The Transport Assessment currently being prepared will forecast the likely increase in trips by foot, cycle, bus and car as a result of the additional dwellings. It will examine the impacts of the anticipated car trips from the development on the operation of the highway network, using Leicestershire County Council’s Pan Regional Transport Model. It will also examine road safety statistics, and determine the impacts on highway safety. Work is ongoing, and if any significant impacts on the highways network are identified as a result of the development these will be mitigated.
A Travel Plan will also be submitted with the planning application. This will include targets, measures, and incentives to reduce the number of car trips generated by the Site, and increase the use of walking, cycling and bus travel. It will include a commitment to annual monitoring to ensure the targets are achieved.
The Site comprises a single arable field contained by native boundary hedgerows with intermittent tree cover. To the south and east the Site adjoins the modern settlement, to the north and west is the wider setting of open farmland.
The Site is located within the Fleckney Lutterworth Lowlands assessed in the Harborough Rural Centres Landscape Sensitivity Assessment as moderate landscape sensitivity.
The Site is not covered by any landscape, heritage or nature conservation designation that would suggest an increased value or sensitivity to change, and is not covered by any statutory or non-statutory designation that would prevent its development for residential purposes.
In the Harborough Rural Centres Landscape sensitivity assessment the Site is assessed as Land Parcel 19. The land parcel is assessed as having a high capacity to accommodate change in the form of residential development. The assessment recommends the retention of the boundary hedgerows and tree cover, new planting to the northern and western boundaries, and the retention of the mature Oak tree within the Site. These measures have been proposed as part of the emerging development strategy.
An Arboricultural Assessment has been carried out in accordance with national guidelines which set a structured assessment methodology to assist in determining which trees would be deemed to be either suitable or unsuitable for retention along with recommendations for considering the relationship between existing trees and how those trees may integrate into designs for development.
In summary, the report concludes that the tree cover is concentrated along the boundaries of the Site, with a number of native self-set specimens dominant within the Site with occasional planted specimens being noted within the rear gardens of the properties that abut the Site.
Across the Site a total of twenty-nine individual trees, five groups of trees and thirteen hedgerows were surveyed as part of the Arboricultural Assessment of which one group was considered to be high in quality and category A. Seven trees and one group of trees were recorded as moderate quality and category B. Three trees were considered unsuitable for retention, category U, and the remaining trees or groups of trees low in quality and retention category C.
To facilitate the proposed development no significant tree loss will be required for the built development. The proposed development provides an opportunity, in terms of arboriculture, to improve and increase tree cover in the local area without the loss of any arboriculturally significant trees.
The application site comprises a single arable field with an area ruderal/ephemeral vegetation along the southeastern boundary. It is bound by hedgerows and a number of associated trees.
Coal Pit Lane Hedgerows historic Local Wildlife Site runs along part of the Site’s northern site boundary. The scheme incorporates a habitat corridor alongside this feature to buffer the hedgerow and provide habitat enhancement along its length. Fleckney, Ash trees north of Kilby Road Local Wildlife Site is located along the Site’s southern boundary. These trees will be retained within the proposals and buffered by green infrastructure. No other sites of ecological value are present on site.
Habitats present within and around the Site do not pose an in principle constraint to residential development at the Site. Furthermore, the proposals will retain and buffer priority habitats and will deliver habitat enhancements suitable to deliver net biodiversity gains of 10%+.
A series of targeted surveys of notable/protected species and faunal assemblages have been completed. Given the condition and type of the habitats present and the provision of habitat enhancement as outlined above, it is considered that appropriate mitigation can be incorporated within the proposals, and that material enhancements can be delivered for target species.
Flood Risk
The Site is located in Flood Zone 1, which is defined as land assessed as having an annual probability of river flooding of less than 1%. Environment Agency surface water maps indicate that the majority of the Site is designated to be at low risk from surface water flooding. Areas of higher risk are located to the east and west and will remain free of development ensuring a sequential approach to design. All other forms of flood risk (groundwater, sewer and artificial) are shown to be low and the overall flood risk to the Site is classified as low.
Surface Water Drainage
Surface water drainage will follow the SuDS hierarchy with discharge to an existing ditch network along the western boundary of the Site. Based on a QBAR rate of 10.8 l/s and allowing for an impermeable area of 3.94ha, a storage volume of 2,900m3 is required to cater for all storm events up to and including the 1 in 100 year plus climate change storm event. Suitable levels of treatment will be provided in accordance with CIRIA SuDS Manual C753.
Foul Water Drainage
Severn Trent Water has confirmed that the nearest sewer connection with available capacity is the 225mm foul sewer in Longgrey. No improvement works are required and foul flows generated from the proposed development can be accommodated into the local sewer.
There are no designated heritage assets located within the Site and none in the surrounding area whose settings or significance will be affected by the proposed development.
The Site’s northern boundary qualifies as an ‘important hedgerow’ as per The Hedgerow Regulations 1997 and is proposed to be retained as part of the development. The planning application will be supported by Heritage and Archaeological Desk Based Assessments.
A Noise Impact Assessment will be undertaken following site surveys of road traffic noise in line with the guidance contained in Calculation of Road Traffic Noise. An assessment will be completed to assess transportation noise upon the proposed dwellings in line with national guidance. Where exceedances of any criteria are identified we will recommend appropriate and reasonable mitigation measures to ensure that adopted noise level criteria is not exceeded at the closest residential dwellings.
An Air Quality Assessment will be carried out that will assess the potential for air quality impacts as a result of fugitive dust emissions and road vehicle exhaust emissions during the construction phase and the operational phase.
Baseline air quality conditions in the vicinity of the Site will be defined based on recent monitoring results and information from national guidance. Sensitive locations that could be affected by the proposals will also be identified, as well as any relevant planning policies and guidance. If required following the assessment of potential impacts, suitable mitigation measures will be identified in order to reduce air quality effects to an appropriate level. These will be based on best practice guidance documents.