Sustainable development

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What is Sustainable Development?

There are three elements of sustainable development:

  • Social - shopping, leisure, recreation, education and health
  • Economic - employment
  • Environmental - the effect the development would have on the environment

These need to be considered jointly and not in isolation.

TVBC says “it is committed to creating and maintaining sustainable settlements.” They go on to say:

TVBC supports the principle of the social and economic element of sustainable development but not if they conflict with the policies which aim to respect the environment for example;

  • the character of the area or
  • important landscape features.

TVBC recognises that some schemes, such as those submitted under the rural exception affordable housing or community led development policies, are likely to come forward on sites outside of the defined settlement boundary. Such schemes may be acceptable if they meet social or economic needs of that community.

TVBC’s objectives for sustainable development are:

Promote appropriate scale of development in settlements in keeping with their size, character and function.

Create sustainable communities, locating development where daily needs for employment, shopping, leisure, recreation, education, health and other community facilities are accessible by sustainable modes of transport.

Comments

For Chilbolton, TVBC’s objectives for sustainable development mean that the 20 home scheme proposed by the Parish Council would be acceptable. James Painter’s 75 home scheme would not be assessed as acceptable.

Settlement Hierarchy

To guide the location of future development, TVBC has developed a settlement hierarchy. Within this hierarchy, Chilbolton is a tier 3 village. It is classed as a Rural Village with a Village Design Statement and a Neighbourhood Development Plan.

This means that TVBC requires that any additional development should come from;

  • Windfalls
  • Rural Affordable Housing sites
  • Replacement dwellings
  • Community-led Development
  • Small business uses
  • Re-use of Buildings

The “Tilted Balance”

National planning guidelines have been reformulated to increase targets for building new homes, and the planning system now has a presumption in favour of development. This is sometimes known as the “Tilted Balance”

It means Chilbolton no longer has the protection of the settlement hierarchy which stated:

Development outside the boundaries of settlements in the hierarchy will only be permitted if:

  • it is appropriate in the countryside or
  • it is essential for the proposal to be located in the countryside.

However, the presumption in favour of development applies only if that development is sustainable. Plans would still be refused if “any adverse impacts of granting permission would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits.”

The 75 home scheme proposed by Mr Painter does not fit the criteria for sustainability.

However the 20 home Community Led scheme proposed by the Parish Council would.

Why is a 20-home development sustainable?

For Chilbolton, the proposal put forward by the Parish Council for 20 homes as per the Chilbolton Neighbourhood Development Plan, would fit these criteria, because:

  • There is a proven need for Affordable housing, with at least 10 would be tenants on the TVBC Affordable housing list
  • There are also names on the downsize and self-build list for sites within TVBC area
  • The scheme would be Community led, with The Chilbolton Community Land Trust already in place
  • The scheme would be for 20 homes which would be a more appropriate number compared to Mr Painter’s 75 home proposal.
  • The 20 home scheme would still need improvements in infrastructure to make it a viable option
  • A 20 home development would be more appropriate and proportionate to a Tier 3 rural village
  • Although sited outside the Settlement Boundary, the 20 houses would meet the current needs of the community
  • The Parish Council scheme would represent sustainable growth and is backed by a Housing Needs survey

Why is a 75 home development not sustainable?

The current 75 home proposal from James Painter does not fit the requirements of sustainability, because:

  • It is not a community led scheme.
  • It is not meeting the current housing needs of the community, it far exceeds it
  • It is sited outside the Settlement Boundary
  • The scale of the development is disproportionate, and inappropriate to the needs of the community
  • The scheme has 4-bedroom houses which do not comply with The Chilbolton Neighbourhood Development Plan or the needs of the community
  • The local primary school in Wherwell would not have enough space for children living at the new development
  • There would be a huge increase in traffic movements, which has not been adequately assessed
  • Chilbolton’s highways infrastructure already has issues with parked cars, narrow roads and lack of walkways for pedestrians
  • There are a number of facilities included that are not needed: the Village already has a shop/tea-room and open-spaces
  • A GP surgery seems unlikely to be economical and the unused space would be turned into more houses
  • The proposed site would not be integrated with the rest of the Village: it is already being referred to as “the Estate” by residents
  • Huge improvements in infrastructure are needed to support this development and to make it sustainable
  • The development is not in keeping with the size and character of Chilbolton

Summary

  • There is evidence, as presented here, that the 75 home proposal would do more harm than good for Chilbolton
  • The proposal, using TVBC’s criteria, is not sustainable
  • Chilbolton does not have the resources to support 75 new homes
  • There is no demonstrated local need for 30 affordable homes