Page 8 - John Belsey

Paragraph 2
Minimum Expectations or Requirements

16 March 2016: WH:EDF (Site 13) 1.6 ha
Neighbourhood Plan – Appendix: Sites No mention of ancient woodland
submitted as at February 2014 Size
WH:EDF (Site 14) ? ?
17 2016 WH:EDF Reference 470
SHELAA WH:LIC Reference 757
18 December 2017 “Wealden House”(SLAAID 470). 50 1.6ha
MSDC Brownfield Register Appendix 3 Dwellings
Part 1
19 March 2018 Lists only total number of sites for
MSDC District Plan AW as 102 (Stepped trajectory)
20 April 2018: Wealden House: 25
SHELAA Update LIC Reference 757 Overall Total
(Gross)
“Wealden House” Reference 470 50

4. The above table is a work in progress and will be updated as further information becomes
available. Four points should be noted:

• The pre-application consultation carries little, if any, weight;
• The SHELAA website states: “These sites do not have planning status. Including them
in the SHELAA does not mean that they will be developed in the future;

• The WH:LIC site - of an estimated 0.54 hectares - was never fully evaluated;
• The reports jumble gross and net areas and “capacity” with “requirement.”

Detailed Appraisal & Confusion
5. A detailed appraisal made by the Steering Group and approved by MSDC (Attachment 1
for the WH:EDF Site 13) states:

a) The site’s gross area is 1.2 hectares which includes 0.4 hectares of ancient
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woodland;
b) Two outline proposals had been submitted: one for a mixture of 70 houses and flats
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and another for 68; most of which would be three storeys;
c) The site is suitable for development with a “potential housing capacity” of 50+ units
but continues:

“There is public support for this brownfield development. Two apartment blocks,
totalling 14 flats have been built on a former part of the site and development at a
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similar scale would be acceptable, but careful design would be needed to respect the
character of the adjoining and neighbouring buildings, including the adjacent Victorian
manor house”.

6. This statement is critically important in understanding the current impasse over the
“approved” density or “minimum requirement” of the WH:EDF site.

• The density of the Ashbourne Park site - for the 14 apartments referred to - is
estimated at 28 dwellings per hectare (DdHa);
• If the “scale” were correctly applied to the EDF site – as specified by the Steering
Group - the result would be no more than 33 units, including affordable housing
and not 71 as submitted in the application;

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