Brigstock Neighbourhood Plan: Plan Evidence

The Brigstock Neighbourhood Plan Area

Brigstock parish was designated as a Neighbourhood Area on 11 May 2015.

The Local Plan

The adopted Local Plan consists of the North Northamptonshire Joint Core Strategy 2011-2031 (adopted July 2016) and the remaining policies from the Rural North, Oundle and Thrapston Plan (adopted July 2011).

Rural North, Oundle and Thrapston Plan: https://www.east-northamptonshire.gov.uk/info/200198/rural_north_oundle_and_thrapston_plan/1244/rural_north_oundle_and_thrapston_plan_-_adoption

Housing

The Brigstock Neighbourhood Plan must support the strategic development needs set out in the Northamptonshire Joint Core Strategy (also known as the "Core Strategy") 2011 – 2031 (the Local Plan Part 1), including policies for housing development. The Core Strategy requires the scale of housing growth in Brigstock to be led by locally identified housing needs taking account of the level of service provision, recent development and existing commitment

During the preparation of the Neighbourhood Plan a proposed development of over 100 houses off Benefield Road and Old Dry Lane was submitted by Gladman Developments. The planning application was refused by East Northamptonshire Council and the subsequent appeal dismissed in August 2016.

Several housing sites were put forward by landowners and developers:

The Brigstock Neighbourhood Plan allocates sites for new housing. National planning practice advises that parish councils should carry out an appraisal of options and an assessment of individual sites against clearly identified criteria. A Site Selection Framework sets out how we assessed sites for the allocation of land for housing development. Site profiles for the main housing site options were prepared and were informed by key stakeholders including the Highway Authority, Flood and Water Management Team, Environment Agency and County Archaeology.

Risk of Flooding Site assessment Maps

The distances between sites and key services and facilities were measured using GPS tracking:

A matrix was completed setting out site scores against the site assessment criteria. A late site submission for the development of land south of Stanion Road was also considered:

In Spring 2017, we asked residents their views on the various housing site options having set out the results of the site assessments. A 'drop-in' session was held at Brigstock Village Hall on 23 April 2017, where members of the public could find out more about the proposed housing sites from the potential developers. The various site layouts displayed are set out here:

The responses to the 2017 survey preferred the proposed rural exception site at Grafton Road for ten homes and this is now being taken forward by Northamptonshire Rural Housing Association. The second most preferred site was a site north of Stanion Road and to the west of Bells Close.

To find out the extent of housing need in Brigstock, Northamptonshire Rural Housing Association undertook a Housing Needs Survey at the end of 2015 to identify whether the housing needs of local people are being met.

The Brigstock Housing Needs Study undertaken in 2015/16 by Northamptonshire Rural Housing Association (part of the Midlands Housing Group), identified an immediate local need for affordable homes (mainly two-bed shared-ownership houses). In 2017 funding from the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) was secured for the construction of a Rural Exceptions Housing scheme to the south of 27 Grafton Road. A planning application for around ten dwellings is expected to be submitted in 2018 with the completion of the scheme by the end of 2019.

Countryside

Natural England has prepared profiles for each of England's 159 National Character Areas (NCAs).

Working within the framework of national Countryside Character Areas, the Northamptonshire Landscape Character Assessment (LCA) identifies a range of landscape character types and 41 character areas across North Northamptonshire.

Northamptonshire Landscape Character Assessment

The area of open farmland between the north-eastern edge of the built-up area of Brigstock and the A6116 makes an important contribution to the setting of the village. The Inspector's decision (APP/G2815/W/15/3134976) in August 2016 highlighted the important role that the buffer provides.

In our 2016 Questionnaire, we invited local people to identify important views of the local landscape. These included views from Park Walk across to the Manor, from Bridge Street across the Meadow and views of Brigstock from Dusthill Road.

Green infrastructure networks have been identified at both strategic and local scales across Northamptonshire. The Harper's Brook Sub-Regional Corridor bisects Brigstock Parish following a broadly northwest-southeast alignment.

GI Wall Map http://rnrpenvironmentalcharacter.org.uk/maps/GI%20Wall%20Map.pdf

Rockingham Forest was selected by the Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) as one of only five climate change projects nationally, to support the UK Low Carbon Transition Plan and the government's Carbon Plan to pilot a Carbon Sink Forestry Project.

Forest for Life Project:https://www.riverneneregionalpark.org/projects/forests-for-life/

Northamptonshire Landscape Character Assessment

Wildlife sites.

Although there are no nationally designated ecology sites, there are seven Local Wildlife sites.

Brigstock Pocket Park

Brigstock Pocket Park was originally part of the Country Park until 1984 when the site was split by the construction of a bypass. Prior to this the site was a sand stone quarry with Pocket Park land left at the edge of the extraction area.

Local Green Spaces

National policy makes provision for local communities to identify green areas of importance to those communities, where development will not be permitted except in very special circumstances.

Services, Facilities and Infrastructure

Brigstock Latham's CE Primary School: https://www.brigstockprimary.org.uk/

Brigstock GP Surgery: https://brigstockfamilypractice.com/

Brigstock convenience store:

https://www.centralengland.coop/stores/information/brigstock-convenience-store

Brigstock Listed Buildings

There are 46 buildings in Brigstock listed by Historic England for their special architectural or historic interest.

There are buildings and sites in the parish that make a positive contribution providing local character and sense of place because of their heritage value.

Heritage and Design

Brigstock Conservation Area was first designated on 22 January 1971 and subsequently extended on 16 March 2009.

Appendix 1 – Local Plan policies superseded following adoption of the Rural North, Oundle and Thrapston Plan (18 July 2011)