BASE HEADER

No

ID sylw: 108893

Derbyniwyd: 07/03/2025

Ymatebydd: Warwickshire County Council

Minerals and Waste

OBJECT to the Loss of Stratford Car Breakers at Long Marston (ELV site).
No objections on mineral sterilisation grounds subject to prior extraction of sand and gravel in the northern area and subject to:
• Minerals Assessment Report (for assessing the possible impact on mineral resources and determining whether prior extraction is achievable),
• Materials Management Report (for assessing the sourcing and use of construction materials including the availability of on-site materials for reuse/recycling),
• Waste Site Assessment (for assessing the extent to which an existing waste site/use/operation would be prejudiced),
Site Waste Management Plan (a plan for reusing/recycling waste on site and avoiding off-site disposal to landfill)


Active Travel

The site connects to the Stratford Greenway, a multi-user corridor on a former railway line which provides an attractive off-road cycle facility between Station Road Long Marston and the southern edge of Stratford-upon-Avon (approx. 7.5km). The route is unlit and of varying quality although part of the it has recently been resurfaced using developer contributions. The Stratford Greenway forms part of National Cycle Route 5 which continues south on low trafficked roads to Shipston- on-Stour and Route 41 which continues south to Honeybourne and connects with Route 442 to Mickleton and Chipping Campden. There is existing cycling infrastructure within the initial phases of the Long Marston Airfield site and within the Meon Vale development. Provision within Stratford-upon-Avon is of varying quality but includes connections towards the town centre and educational establishments as well as the railway station on Alcester Road.

The Stratford Greenway will need to be upgraded to provide a high quality and consistent connection to Stratford-upon-Avon. In order to maximise usage and encourage all year round utility and commuting cycling journeys consideration would need lighting and a winter maintenance regime. Consideration would also need to be given to safety concerns associated with a lack of natural surveillance. Connections within Stratford-upon-Avon would need to be enhanced in terms of the quality of existing provision and to provide missing links to deliver attractive cycling connectivity to the town centre and destinations to the north of Stratford-upon-Avon.

Potentially. The Stratford Greenway is owned by Warwickshire County Council and there are feasible options to improve the cycling network with Stratford-upon-Avon. However, at 8.5km Stratford-upon-Avon town centre and railway station is beyond the distance many people will consider reasonable to cycle for everyday journeys although within the 10km distance for which Department for Transport guidance suggests cycling has the capability to replace car trips.

Rail

The site currently has reasonable proximity to the rail network being located approximately 5 miles from Honeybourne station on the North Cotswold Line, although the roads leading to the station are country lanes and unsuitable for large traffic volumes. Services are provided by Great Western Railway, linking Hereford and Worcester with Oxford, Didcot Parkway and London Paddington. Current train frequencies are hourly in both directions, although certain services omit calling at Honeybourne. The site also lies around 7 miles from Stratford-upon-Avon station and 8 miles from Stratford Parkway station, both of which are served by West Midlands Trains with a half-hourly service to Birmingham and Kidderminster/Worcester (one via Henley-in-Arden and one via Dorridge), and Chiltern Railways with a service every two hours to Leamington Spa.

The Long Marston Rail Innovation Centre on the former MoD site is owned by Porterbrook and served by a branch line from Honeybourne using part of the former rail line to Stratford-upon-Avon as far as Long Marston. The site is used for rail- related Research & Development incorporating 3.5km of internal test track, as well as secure storage of off-lease locomotives and rolling stock.

Although the North Cotswold Line was subject to an upgrade in 2011/12, the remaining single-line sections between Evesham, Pershore and Norton Junction (Worcester) and Charlbury and Wolvercote Junction (Oxford) currently limit the ability for a half-hourly service to be provided between Worcester and London. The North Cotswold Line Taskforce is developing a business case for such an improvement.

The Honeybourne to Long Marston branch line sees regular use by test trains and movements associated with secure storage to/from the Long Marston Rail Innovation Centre, typically 3-4 times per week. Any use of the branch for passenger services would need to accommodate these trains, most of which take place during the day.

There is scope at Honeybourne for a bay platform given the passive provision made by the rail industry for a future extension of the Gloucestershire and Warwickshire Railway from Broadway.

There are limited issues with the Birmingham to Stratford rail line via Henley-in- Arden, with a future aspiration for electrification of the Snow Hill lines and an additional service to provide a half-hourly frequency. The line between Bearley Junction and Hatton (via Claverdon) is capacity constrained due to it being single track throughout with no passing points.

A potential reconfiguration of some local services is currently being explored by WMRE, looking at how an hourly Stratford to Leamington service could be delivered which would serve Stratford Town and Stratford Parkway stations. There is likely to be a need to provide certain track and signaling improvements at Leamington to allow this service to operate.

There are four options for how the new settlement could be served by rail:

(1) Provide improved access to the existing Honeybourne station on the North Cotswold Line by public transport and cycle;
(2) Provide a new station at Long Marston served by a branch line service from Honeybourne, either using conventional heavy or light rail technology. The Long Marston Airfield SPD has identified some potential land within the development for a station; alternatively, a station could be located west of Station Road;
(3) Provide improved access to the existing Stratford Town and Stratford Parkway stations on the North Warwickshire line by public transport and cycle; or
(4) Reopen the former Stratford to Honeybourne rail line, with a station at Long Marston to serve the new settlement.

Although a number of these options have been studied in detail in relation to the current Long Marston Airfield Strategic Allocation, there is currently limited rail industry support.

Options (1) and (3) set out above would not require any upgrade in service frequency, although the aspirations for a half-hourly Stratford to Birmingham (via Henley) service and an hourly Stratford to Leamington service would be beneficial if delivered. Options (2) and (4) would require either a new or extended service to be provided, the revenue risk for which would fall on the Government.

The costs for delivering Options (1) and (3) set out above should be deliverable and affordable in the context of a new settlement in this area, particularly with the proposed extension of the site to accommodate a larger number of dwellings.

Unfortunately, the cost of Options (2) and (4) in terms of both capital infrastructure and operating (revenue) costs will be unaffordable to a developer being well in excess of £150m. There remain significant engineering challenges in reopening the former rail line for the section north of the Racecourse, particularly where the A4390 Seven Meadows Road has been built over the formation and at the Evesham Place roundabout. Part of the formation has also been built over by the Industrial Estate off Station Road, Long Marston.

Bus

There are no inter-urban bus routes which pass near or through the site. There are several local bus services in the area which provide reasonable access to local villages within Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire, and to the nearby towns of Shipston-on-Stour, Chipping Campden, Broadway and Moreton-in-Marsh, most of which look towards Stratford-upon-Avon. Improved frequency of service will be required on these routes. Services between Stratford-upon-Avon, Clifford Chambers, Meon Vale and Lower Quinton operate at a higher frequency.

A new high quality, frequent service between Honeybourne Rail Station, Long Marston, Meon Vale, Stratford-upon-Avon and Leamington Spa will be required to help meet demand from the new settlement. An upgrade or amalgamation of existing services to provide this new route should be considered in the first instance. This will require discussion/agreement with the operator. Honeybourne station area will require some upgrading to provide quality interchange facilities.

Provision of high quality bus stops with shelters, Real Time Information and raised kerbs, along with bus priority measures at key junctions on the route of the proposed inter-urban service and within the new settlement should be provided. This may include locations within the administrative areas of Worcestershire and Gloucestershire, therefore the involvement of the two County Councils in the development of this route should be sought.

The proposed new inter-urban bus service and associated infrastructure improvements should be deliverable, affordable and viable in the long term if planned and promoted properly.

Highway (Strategic)

The site is poorly related to the SRN, being located approximately 8 miles from the A46 Stratford Bypass and 13 miles from M40 Junction 15 at Warwick (via the B4632, A3400, A439 and A46). There are no MRN designated routes in this area.

There are peak-hour capacity/congestion issues with the three A46 Stratford Junctions at Marraway (A439), Bishopton (A3400) and Wildmoor (A422). There are also road safety issues particularly at side road junctions on the A46 between A46/A435 Oversley Mill Roundabout and A46 Wildmoor Roundabout. The eastern section between Stratford-upon-Avon and Red Hill is a poorly aligned single carriageway which includes the Billesley Crossroads junction which has a poor safety record. The western section between Red Hill and Alcester is a wide single carriageway which often leads to overtaking of slow moving vehicles when it is not safe to do so.

M40 Junction 15 (Longbridge) is a strategically significant junction where the motorway network interfaces with the SRN (A46) and the A429 towards Warwick and Cirencester. Despite major improvements having been implemented, the junction continues to operate at or near capacity, and a combination of wider committed/planned growth in South Coventry, Warwick, Leamington Spa, Kenilworth, Wellesbourne and Stratford will have a cumulative impact which is likely to result in significant congestion and traffic re-routing on to less appropriate routes such as through Warwick and Leamington Spa town centre and into surrounding rural communities (e.g. Hampton Magna/Hampton-on-the-Hill). The A46/B4463 junction at Sherbourne immediately south of M40 Junction 15 is also unlikely to be able to cope with these cumulative demands, which in turn is likely to result in traffic rerouting through Warwick town centre.

Work undertaken in relation to the existing Long Marston Airfield Strategic Allocation has highlighted impacts on the A46 from the interface with the West of Shottery Relief Road at Wildmoor. It is therefore highly likely that a larger allocation at Long Marston Airfield will require at least the same or possibly a greater level of strategic infrastructure and mitigation on the A46 SRN and at M40 Junction 15.

Assessment of impacts arising from an expanded allocation at Long Marston Airfield will need to be assessed through detailed modelling with input from National Highways. Impacts at M40 Junction 15 will need to be evaluated in the context of cumulative growth proposals across the wider SWLP area, with an apportionment strategy linked to financial contributions.

Until the scale of any SRN mitigation is identified it is difficult to provide an indication of affordability, but either way there are likely to be challenges given the wider infrastructure needs of the site when considered in the round. There may be some deliverability issues if the detail of SRN mitigation falls outside the highway boundary, necessitating third-party owned land to be acquired.

Highway (Local)

There is limited LRN in the area of the potential new settlement, the only route of any significance being the B4632 Stratford to Broadway and Cheltenham Spa road. This is connected to Stratford town via the A3400 Shipston Road and A4390 Seven Meadows Road from the roundabout near the Rosebird Centre.

The B4632 was previously a trunk route (A46) prior to the opening of the M40 in the early 1990’s, but it is not of a particularly high standard.

The two river crossings provided by Clopton Bridge and the A4390 Seven Meadows Road are a significant constraint to traffic movements within and across Stratford.

This combined with the steady growth of the town and its popular tourist attractions lead to a congested network throughout the day and at weekends. This serves to constrain any significant growth coming forward south of the river without major new highway infrastructure.

Work undertaken in relation to the existing Long Marston Airfield Strategic Allocation has highlighted the requirement for a new link road (SWRR) to be provided from the site to Stratford-upon-Avon, interfacing with the recently constructed West of Shottery Relief Road to the A46 at Wildmoor. This would have consisted of a new link from the A3400 and B4632 north of Clifford Chambers to the south and west of the Racecourse, interfacing with the B439 at Bordon Hill. Any expanded site at Long Marston Airfield would certainly require a greater level of infrastructure than the currently promoted SWRR, possibly on an alternative alignment and with additional mitigation required on the wider highway network of the town at known pinch points. The detail of this would require scoping before being assessed with detailed modelling. Previous Strategic Transport Assessment work has also identified potential link capacity issues on the B4632 Campden Road arising from the existing strategic allocation at LMA which is also likely to require remediation.

The scale of funding required for the SWRR to support the existing Long Marston Airfield Strategic Allocation has already been demonstrated to fall well beyond the affordability of the developer alone. Bids have been submitted for public funding to support the delivery of the road, which to date have not been successful. The need for a potentially more significant highway intervention as well as additional mitigation on the B4632 Campden Road and within Stratford itself suggests that affordability will remain an issue with an expanded new settlement site at Long Marston Airfield. Deliverability challenges will remain similar to the current position, whereby a developer will need to acquire third-party land to be able to deliver the necessary mitigation.

The scale of infrastructure required to unlock any significant housing growth south of the river is likely to require Central Government funding to provide the necessary third river crossing and a strategic highway link to either the east or west of the town. This could not only help unlock major growth but could also help achieve a wider set of place-making outcomes within Stratford town centre.

Education Impacts

The existing allocation of 3,500 requires the delivery of 2 new primary schools and 1 new secondary school.

An additional 2,500 homes would suggest the provision of an additional primary school. The additional secondary numbers will support the viability of the secondary school proposed within the 3.500 allocation.

An additional 6,500 would suggest the need for an additional 3 primary schools and an additional secondary school.

There is an assumption that all new primary facilities will include early years facilities and Special Resource Provision facilities.

There is an assumption that all new secondary schools will provide for sixth form teaching on site and that there will also be a Specialist Resource Provision included.

It should be noted that there is an on-site primary school linked to an outline application currently with Stratford District for consideration.

Shipston High School is the priority area school. However, this has already been subject to an expansion and work is currently taking place to consider further expansion.

Shipston does not have a sixth form.

Stratford School is the next nearest school and has been subject to numerous expansions to cater for the significant growth in housing in the Stratford area. Neither Shipston nor Stratford could take additional numbers.

If the secondary school linked to the 3,500 homes comes forward it will struggle without additional numbers.

Further growth, i.e. beyond 3,500 will bring stability to the provision of school places within the area.