Westerham Bypass Presentation for town meeting on 25 th February - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Westerham Bypass

Presentation for town meeting on 25th February

Context to Bypass discussions

• Squerryes has been asked by WTC to review feasibility of bypass. It is at a

very early stage.

• Bypass has been on the agenda for circa 40 plus years
• Traffic and air quality issues on A25
• Heritage & economy being affected by traffic on A25
• General pressure building on local road network
• General population increase
• Biggin Hill requirement for 2,000 more jobs
• Moorhouse development – put bypass discussion in to sharp focus
• Sevenoaks District Council has identified a housing need and approached

Squerryes and other landowners for sites

• 12,000 new homes over next 20 years – 600 per year.
• Squerryes will only take this to the next stage if ‘wind behind’ concept and

community works together for Westerham’s benefit

Pros and cons of bypass

Reduce traffic in Westerham

Reduce pollution Protect heritage of listed buildings Improved centre of town for visitors

Funds to invest within Westerham

Cash to reinvest in town from development of land? Centre of town parking?

Opportunity to renew local infrastructure

New school in better location? Investment in playing fields? Consider new doctor’s surgery / town council office?

×Bypass risks

× Additional road noise from bypass? × Does it kill the centre of the town?

×Covers pits

× Material required to create an engineering platform for bypass required

×Residential development

× Use of green belt? × Effect of existing house prices during development / noise etc? × Expansion of town population leads to community issues?

Potential 10 year timescale for bypass

2016

• Squerryes options land to Westerham for bypass
• Squerryes apply for permission to 25% fill covers pit
• Work together with community on case for bypass

2017

• 2021
• SDC work through process of 20 year housing plan
• Squerryes applies for bypass and residential planning permission
• Covers pit takes 4 – 5 years to fill to create engineering platform

2019

• 2025
• Westerham redevelopment provides cash for bypass
• Ideally a bypass is financed at the start of period which would

minimise distruption

What’s in it for Westerham / Squerryes?

COVERS

• Squerryes makes land available to Westerham for bypass
• Infill of Covers creates an engineering platform
• Profit from fill is reinvested in bypass planning permission

WESTERHAM

• ??£10m - £20m??, development for bypass
• ??£3m - £6m??, sale of land to reinvest in Westerham
• ??£5m - £10m??, sale of KCC land re invested in school (Sq makes land available)

SQUERRYES

• £m???, unknown but significant capital uplift in land value
• Front load benefit to Westerham in terms of timescale
• If working together, invest time and capital in project

Housing need in district vs Tandridge?

TANDRIDGE / OXTED, HURST GREEN, LIMPSFIELD SEVENOAKS / ‘A25 CORRIDOR’ DISTRICT POPULATION 83,000 115,000 HOUSING ‘NEED’ OVER 20 YEARS 9,400 12,000 TOWN COUNCIL(S) POPULATION 11,314 10,460 PERCENTAGE OF DISTRICT 13.6% 9.1% HOUSING ALLOCATED 1,200 ??1,090 HOUSING ALLOCATION AS PERCENTAGE 12.8% ??%

• Tandridge council is 12 – 15 months ahead of the housing allocations process.
• It seems to be a questions of where, not whether for Oxted.
• SDC have requested call for sites to fulfil 20 year requirement for 12,000 houses.
• Housing target is under review from councillors.
• In the ‘A25 corridor’ (i.e. Westerham TC, Brasted, Sundridge & Chevening Parish Councils) there

are no significant available non brown field sites for housing

• Key question – where is the most appropriate green belt for ‘sustainable’ housing?

Two routes for Westerham?

Pro-active

Start a journey with Squerryes and be involved in early steps Manage risks together & maximise Westerham benefits

Status quo

Lose opportunity for bypass and wait Fight housing allocation and development

What would the next step look like?

• The town meeting is to get views on the bypass proposal. During the

feasibility stage Squerryes has not spent any money on reports etc.

• Next stage would be to prepare a planning application for the covers

pit which would take 6 months

• There are two parts to the Covers application
• Technical analysis – traffic, noise (written by specialist consultants)
• ‘Special circumstance’ of bypass – pros and cons (written by community with

some professionals help)

• Drop in sessions / (town meeting?) before the application is

submitted to review application??

• In the interim, Squerryes to submit sites to SDC as part of call to sites

process