Green Belt Matters (It really does) A presentation by Duncan - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Green Belt Matters

(It really does)

A presentation by Duncan Hughes, Buckham Thorns Road

WHY AM I STANDING HERE IN FRONT OF YOU THIS EVENING?

• I made several comments at the second drop-in meeting about the need to

protect the Green Belt

• I am generally in favour of having the bypass (dependant on the route)
• I oppose the building of a minimum of 650 new houses to finance it because:
• I think Westerham will lose its “small village character”
• The charm of our lovely town could be destroyed forever

THE PURPOSE OF THE GREEN BELT

The general purpose of the Green Belt is to:

• check unrestricted sprawl of large built up areas
• prevent neighbouring towns merging into one another
• assist in safeguarding the countryside from encroachment
• preserve the setting and special character of historic towns
• assist in urban regeneration by encouraging the recycling of derelict and other urban land

(The two purposes in bold print are the ones most relevant to Westerham)

Source: House of Commons Briefing Paper No 00934 dated 5 January 2016 (Page 4) http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN00934/SN00934.pdf

THE OBJECTIVES OF THE GREEN BELT

“Once Green Belts have been defined, the use of land in them has a positive role to play in fulfilling the following objectives:

• To provide access to open countryside
• To provide sport and outdoor recreation
• To retain attractive landscapes and enhance landscapes near to where people live
• To improve damaged and derelict land
• To secure nature conservation interest
• To retain land in agricultural, forestry and related uses”

(The two objectives in bold print are the ones most relevant to Westerham)

Source: House of Commons Briefing Paper No 00934 dated 5 January 2016 (Page 4) http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN00934/SN00934.pdf

THE GREEN BELT THAT SURROUNDS WESTERHAM

It looks like this:

Source: Daily Telegraph Interactive Map: England’s Green Belt http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/greenpolitics/planning/9708387/Interactive-map-Englands-green-belt.html#location=51.266969%2C0.07182699999998476

WESTERHAM AND THE GREEN BELT

• Westerham is completely surrounded by the Green Belt
• I have personally always found this situation very comforting
• The Green Belt has been in place since 1950
• 93% of the Sevenoaks District is on undeveloped Green Belt land
• Westerham is described as “washed over” by the Green Belt
• This is a good thing as:
• Westerham is, as a consequence, not obliged to contribute towards the housing

requirement of the District as a whole.

• The existing Churchill School and the large field near Buckham Thorns Road are

both on the Green Belt

• The proposed new school near Beggars Lane would also be on the Green Belt
• The new school would probably also be on the floodplain of the River Darent

THE PROPOSED BYPASS WITH AN ENORMOUS HOUSING SCHEME

• It is almost identical to the one we all opposed a few years ago
• That one also involved a bypass with a requirement to build houses to pay for it
• That housing development would have been substantially smaller than this one
• We voted to throw that proposal out as we didn’t want the housing development
• What has changed?
• The possible development of the Moorhouse site?
• Can we be certain that Moorhouse will definitely cause so much additional traffic?
• Wouldn’t it be better to wait and see what actually goes into the Moorhouse site

before potentially destroying our town?

JUST HOW BIG IS THE PROPOSED HOUSING DEVELOPMENT?

• 40 acres
• How big is that?
• 22 Wembley Stadium sized football pitches
• How many houses?
• A minimum of 650 but the final figure could be much more than that
• So what is the density?
• 32 houses on each of those 22 football pitches
• This is very high density in order to maximise profit
• Population of Westerham could increase by about 2000
• Current population of Westerham is about 4400
• Population of the town could rise by almost 50%
• What will be the pressure on services, water supply, local traffic, employment, pollution, crime, transport

services and that sort of thing?

• I shall leave it to you to think about this and to ask questions of your own

IS WESTERHAM REALLY UNDER HUGE PRESSURE FROM SEVENOAKS TO PROVIDE HOUSING?

• Not according to the District’s housing Framework document entitled “Core Strategy”

which sets out future development up until 2026

• It says that the housing provision of 3300 dwellings has not only been met but exceeded

by 261

• It also says that “housing provision can be met from existing areas, enabling the Green

Belt to continue to be protected”.

Source: SDC Core Strategy Adopted February 2011 (Page 31) http://documents.sevenoaks.gov.uk/environment%20and%20planning/planning/planning%20policy/core%20strategy%20dpd/core_strategy_adopted.pdf

WHAT DOES THE SEVENOAKS DISTRICT COUNCIL ACTUALLY ALLOW TO BE BUILT ON GREEN BELT LAND?

• Limited infilling
• This usually means just one or at the most two houses, merely to fill a gap
• Limited infilling could not possibly be extended to a development of over 650 houses

Source: SDC Supplementary Planning Document: Development in the Green Belt Adopted February 2011 (Page 10) http://documents.sevenoaks.gov.uk/Environment%20and%20Planning/Planning/Planning%20Policy/Allocations%20and%20Development/ADMP%20Examination%20Library/Dev elopment%20in%20the%20Green%20Belt%20SPD%20FINAL.pdf

WHAT IS THE GOVERNMENT’S STANCE ON THE GREEN BELT?

• On 4 October 2014 the Government updated its Planning Practice Guidance
• It said “The aim of this was to reaffirm local authorities’ abilities to safeguard their

local area against urban sprawl”

• The Government also said:
• “It wanted to make it clear that housing need does not justify the harm done to

Green Belt by inappropriate development”

• What is my interpretation of the above?
• The Government is not keen to erode the Green Belt despite what is often said
• The Government remains extremely keen to protect the Green Belt

Source: House of Commons Briefing Paper No 00934 dated 5 January 2016 (Page 7) http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN00934/SN00934.pdf

IS THERE REALLY A NEED FOR 12000 NEW HOUSES IN THE SEVENOAKS DISTRICT?

• This figure appeared in an objective study named The Sevenoaks & Tunbridge Wells Strategic Housing Market

Assessment (SHMA) dated September 2015

• It was independently produced by GL Hearn Limited, part of the Capita Group
• It mentions:
• A “Full Objectively-Assessed Housing need of 12400 houses” which I think is probably the figure that has been
• mentioned. It covers the 20 year period up to 2033 by the way. However the study also says:
• “SHMA does not set housing targets”
• “Councils will bring together evidence of housing need with information regarding available land,

environmental issues and policy constraints , including Green Belt”

• The SHMA “purposely leaves aside supply-side considerations and constraints to development - including land

availability, infrastructure and Green Belt”

• The SHMA says “there may be sound reasons as to why the identified housing need cannot be sustainably

accommodated”

• My own interpretation of the above is:
• The figure of 12400 is a “perfect world scenario” and Sevenoaks is unlikely to alter its housing target that much

as a result, especially given its stated commitment to protecting the Green Belt. The figure is not relevant here.

Source: Sevenoaks and Tunbridge Wells Strategic Housing Market Assessment dated September 2015 (Pages 16, 13 and 166) https://www.sevenoaks.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/200157/SHMA-final-September-2015-v2.pdf

COULD A ‘VERY SPECIAL CASE’ FOR DEVELOPMENT EXIST HERE?

• In very rare circumstances a case can be made for altering Green Belt boundaries

to provide, for example, affordable housing

• Surely this could not possibly extend to a development of more than 650 houses
• It is common for affordable homes to be bought, held for the minimum time period

and then sold in order to bank the profit and the owner simply moves on.

• Those houses are then no longer affordable
• It is unlikely that a “very special case” exists here as:
• Westerham is not under any pressure to contribute to the housing requirement of

the District as already proved

• There is probably affordable housing available in nearby Edenbridge

THE WILL BE THE VISIBLE EFFECT ON THE COUNTRYSIDE AROUND WESTERHAM?

• How will the countryside views around Westerham be changed if this housing development goes

ahead?

• It would considerably spoil the view coming down Westerham Hill
• It would considerably spoil the view coming into town via the Croydon Road
• It would considerably spoil the view looking northwards from anywhere in the town itself
• Similarly, what would be the effect on the view of the countryside, and its openness, as a result
• f the enormous new school when coming into Westerham from the direction of Sevenoaks?
• Finally, what about the “key view” of Westerham that appears on the next slide?
• This view is considered so significant that The Town Partnership even use it on the front page of

their “Visit Westerham” website. Let’s have a look at it now…..

THE “KEY VIEW” OF WESTERHAM

Source: Westerham Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Plan (Planning Guidance 2014) (Page 30) http://documents.sevenoaks.gov.uk/Environment%20and%20Planning/Planning/Conservation/Conservation%20Area%20Appraisals/Westerham%20%20 CAA%202014.pdf

HOW WOULD THAT VIEW CHANGE?

• The lovely roof-scape of the listed buildings would be unaltered but……
• Just beyond those roofs in front of the North Downs there would be an absolutely

massive housing estate

• How will that look?
• You decide

CONCLUDING COMMENTS

• We should all be thinking extremely carefully about this whole matter and not just about the bypass in isolation
• Consider especially the effect of this massive housing development on Westerham
• Do we want to give up our valuable Green Belt protection forever?
• Once that door is opened it will be impossible to close it again
• We should think about the increase in the population and all that would involve
• What about the timescale involved which would be very long indeed, possibly more than a decade?
• Will our houses be blighted throughout that period?
• Are we looking at total chaos for years and years to come?
• Could this actually turn out to be worse than tolerating the HGVs as we do now?
• Might the Moorhouse problem end up being resolved differently?
• Are we risking ruining our lovely town forever when there is absolutely no need to do so?
• If you are not in favour of this huge housing development, even if that were to mean not having a bypass, then you

must give your views ASAP to the Town Council in a letter or by email to: office@westerhamtowncouncil.gov.uk