Including domestic energy generation
• Electric vehicle (EV) charging points for every home.

In addition, a Biodiversity Strategy will accompany the application, supported by environmental surveys.  These will set out how existing habitats are protected and enhanced and how biodiversity net gain will be delivered.

Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) is a planning requirement in England that ensures new developments leave the natural environment in a measurably better state than before.

Under current legislation, most developments must deliver at least a 10% increase in biodiversity value compared with the existing site.

This is assessed using a recognised metric that measures the quality, type and condition of habitats on the land. Developers can achieve this by retaining and enhancing existing habitats, creating new wildlife areas such as wildflower meadows, hedgerows, ponds or woodland, and managing them to support plants and animals over time.

To make sure these improvements last, Biodiversity Net Gain must be secured for a minimum of 30 years.

This is typically done through legal agreements attached to the planning permission, such as planning conditions or Section 106 agreements, which require the habitats to be created, maintained and monitored according to an approved management plan.

In some cases, off-site habitat improvements or statutory biodiversity credits may also be used if the required gain cannot be delivered entirely within the development site.

This approach helps ensure that new homes can be delivered while also supporting the long-term recovery of nature.