Technical Evidence - Sibbersfield Lane, Farndon

The preparation of the proposals to date has been informed and supported by a comprehensive suite of technical reports, addressing key matters including:

DESIGN AND LANDSCAPE

In creating our emerging proposals for the site, we have considered the following as Key Design Principles:

Using a landscape-led masterplanning approach whereby existing landscape features are retained as robustly as possible, reinforced with new planting to mitigate against arising adverse impacts upon the landscape, and enhancing it at every opportunity.
To create a connected residential layout of functional and well-designed streets, paths and routes that provides a layout that is accessible and easy to move through and around with a particular emphasis for pedestrians and cyclists and connections back into the centre of Farndon.
To create a high-quality built environment with a range of energy efficient well-designed new homes located within attractive well-designed streets close to areas of accessible green space.

ACCESS, TRANSPORT AND MOVEMENT

Ainscough Strategic Land have conducted a thorough appraisal of the existing conditions of the local transport network, and the impacts a development such as this could create. The Site is considered a sustainable location for new homes, and discussions with the Local Highways authorities will be undertaken in order to mitigate any potential impacts.
The primary vehicular access to the site will be via a new formal access onto Sibbersfield Lane which will consist of a ghost island right turning lane for enhanced capacity and safety reasons as well as a secondary vehicular access from Greenway.
A number of pedestrian and cycle access links will be provided to ensure that sustainable accessibility will be provided by the proposals.
The site is within a short walk of a range of amenities including the centre of the village to allow the opportunities for walking and cycling to and from the site.
The outline planning application will be accompanied by a Transport Assessment, which will consider the impact upon the local road network in detail. This will help to understand whether improvements are needed to the local highway network to address any arising adverse impacts as a result the proposed development.
There is scope to improve a number of the junctions close to the site including the A534 Barton Road/Sibbersfield Lane crossroads to the south.
All highways and transport matters will be discussed in detail with the highways officers at CWaC once the application has been submitted.

FLOOD RISK AND DRAINAGE

The development parcels are located outside of areas at risk of flooding from rivers and sea and within Flood Zone 1, which means it has a less than 1 in 1,000 annual probability of flooding (low risk). Development on this site will not lead to flooding on site or increase the chances of flooding elsewhere. In fact, if anything, it is likely to create a betterment to flooding downstream.The proposals include attenuation basins, the purpose of which would be to hold surface water run-off from the development proposals and discharge it at greenfield rates. This means that the amount of water running off from the Site would be no more than the current rates, as undeveloped fields. This will ensure that flood risk is not increased elsewhere as part of the proposed development.

ECOLOGY AND NATURE

Ainscough Strategic Land has undertaken a variety of surveys on the Site to establish its baseline ecology value and in order to shape the proposals. The main features of ecology interest on-site are existing field hedges and trees given the Site’s existing agricultural use. The masterplanning exercise has been informed by the principle of retaining existing trees and hedgerows wherever possible.

As part of the ecology work, detailed surveys have been carried out as part of formulating the development proposals and will be submitted alongside the planning application. The surveys confirm an absence of badger setts, ground nesting birds, great crested newts. A suite of walked bat activity transects with supplementary static detector deployments have found the site to be suitable for small numbers of common bat species only. It is therefore concluded that there are few ecological constraints onsite. As a result of these measures, and the extensive diverse planting across the site, the development will deliver at least a 10% Biodiversity Net Gain in line with national policy. This will ensure a significant improvement in the biodiversity over and above its existing condition.