Appendix B

MM17 – DSNEW1

Vision and strategic objectives for DSNEW1 to be appended to local plan – to be read alongside policy.

Mission Statement

The intention is to create a new 21st Century living, learning and working quarter serving both Warwick District and Coventry City, which will be a place-shaping exemplar and a major boost to the regional and sub-regional economy, offering an unparalleled educational, residential and community environment.

Vision for land south of Coventry

This area will be a thriving, available and sustainable driver for economic growth, based around its excellent links to the strategic highways network, represented by both a link road between A and B and improved rail and other public transport connections serving the University of Warwick and significant opportunities for cycling and walking through and between the new areas of growth. Transit along both local and strategic networks will be simple, safe and reliable, with minimal delay and congestion.

The area will be a driver for long-term and stable economic growth through the provision of opportunities for employment provision, spin-out activity from the University housed in modern and attractive landscapes and the provision and improvement of strategic highway links to Coventry, the conurbation of Birmingham and beyond.

The presence of the high speed rail link between London and the Midlands, passing immediately to the south of this area, will itself stimulate and secure additional economic opportunities and will open the doors to wider markets both here and to the south.

The University itself will have cemented its reputation as a centre of excellence for higher learning and will have grown in innovative and environmentally sustainable ways to meet demand, resulting in a world-class campus, with buildings and layouts of unparalleled design quality and accessibility.

New housing developments will have created flourishing communities with their own individual characters, catering to residents throughout their lives and providing a range of attractive and well-designed properties.

Residential development improves the quality of life of its inhabitants. It offers healthy and high quality living environments and provides a balanced mix of housing, community facilities, services and employment opportunities that have created a viable and sustainable community. Public perceptions of well-being and security are high, with residential areas designed to promote the safety of pedestrians, cyclists and residents of all ages and physical abilities.

Layouts have been designed to be easily accessible to emergency services and incorporate high degrees of natural surveillance.

Development respects and reflects a high quality natural environment. The landscape and biodiversity value of the area has been enhanced and protected, with precious woodland forming the heart of a system of conjoined and interlocking wildlife and habitat links bringing the countryside into the urban fringe. New habitats have been created and where existing resources were impacted by development, they have been replaced locally.

Access to the natural environment is easily and safely available, with the provision of parks, informal open space, play areas, leisure and sporting facilities an integral aspect of all forms of development.

The following objectives will be met through the successful development of land south of Coventry. They will also be applicable to emerging / safeguarded sites where such sites become available: -

Infrastructure

Traffic and roads - a strengthened and improved network of strategic transport links serving the area and providing sufficient capacity to allow traffic to flow freely to and from the conurbation, Kenilworth, Warwick and Leamington. This will include: -

• Improvements to existing junctions, carriageways and points of access to the strategic network to mitigate the impacts of additional traffic and, where possible, alleviate current levels of congestion
• The provision of new road infrastructure where required, such as a link road between A and B
• Provision of park and ride opportunities to serve commuters travelling into Coventry and the Warwick / Leamington / Kenilworth areas
• The design of layouts for new housing and amenity areas that allows for the use of modes of transport other than the private car
• Strategic road infrastructure will be phased throughout the life of the developments, with a framework in place to share costs equitably amongst developers in the wider area.

Public and Personal Transport – the extension of existing services to meet demands from new development fully and frequently. This will be particularly important when considering the needs of the resident and incoming student population.

Measures to mitigate and improve services will include: -

• Improved bus provision, including the extension of extant services and provision of additional routes where necessary
• The creation and enhancement of a network of cycle routes and paths, including safe and accessible links into the conurbation, University and to and from new rail infrastructure.
• The creation and enhancement of safe and accessible pedestrian routes into the conurbation, University and adjacent development, linking wherever possible to existing public footpaths and longer distance routes.

Services and strategic provision –

• Development should be provided with sufficient levels of water, sewage and power infrastructure, to ensure that impacts on adjacent facilities is mitigated.
• Improvements to the capacity of Finham Sewage Treatment Works will be required as appropriate
• Developers will liaise with service providers to ensure the most appropriate and futureproofed delivery of capacity is achieved, e.g. through shared ducting
• High-speed broadband (fibre optic cabling, wireless etc.) will be provided as standard, as will next-generation mobile technology

Education – the provision of capacity meet demands arising from the new development: -

• New primary school(s) at Kings Hill to meet demand generated by the new community
• New secondary school at Kings Hill / provision of additional capacity at adjacent schools within Warwick District or Coventry depending on demand
• The ongoing development and expansion of the University of Warwick, with best use made of the existing landholding and the extension of the University's built environment in accordance with an agreed masterplan that reflects the high quality of design and sustainability being sought for the area.

Community Facilities – the provision of suitably located and accessible facilities and services to enable the new developments within the area identified in DSNEW1 to function as successful and sustainable communities in their own right: -

• Westwood Heath will provide a new health centre, appropriate levels of retail facilities (a convenience store of no more than 500sq.m. gross),
• Kings Hill will provide a new local centre, health centre and employment opportunities
• Development will incorporate appropriate levels of emergency services infrastructure, in agreement with the respective services
• Development will also include as appropriate community meeting spaces / multifunction buildings that can serve as community hubs.

Green infrastructure – the nature of the landscape and environment in this area will dictate that a significant amount of open space will be required as part of the wider strategic infrastructure requirements. This will be in the form of a mixture of both formal and informal provision: -

• There are existing private sports facilities at Kings Hill that will be retained.
• Should any proposals come forward to relocate extant sporting or leisure facilities, this must be undertaken in close co-operation with the relevant facilities and following public consultation prior to the submission of a planning application.
• Additional sporting and leisure provision will also be required on sites as part of the development areas, to allow people to engage in pursuits conducive to a healthy and active lifestyle
• The development sites themselves (together with areas safeguarded for potential future development) will be removed from the Green Belt.
• The status of the Green Belt in the rest of the area will be maintained and land will be protected from inappropriate development in accordance with the requirements of the NPPG
• Landscape enhancement will be required, to mitigate the impacts of development on the landscape in general and to reinforce Green Belt and other boundaries to prevent encroachment.
• The opportunity to strengthen and reinstate traditional landscape forms will be encouraged.
• Informal public open space will be required on all development sites, especially in locations where meaningful links can be made to the wider countryside. This will allow for wildlife corridors to be maintained and for local communities to be able to enjoy the benefits of a wide range of leisure and recreational opportunities.
• Biodiversity on development sites will be maintained through the provision of habitat creation opportunities. Where habitats are unavoidably impacted by otherwise sustainable development, appropriate levels of offsetting must be provided elsewhere on the site or as close to it as possible.
• Sensitive habitats, such as Wainbody Wood and ancient woodlands on / adjacent to Westwood Heath, must be retained and protected and development proposals will maintain these as integral and valued aspects of the final layouts.

Housing – these developments offer an opportunity for the delivery of exciting and innovative housing layouts, house types and a mix of tenures and sizes, that reflect best environmental and sustainable practice: -

• Housing schemes will be of high quality and will reflect high standards in construction and residential amenity
• Development will promote the highest possible standards of environmental performance and durability
• Residential development will be expected to make best use of available land, services and infrastructure
• Residential provision will be easily managed and maintained at all stages in the lives of the residents
• Affordable housing will be required to help meet identified need in Warwick District and Coventry.
• The level of provision of affordable housing will accord with the requirements set out in the relevant local plan policies for the district.

Employment and economic growth – opportunities for economic growth, both within and adjacent to the sites, will help cement the stability and sustainable growth of the sub-region: -

• Employment-generating uses will be housed in modern, attractive and environmentally sustainable buildings that promote energy efficiency and carbon neutrality
• Spin-out activity from the University will be supported and delivered in close proximity, in line with a masterplan
• Infrastructure to support economic growth, such as transport and highways improvements, will be supported through the implementation of the IDP and the provision of funding through legal agreements and CIL requirements.
• A range of new employment opportunities will be explored and where appropriate identified as part of the various masterplans for the sites being promoted.
• The presence of HS2 and the new rail halt will themselves be drivers for economic growth and it will be important to ensure that opportunities for linkages to existing infrastructure and accessibility are maximised.

Health and wellbeing – National Planning Guidance identifies the following aims at paragraph 5 of its Health and Wellbeing section:

A healthy community is a good place to grow up and grow old in. It is one which supports healthy behaviours and supports reductions in health inequalities. It should enhance the physical and mental health of the community. It should … encourage active healthy lifestyles … the creation of healthy living environments.

The Vision and Objectives above identify a number of aspects of healthy development, but in addition the following issues should be addressed: -

• Housing will be of sufficient size to prevent overcrowding, will provide for a light, airy living environment and will protect inhabitants from the effects of noise, pollution and extremes of temperature
• Design and layout will promote community interaction through appropriate design and layout, ensuring that residents do not suffer from feelings of isolation
• The layout of schemes will promote physical activity through providing opportunities for walking, cycling and active recreation and will reduce the incidence of traffic accidents
• The provision of substantial areas of open space, landscaping and green corridors will help protect residents from the effects of airborne pollution, as will the design of local streets
• The mental health requirements of residents will be addressed in part through easy and safe access to green open space and the natural environment
• Communities and the residential environment will be enhanced by good access to healthcare, education, social infrastructure and local employment opportunities
• Layouts will reflect best practice in designing out crime