Highlights Summary of Draft Neighbourhood Development Plan
This is a “Highlights Summary” of what is included in the Pre-Submission Draft of the Neighbourhood Development Plan. This document is intended to be a convenient guide to the principal policies. It also sets out some of the reasons for proposing these policies. For more detail and the actual wording of the policies please refer to the full Pre-Submission Draft of the Neighbourhood Development Plan which can be downloaded from http://www.ourstratford.org.uk.
Introduction
People make places. The way we live and work and shop creates a town’s personality. Add world-famous buildings and a riverside setting to the mix and you create a place of pilgrimage based on real lives, still connected to its historic past, but a world away from a mediaeval amusement arcade.
So at the heart of this plan for Stratford by the residents of Stratford, is the belief that vision must replace convention. Housing needs have changed, traffic has increased, the internet has affected the way we shop and also the way employers run their businesses. The challenge is to balance the town’s world-famous legacy with the demands of modern living.
This needs joined-up thinking and a long-term view. Apart from its history and its cultural appeal, the qualities that make Stratford a special place are its green spaces, the river, the walkable town centre. It is not a town just to look at, but to experience through the way its residents live. It is unique and it needs carefully-considered bespoke solutions, not pattern-book urban sprawl.
This plan creates a blueprint for the future. It is our responsibility to manage inevitable growth in keeping with the town’s remarkable past – not just to make life comfortable for ourselves but so that our children and their children will enjoy the results of the decisions we make today.
Our Vision - The Basis for our Plan
This is our vision for the Neighbourhood Area in 2031. It is based on the feedback we have received so far:
· Stratford will still be instantly recognisable as an historic market town in a beautiful riverside setting. It will have absorbed the additional housing required by Stratford on Avon District Council but retained its charm and individuality; the historic core will have been sympathetically enhanced and run down areas redeveloped
· For residents the town will be liveable: compact, walkable, attractive with good public spaces, culture, a strong local economy and housing choice
· The town will be better at accommodating visitors
· There will have been an integrated approach to investment in infrastructure and transport, traffic will be less intrusive, and congestion will no longer be an issue
· And Stratford-upon-Avon will be greener with more soft landscaping, trees, open spaces and green corridors linking the town to the countryside.
The policies outlined below are intended to help achieve this vision.
1. Housing, Transport and Making the Town Work for Residents.
This is covered in sections 5 (Housing), 10 (infrastructure), 11 (Community, Leisure and Wellbeing) and 12 (Site Specific Briefs)
Housing is not just about numbers. It is about how people live. Young people who cannot afford to get on the housing ladder share flats. One-parent families need elbow-room and cupboard space. Retired people need connections with their community. We cannot change the allocation set by Stratford District Council which is currently about 2,700 new houses for Stratford-upon-Avon between 2011 and 2031, so we must ensure that they are the right type of houses for our residents and in the right places. Planning permission has already been granted for approximately 2,000 houses since 2011, so this plan must allow for 700 more dwellings in the Town (excluding Tiddington and Alveston).
Stratford District Council is revisiting its Core Strategy so the housing allocation may change. However, this plan has been based on existing information.
What is the right type of housing?
The first priority is to build the necessary mix of housing where there is already a network of services. Students, workers and young families need easy access to transport and schools (policies H1, H3 and section 12). Older residents need adaptable housing and a small number of bungalows (policies H8, BE6 and CLW3).
Stratford is a particularly compact town and lends itself to more housing development in the centre, including above shops (TC7). Crucially, Stratford needs to be treated as an individual entity with individual needs and not as just another part of the district as a whole (H6, H7 and H9). In addition, the wishes of villages in the NDP area which wish to keep their separate identities would be respected (H2).
Regeneration
We also have the opportunity to revitalize run down areas. This can accommodate most of the extra homes needed. For instance:
· The canal corridor between Masons Road and Birmingham Road should become an attractive feature, providing housing and small business opportunities. A map of this area is shown in Figure 12 and more details are given in policy SSB1.
· Other brownfield sites – those which have been previously developed and are now disused – would also have planning priority.
Infrastructure – Transport, Schools and Health
Planning ahead in a joined up manner is vital if new development is to have the support it needs. This means it must link with existing infrastructure or deliver the necessary additional facilities to support the development (BE3).
Traffic congestion is a major problem for Stratford. Heavy through traffic needs to be reduced and vehicles coming into the town must be directed away from certain access routes particularly liable to congestion. Particular problems include:
· Peak time travel. This plan includes specific suggestions to help relieve the congestion on the Birmingham Road. It also recommends effective traffic management and junction improvements to redistribute peak time traffic. Strategic location of car parks will reduce cross-town travel as well as providing access to the Recreation Ground car park from Shipston Road (INF1).
· The impact of new housing outside the Neighbourhood Area. An integrated approach is essential to maximise the benefits from any new relief roads. This includes the promotion of park and ride for longer term parking (INF2).
· Public transport. Better traffic management must include improvements to existing rail facilities but also links with other modes of transport, in particular with enhanced bus and coach facilities (INF5 and INF6).
· Pedestrians and cyclists. Facilities must include improvements to cycling in the town centre (TC16), dedicated pedestrian and cycle paths connected to key routes and funded by new development (INF3 and CLW7) and a replacement bridge at Lucy’s Mill (INF4).
Green spaces
Without plenty of trees and green areas, housing development is harsh and unwelcoming. There must be provision for green space in all new developments. Minimum requirements are recommended (Policy CLW5).
Schools Adequate land and funding needs to be set aside for the expansion of schools so that younger children can continue to go to their local school or nursery when an area is developed (INF7) and land also needs to be set aside for the provision of new schooling in suitable locations (INF8).
Health and Community
The nation is living longer. This means that GP surgeries and other healthcare provision must not only be protected, but enhanced. The contribution developers make when they build retirement accommodation should be used to improve facilities and create further amenities (CLW11 and CLW12).
A healthy community is an active community. The plan proposes protecting existing leisure facilities and activities for different age groups and promoting new ones, particularly for younger people (CLW2). This includes proposals for suitably located evening leisure facilities and the expansion or relocation of the Leisure Centre in line with a growing population (CLW8).
2. Town Centre and Creating a Vibrant Local Economy
This is covered in sections 6 (Employment) and 7 (Town Centre)
The suggested investment in a better transport system is part of the framework for a thriving local economy. Without a thriving economic structure, the town and its residents would all be at a disadvantage.
Town Centre.
To maintain an attractive and busy town centre which works for both residents and visitors, the proposals are for a coordinated scheme which would include the following:
· The redevelopment of Town Square should be combined with an upgrading and promotion of Rother Market area to make an attractive thoroughfare from High Street. (TC4 and TC5)
· A step-by-step plan to create an Environmental Improvement Area, which would include the Rother Triangle, Greenhill Street and an area flanked by Birmingham Road, Arden Street and Windsor Street (TC8 TC9 and TC10).
· Improvements to the route from the Town Centre to the Maybird Centre (TC17) and support for businesses in the Town Centre including restrictions on out of town retail and restrictions on non-retail use in primary shopping areas (TC2 and TC6).
· Car parking should be used to support town centre businesses and be convenient for shoppers and as well as help reduce congestion. (TC14).
Visitors, Pedestrians and Moving Around
Stratford-upon-Avon is a very strong brand and major tourist destination. This is a powerful stimulus to the local economy, but the fact that all the town’s major historic buildings are along its main shopping routes creates mobility problems for pedestrians.
All historic towns have to juggle the demands of car users and pedestrians but on the whole Stratford is a less friendly environment for pedestrians than many other similar towns.
To improve the town centre experience it will be important to provide a relaxed atmosphere for pedestrians while retaining on-street parking for shoppers and taxis. Proposals include widening pavements in Bridge Street and, for an experimental period, closing High Street to vehicles between 11am and 4pm (TC13). Improvement are also suggested to the passage of coaches through the centre and to pedestrian congestion on the tramway bridge, particularly during festivals (TC15 and TC18).
Culture, Media and Tourism are promoted by supporting development that creates employment in these three areas and particularly encourages culture and learning, such as new public exhibition space between Henley Street, Meer Street and Windsor Street. (E3 and TC11). The establishment of conference facilities would be supported in the Town Centre (TC12 and TC9).
Employment
Existing employment needs to be protected and new high quality employment attracted. Suitable alternative sites are recommended for businesses relocating from the canal area and there are proposals for attracting additional high quality employers by providing land for business use close to the A46 and Stratford Parkway station (E1 and E2).
3. The Environment
This is covered in sections 8 (Built Environment) and 9 (Natural Environment)
Protecting the heritage of any historic town is paramount. In Stratford’s case, it is its lifeblood. The main route through the town – High Street, Chapel Street and Church Street to Holy Trinity church – is one of the most important historic walks in the country as along these streets are all the Grade I and most of the Grade II listed buildings in the town.
A scheme has already been developed to encourage the harmonious refurbishment of shop fronts along this Historic Spine to complement its finest buildings. The NDP proposes to extend this scheme to the whole of the Town Centre (TC3) and proposes controls over signage elsewhere (BE9). It also includes proposals for preserving listed buildings, conservation areas, historic parks, gardens and sites of special scientific interest. (BE11, BE12 and BE13).
Built environment
A town is defined by its individuality. Only a strong sense of place distinguishes one town from another and gives it a sense of identity. Therefore:
· All development must respond to local character (BE2 and H5).
· New layouts should amalgamate smoothly with the surrounding area and built up areas should emerge gradually from the surrounding countryside by controlling the density and heights of new buildings. (BE1 and BE8).
· Design review panels are recommended where large scale developments are proposed or those where there is a particular sensitivity. This will take into account design quality standards, crime prevention, sustainable drainage and supplementary planning guidance (BE4, BE6, BE7 and BE10).
Natural Environment
Availability of green space was ranked one of the most important things when residents were asked what they like about the town. Existing green spaces need to be protected with measures to safeguard and enhance the town’s natural environment and reduce pollution. The Plan proposes:
· To designate Local Nature Reserves in Warwick Road Lands and Bridgetown Woodland and Meadow and to restrict development in the flood plain (NE1). Further policies cover biodiversity in the River Avon corridor including restrictions on development in the flood plain (NE1 and NE2). The preparation of a Neighbourhood Area Biodiversity Action Plan is recommended (NE4).
· A list of pockets of existing green space to be protected. This list includes Rowley Fields, the River Corridor, Welcome Hills and Shottery Fields (CLW4).
· Allotments will be protected and any proposed development on allotments must make alternative provision. New houses will have minimum garden sizes to allow growing space ((CLW10) and there will be a requirement for trees and hedges in new developments (NE3).
· A ‘green necklace’ is proposed around Stratford-upon-Avon, incorporating footpaths and cycle routes. To achieve this all major developments on the edge of town must demonstrate how green open spaces connect to future adjacent development. Community woodland will also be promoted (CLW6).
· Renewable and low carbon energy schemes are to be encouraged (CLW13 and CLW14).
In preparing these policies everyone who has worked on the Neighbourhood Development Plan has had one guiding principle: this is not a plan for anywhere. It is a plan for us – and for our children.
Neighbourhood Plan summary 6