BASE HEADER

Yes

ID sylw: 107292

Derbyniwyd: 07/03/2025

Ymatebydd: Cotswolds National Landscape Board

Land at Long Marston (inc. Long Marston Airfield)
Context
The largest site in the Long Marston area is the potential new settlement, E1, which is referred to in the Preferred Options document as ‘Long Marston Airfield’ and in the interactive map as ‘Land at Long Marston’. In this assessment we will use the name ‘Long Marston Airfield’. This site would cover approximately 771ha and would extend up to approximately 5km from south to north and approximately 2.5km from west to east. The south east corner of the site is adjacent to the CNL. The new settlement has an indicative capacity of nearly 10,000 dwellings.
The new settlement overlaps with multiple sites including, from south to north:
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RefID 141: Land at Meon Vale / Land to South of Station Road; 190ha (including the existing settlement at Meon Vale and the Rail Innovation Centre, the latter of which is identified as a ‘Major Investment Centre’); identified as a ‘Priority Area 1’.
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RefID 146: Land to North of Station Road; 128ha (mostly undeveloped at present).
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Ref ID 310: Long Marston Airfield; 169ha (which doesn’t include the south east corner of the airfield which has already been developed for housing); identified as a ‘Major Investment Site’.
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RefID 333: North of Long Marston Airfield; 137ha (mostly undeveloped at present);
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multiple sites to the east of the B4632, east and north-east of Long Marston Airfield (mostly undeveloped at present).
The only part of the proposed new settlement area that currently has a significant amount of built development is the Meon Vale part of the site (approximately 190ha). A new settlement of 771ha would be a 306% increase compared to this baseline, or a four-fold increase.
In addition to the area covered by the proposed new settlement, there are also sites proposed at Long Marston and at Quinton, which, if all were allocated, would significantly increase the size of these settlements in their own right and would add to the overall scale of development as seen from the CNL.
Assessment
The south east corner of the proposed new settlement is adjacent to the CNL boundary and most of it, upper to the north end of Long Marston airfield lies within the CNL 3km buffer zone. When issues such as potential increases in traffic movements are factored in, it could be argued that the whole of the settlement would be within the setting of the CNL.
With this in mind, it is essential to consider the potential impact of the new settlement (and / or its component sites) on the natural beauty of the CNL.
In this regard, it is worth noting that the Sustainability Appraisal states that:
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New Settlement E1 is identified as the worst performing new settlement against landscape. New Settlement E1 is likely to result in adverse impacts on the local landscape character, views from the PRoW network and coalescence. Additionally, New Settlement E1 is likely to result in significant adverse impacts on the Cotswold National Landscape and its setting, which is located 45m from the new settlement.180 (N.B. Underlining added for emphasis).
The potential impacts on the CNL are discussed in more detail below.
Impacts on the scenic beauty of the CNL (including views from Meon Hill)
Meon Hill is located within Landscape Character Type (LCT) 1 (Escarpment Outliers), specifically Landscape Character Area LCT 1F (Escarpment Outliers - Meon and Ebrington Hills).181 One of the key features / characteristics of LCT 1 is the ‘dramatic panoramic views’ from the escarpment outliers, including Meon Hill. A Public Right of Way (PROW) footpath runs around the northern and western sides of Meon Hill, with the Heart of England Way, Monarch’s Way and Centenary Way using this PROW. Therefore, a key consideration should be the impact of the new settlement (and / or its component sites) on views from this PROW.
The New Settlement Methodology includes consideration of landscape sensitivity.182 If a proposed new settlement includes ‘landscape descriptor units’ (LDUs) with ‘very high’ or ‘high’ visual sensitivity, it is classed as ‘red’ if it includes LDUs with ‘moderate’ visual sensitivity it is classed as ‘amber’. The proposed new settlement E1 is classed as being ‘amber’, in this regard. Given that the settlement would be overlooked from PROW on Meon Hill and that the panoramic views that would be experienced from these PROW are one of the key features / characteristics of LCT1, we do not consider that the ‘amber’ rating for landscape sensitivity is appropriate. We consider that a ‘red’ rating would be more appropriate.
We acknowledge that the part of the proposed new settlement that is closest to the CNL, Meon Vale, is already developed. This existing development would be the most dominant aspect of the new settlement in views from PROW on the north-west side of Meon Hill (i.e. from the Heart of England Way). The magnitude of change in these views, resulting from the additional development in the new settlement, would be relatively limited (but not necessarily negligible).
New development in the new settlement would be further away from the CNL (approximately 1.3km, or more, from the PROW on Meon Hill). However, the existing development at Long Marston Airfield, for example, is clearly visible from PROW on the north-east side of Meon Hill (i.e. from the Monarch’s Way / Centenary Way), albeit beyond the existing built development at Quinton. Additional development at Long Marston Arfield would be clearly discernible in these views.
The sheer scale of what is being proposed means that the new settlement is likely to be more visually prominent, in views from the CNL, than the current baseline. As such, the magnitude of change in these views is likely to be at least ‘small adverse’ and not negligible. When combined with the ‘high’ value of the visual receptors on these PROW, this would result in at least a ‘moderate adverse’ visual effect.
Impacts on views from the CNL could potentially be moderated, to some degree, by requiring appropriate landscape mitigation measures, including hedgerow planting and tree planting, at the southern and eastern boundaries of the settlement. Landscape mitigation measures should also be undertaken within each site and between each site. For example, it may be appropriate to have tree belts between: RefID 141 and RefID 146; Ref ID 146 and RefID 310; and RefID 310 and RefID 333. This would help to ‘break up’ the mass of development that would be perceived in views from the PROW on Meon Hill.
Impact on cultural heritage of CNL
Another consideration relevant to Meon Hill is the potential impact of the proposed new settlement (and / or its component sites) on the setting of hillfort on top of Meon Hill, which is a scheduled monument. This impact will need to be assessed.
Impacts on the relative tranquillity of the CNL
The scale of the proposed new settlement (and / or its component sites) is likely to result in a significant increase in the number of traffic movements generated in this locality, even factoring in the potential provision of a new train station at Long Marston and the reopening of the Stratford-Honeybourne train line. This could significantly increase the number of traffic movements on roads within the CNL and along its boundary.
The Board’s Tranquillity Position Statement states that an increase in traffic movements of 10% or more is likely to have a significant adverse impact on the relative tranquillity of the CNL, which is one of the CNL’s ‘special qualities’.183 Given the scale of the proposed development is it quite likely that this threshold would be exceeded.
This is potentially the most significant issue with regards to potential impacts on the natural beauty of the CNL. The dark skies of the CNL are one of the area’s ‘special qualities’. The existing development at Meon Vale already impacts on the dark skies of the CNL to some degree, as shown in the map below. The scale of the proposed new settlement (and / or its component sites, including the Rail Innovation Centre) could significantly exacerbate this issue.
To help address this issue, lighting should be avoided where possible and, where lighting is installed, this should comply with best practice standards. Consideration should also be given to reducing, or removing, existing sources of lighting, such as at the roundabout on the south-east corner of the Meon Vale development.
Conclusions
Overall, we consider that New Settlement E1, when considered in its entirety, is likely to have a significant adverse effect on the natural beauty of the CNL, compared to the current baseline, particularly with regards to the impact of increased traffic movements on roads through - and along the boundary of - the CNL. We also consider that there would be adverse effects in relation to:
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the scenic beauty of the CNL, particularly with regards to impacts on views from the public rights of way on Meon Hill;
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the setting of the scheduled monument on Meon Hill (a multivallate hillfort);
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the dark skies of the CNL.
On this basis, we recommend that New Settlement E1 should not be allocated, at least not in its entirety.
We acknowledge that there is likely to be further development at Meon Vale, including at the Rail Innovation Centre. We also acknowledge that Long Marston Airfield (as defined by the existing settlement boundary) is already allocated as a new settlement in Stratford-on-Avon District’s adopted Core Strategy.184 As such, our main recommendation for these two sites is to provide appropriate / additional landscape mitigation along the southern and eastern boundaries of each site and including trees and hedgerows. If necessary, this should include a tree belt, rather than a small number of individual trees. Consideration should also be given to appropriate landscape mitigation within the sites, to reduce the mass of development that would be perceived in views from the CNL.
Elsewhere within the boundary of the proposed New Settlement E1, we recommend that there should be no built development and no coalescence between Meon Vale and Long Marston Airfield. Development should also be avoided that would create a sense of coalescence with Lower Quinton and / or Upper Quinton. Ideally, development should not extend eastwards of the B4632 (Campden Road) or northwards of Long Marston Airfield. The total quantum of development within the boundary of proposed New Settlement E1 should be at a level where the resulting increase in traffic movements on roads through - and along the boundary of - the CNL would not exceed 10%.
Measures should also be taken to reduce existing sources of lighting, including at the roundabout on the south-east corner of the Meon Vale site.