Proposals
Richborough Estates is preparing an outline planning application on land east of Lighthorne Road. The proposals below were subject to a pre-application public consultation before finalising and submitting a planning application to Stratford-upon-Avon District Council.
Because this is only an outline planning application, which seeks to agree the development in principle, if it is granted planning permission, it requires another reserved matters planning application in order for the homes to be built. It is at the reserved matters planning application stage where the detailed designs would be presented.
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The site
The site is located on land east of Lighthorne Road and includes land behind the row of properties north of the old railway bridge, where the land is currently used for lower-grade agricultural purposes. The site is not located within or near the Green Belt.
We understand that there are other new homes being built in the north of Kineton. However, Richborough Estates is only responsible for the emerging outline planning application for 80 new homes at Lighthorne Road.
The site is allocated for potential residential-led development as safeguarded land within the Kineton Neighbourhood Development Plan, which was approved by referendum in 2016 with 90% support. This means that if an evidenced need for housing is demonstrated locally, the site could be brought forward for housing.
Demand and supply
Sratford-upon-Avon District Council is legally required to bring forward sites for housing to meet its targets within its boundaries, which includes Kineton.
In July, the Ministry for Local Government, Housing and Communities published for consultation a new method for calculating housing need. This would increase Stratford-upon-Avon District Council’s annual projected need for new homes from 553 to 1,098.
In August the new numbers were agreed to in principle by the local authority as they prepare the South Warwickshire Local Plan (SWLP) to meet the increased local housing need with Warwick District Council.
Kineton is a popular village and is strategically located next to large employers at Gaydon and the Ministry of Defence. It has a growing population and is becoming a desirable location for young people to live. Kineton is a desirable place to live and is strategically located next to large employers at Gaydon and the MoD.
Highways
The site is well-situated with its proximity to services in Kineton. It is a 7-minute walk and 2-minute cycle from the proposed site of the new homes on Lighthorne Road to Banbury Street in the centre of Kineton, which is well-catered for local services. As part of the plans, the proposal enables the extension of the footpath along Lighthorne Road, facilitating walking as an alternative to using the car for short journeys.
To construct a new footpath along Lighthorne Road to connect the proposed new homes with Kineton’s village centre, the old railway bridge over Lighthorne Road will be signalised to only allow one direction of traffic to cross the bridge at a given time. This will have the added benefit of improving safety on the bridge by reducing the risk of head-on collisions.
Vehicles will enter and exit the site from a new access on the eastern side of Lighthorne Road.
The proposals will meet a policy-compliant mix of parking spaces for each dwelling which is as follows:
1 parking space for a one-bedroom home
2 parking spaces for a two- to three-bedroom home
3 parking spaces for a four-bedroom home
The parking in the proposals will focus on providing parking spaces on private drives but will also include on-street parking. The exact mix will be determined at any future reserved matters planning application.
Design
A full design code will be completed in line with local policy and will be included within any reserved matters planning application for the development.
At this stage of the design process, the development will include 80 new homes, with a mix of bedrooms ranging from one-bedroom to four-bedroom homes. Most of the buildings are expected to be two storeys and subject to a landscape assessment, some properties will be two and a half storeys.
The future design work will use precedents from nearby existing buildings to reflect the architectural style of Kineton and the wider South Warwickshire area. The design of the scheme is led by the landscape and will incorporate a large amount of public open space in addition to the new homes, including an ecological/biodiverse-focused area, attenuation pond, equipped play area and community orchard planting.