pennyfeathers development isle of wight environmental statement: non-technical summary

7/29/2019 Pennyfeathers Development Isle of Wight Environmental statement: Non-technical summary

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NOVEMBER 2012

FARRELL DESIGN STUDIO

Pennyfeathers Development

Isle of Wight

Environmental statement: Non-technical summary

110405


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Pennyfeathers Development: Non-technical summary i

Contents

INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................................1The project team...........................................................................................................................1SITE DESCRIPTION...............................................................................................................................2Site and its surroundings ..............................................................................................................2Site landform, watercourses, geology and soil ................................................................................2Site cultural and archaeological heritage......................................................................................3Existing noise and air quality ........................................................................................................3

CONSULTATION....................................................................................................................................6Background to the development...................................................................................................6Public consultation on the scheme...............................................................................................6

NEED FOR THE DEVELOPMENT.........................................................................................................7PROJECT DESCRIPTION......................................................................................................................8

Project alternatives .......................................................................................................................8APPROACH TO THE EIA ....................................................................................................................10EIA ISSUES AND FINDINGS...............................................................................................................12

Construction and environmental management...........................................................................12Soils and geology .......................................................................................................................14Hydrology and flood risk .............................................................................................................14Archaeology................................................................................................................................14Ecology..15Landscape and visual aspects ...................................................................................................15Air quality ..16Noise and vibration.....................................................................................................................16Socio-economics ........................................................................................................................17Traffic.17Sustainability...............................................................................................................................19

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? ....................................................................................................................21CONTACT DETAILS ............................................................................................................................21


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Pennyfeathers Development: Non-technical summary 1

INTRODUCTION

This document is the non-technical

summary (NTS) of the environmental

statement (ES) for the Pennyfeathers

Development, near Ryde on the Isle of

Wight. It describes in non-technical

language the proposed development and

the potential impacts it may have on the

physical and biological environment and on

people. It also lists the measures that the

developer will implement to avoid or reduce

adverse impacts and to enhance potential

social benefits, and describes howenvironmental issues will be managed

during and after construction.

The ES presents the complete findings of the

environmental impact assessment (EIA), and

is one of the documents accompanying the

outline planning application submitted under

the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

The primary purpose of the ES is to inform

the planning and decision making process by

reporting the results of the EIA, and inparticular any significant environmental

effects. The authority determining the

application is the Isle of Wight (IoW) Council.

They have confirmed that the development

requires an ES to be submitted alongside the

planning application.

If you have any questions or would like to

comment on the application then you can

find out how to do so at the end of this NTS.

The project team

The site developer is The Pennyfeathers

Property Company Limited. The Project

Team working on behalf of the developer on

planning, design and environmental issues

included:

Farrell Design Studio who prepared themaster plan

Hepburns Planning Consultancy Limitedwho is the planning consultant for thescheme

RSK Environment Limited (RSK) whoundertook the EIA and prepared theenvironmental statement.

RSK was responsible for undertaking and

managing the EIA studies, using their in-

house resources supplemented by the

following specialist consultants:

Glanville Consultants Ltd for the transportassessment

Frankham Consultancy Group Ltd for allengineering and design issuesassociated with access and modificationsto the railway, stations/platforms.

Box 1: Project overview

The proposed development on around 53 ha of land will consist of a mainly residential scheme(904 dwellings) comprising a mix of housing types and supporting commercial areas (e.g. officesor local shops), landscaped open space and leisure/recreation areas, and a school, whilstretaining and enhancing features of the existing landscape and valued ecological habitats. Thedevelopment will need to be serviced by supporting infrastructure including sewerage anddrainage, electricity and gas supply, and telecommunications. District heating infrastructure(subject to ongoing feasibility work) will be developed on the site.

Enhanced transport links will be provided. These will include provision for future access to theexisting railway station(s) adjacent to the site, as well as provision of local roads andimprovements to existing road junctions, and extensions of cycleways and footpaths through thedevelopment, which in turn will enhance linkages to the local and regional networks.

Environmental factors were considered from the earliest stage of the proposals and so the

planning and engineering design and layout has been developed in response to awareness of theenvironmental issues of the area. The layout design in the master plan has therefore alreadyincorporated a number of measures designed to avoid or reduce environmental impacts.


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SITE DESCRIPTION

Site and its surroundingsLocated on the southern edge of Ryde, Isle

of Wight (Figure 1), the Pennyfeathers site

comprises mainly fields in agricultural use

(currently used for pasture/grazing or

hay/silage) classified as mostly (~70%)

grade 3b (moderate quality) agricultural

land. The site also comprises hedgerows,

woodlands, a permanent stream

(Monktonmead Brook) and some ephemeral

spring-fed streams. Also included in the siteis a farm and associated agricultural

buildings (Prestwood Grange), a pound

store open to the public and a garage with

car showroom. The cemetery and an

adjacent existing electricity substation

compound are not included within the

scheme.

For the purpose of the planning application,

the site area is shown to include parts of

Smallbrook Lane/Great PrestonRoad/Brading Road and the Westridge

Cross junction (see Figure 2). This is to

accommodate planned highways works (re-

alignments and junction improvements)

proposed to be implemented under the

Pennyfeathers scheme as components to

support the development.

Similarly, the site area also spans across the

existing Island Line Railway and steam

railway at Smallbrook junction. This is toaccommodate connection of a cyclepath and

footbridge from the Pennyfeathers

development, ultimately connecting to both

of the railway stations, and further on

towards the Smallbrook stadium.

The southern extension of the site area

down to Harding Shute merges into the

western edge of Whitefield Wood and in this

portion is mostly plantation woodland. A

footpath and cycle track will be formed in

this area together with habitat

enhancements including native tree planting.

Land uses adjoining the site include some

commercial areas along Brading Road to the

east and residential areas of Ryde to the

north. Land to the west is mostly agricultural

holdings whereas the southern boundary

comprises small woodlands.

Site landform, watercourses,

geology and soilThe Monktonmead Brook has sculpted the

topography of the site, the course of the

brook currently following the western site

boundary before discharging into the Solent

at Ryde, some two kilometres to the north.

Ground levels across the site fall gently from

around 48.5 m above Ordnance Datum

(AOD) at Brading Road down to 9.9 m AOD

along Monktonmead Brook. A spring line

approximately follows the 40 m contouracross the site. The spring line roughly

defines the near-surface outcrop of the

geological boundary between the River

Terrace Deposits found at the higher

eastern side of the site (beside Brading

Road) and the underlying Bembridge Marl

Formation, which forms the remainder of the

site geology.

An agricultural land survey concluded that

the topsoils are in grade 3a and 3b. Some12 ha of land located across the eastern

flank of the site, was classified as grade 3a

with typically permeable, loamy topsoil and

the remainder of the existing pasture was

found to comprise grade 3b land, where the

topsoil is a heavy or medium loam and clay

subsoil at shallow depth. There is some

made ground in areas of previous

development (the former farmyard and

slurry pit).


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Top of site adjacent to Brading road (behind hedge on left of picture) looking south toward Busy Bee Garden Centre

There is a shallow aquifer in the River

Terrace Deposits across the eastern flank of

site, which seems to feed the local line of

springs. There is a deeper confined but

unproductive aquifer in the deeper

Bembridge Limestone that lies underneath

the negligibly permeable Bembridge Marls.

Site cultural and

archaeological heritage

Although there are no scheduled

monuments, UNESCO World heritage sites,

registered parks and gardens or registered

battlefields within the study area, the Isle of

Wight has known records of human

settlements. From extensive desktop

searches (e.g. archive records, maps, aerial

photographs, etc.) it is considered that the

development site has a moderate potential

for the survival of previously unknown

archaeological remains, particularly with

respect to the Bronze Age, medieval and

post medieval periods. These factors were

taken into account in development of the

master plan.

Existing noise and air quality

The edge of town location and semi-rural

nature of the site means it is not affected by

any large air or noise pollution apart from

existing traffic on Brading Road and

Smallbrook Lane at the site boundary. (The

steam railway emissions are quite localised).

The site has good conditions for dispersion

of any emissions and air quality is thereforegood and concentrations of pollutants are

well below levels of any concern;

background noise levels are also very low.


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Figure 1: Site overview and key features of the locality


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Figure 2: Site redline area


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CONSULTATION

Background to thedevelopment

Parts of the site have been the subject of

several previous smaller planning

applications in relation to existing land uses.

However, the consolidation of land holdings

has allowed the formulation of a larger vision

for the area.

Conceptual plans were developed and two

community consultation events were held in2006 and 2007 to generate local interest

and create input to the development

process. A preliminary master plan was

formulated in 2008 and this was subject to

an environmental appraisal (September

2008) to identify important constraints and

opportunities of the site for optimising the

project design. A further public exhibition

was held in 2009.

The current scheme is of smaller scale thanthat promoted in 2008 (it no longer includes

development to the north of Smallbrook

Lane) and the scheme has been significantly

modified to account for increased knowledge

of the site, greater understanding of the

extent of public interest and aspirations, and

the evolving national/regional planning

framework.

Public consultation on thescheme

In addition to the community consultation

events held in 2006, 2007 and 2009 on an

earlier version of the scheme, a public

exhibition was held at a local hotel in Ryde,

Isle of Wight on 10th September 2011.

Attendance throughout the day was very

good with about 440 people attending. Often

very strongly held views were expressed

with representatives of the developers team

and the EIA team, and there was a large

amount of informed and informative

feedback received, which has been taken

into account in further scheme development

and the impact assessment process.

A request for an EIA screening and scoping

opinion was sent to the IoW Council on 7 th

June 2011 and the accompanying scopingreport was circulated to a range of

consultees/organisations including Natural

England and the Environment Agency. The

screening and scoping opinion was received

from the IoW Council on 14th July 2011.

Copies of the EIA screening and scoping

opinion are contained in the ES Volume 2,

Annex 5.2 and Annex 5.3, respectively. As a

result of this process, it was formally agreed

that the EIA would consider environmental

impacts of the development (both

construction and post-construction) on a

range of topics.

In addition to the formal EIA process, other

correspondence and discussions took place

with a range of organisations including local

landowners, utilities and transport

companies, and local groups.


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NEED FOR THE DEVELOPMENT

The proposed development at the

Pennyfeathers site seeks to satisfy the need

to provide a substantial proportion of the

housing supply of the Island. The Core

Strategy of the Island Plan envisages

provision of 8,320 dwellings over the 16

years from 2011 to 2027 (520 units/year)

including 2,100 in the Ryde area.

Furthermore, a fundamental principle

underpinning the policies within the Core

Strategy is to maximise all opportunities

within, close to or adjacent to the settlementboundaries with access to public transport,

local shops and services to encourage

sustainable patterns of development and

sustainable communities. Ryde is a key

regeneration area, and the Pennyfeathers

scheme will satisfy the above stated

sustainable development criteria.

The scheme has high regard to the highly

valued natural and historic environment,

seeking to provide houses, jobs, services,

and supporting infrastructure whilst

conserving and enhancing the natural

environment. The scheme also anticipates

likely demographic change and in particular

seeks to meet the needs of the Islands

increasingly ageing population, as well as to

address the shortage of supply of affordable

housing for people on low incomes and first

time buyers.

Box 2: The main benefits of the development

Significant contribution to meeting the housing supply targets of the region

Provision of accessible open space Provision of leisure facilities including sports pitches

Improved connectivity via extension of cycle routes and footpaths

Improved transport links, in particular the provision of a link road from Smallbrook Lane toBrading Road that would relieve pressure on the junction at Westridge Cross fromeast/southbound traffic

Improved road junctions including additional turning lanes at Westridge Cross to relieveforecast junction capacity problems

Improved junction of Smallbrook Lane and Great Preston Road to improve safety

Improved alignment of Smallbrook Lane over the existing railway bridge to improve safety,including separation of road from the existing cycle track

Ultimately, if acceptable to the rail operators, contribute to sustainable transport objectivesby providing a link to the existing Island Line station at Smallbrook Junction, as well asenabling a connection between the Island Line and the Steam Railway

Contribute to sustainable transport objectives by providing a park & ride facility withconnection to Smallbrook Junction

Relocation of the existing garage from Westridge Cross to a more favourable location,and enabling any necessary land remediation

Enhancing the landscape and habitat connectivity with benefits to areas of ecologicalvalue

Climate change mitigation

Sustainable building design


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PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The area subject to the planning application

(the site redline) is shown in Figure 2. This

encloses an area of about 53 hectares,

although only the central part of the site

would be developed for housing. The overall

site master plan, illustrated in Figure 3, sets

out the main development areas and

infrastructure such as roads and paths.

The development will comprise mostly

housing up to a maximum of three storeys

high. The mix of housing types will be as in

Table 1.

The master plan comprises 121 assisted

living units, included in the total of 904 units.

The scheme will be a phased development,

with construction occurring over several

years between 2014 and 2027.

Project alternatives

There are limited areas on the Isle of Wight,and in or around Ryde in particular, of such

a scale that can offer opportunities for a

consolidated village style development,

rather than piecemeal ad hoc

developments such as are possible on

smaller pockets of development land that

may from time to time become available.

The current location is favoured for its

proximity to the town centre via sustainable

means of travel.

Alternative layouts were developed as part

of the scheme design and the most

favourable alternative, which respects the

constraints of the site, has been selected.

For instance, internal roads have been

aligned so as not bisect valued ecological

habit. In addition, some variation in the

development mix has been considered

although the aim has always been to

develop a residential scheme. The objective

of the design put forward is to optimise site

use whilst minimising environmental

impacts. For instance, relatively low-rise

structures have been selected that can be

accommodated within the landscape setting.

Other types of development such as

extensive commercial or industrial were

ruled out due to various factors such as

constraints to development at this location,

the abundant commercial areas to the east

of Brading Road and the proposed industrial

development to the north of Smallbrook

Lane. The do-nothing alternative (to leave

the site undeveloped) would mean that

opportunities to improve sustainable

transport and other linkages in the area, and

the opportunity to meet increasing housing

demand, would be foregone.

Table 1: Housing types

Number of unitsUnit type

Affordable Market Total

Affordable (%)

1-bed 118 8 126 93.7%

2-bed 97 20 117 82.9%

3-bed 94 475 569 16.5%

4-bed 6 86 92 6.5%

Totals 315 589 904 34.8%


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Figure 3: Overall site master plan


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APPROACH TO THE EIA

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is a

systematic process established in European

Law1

to identify, predict and evaluate theenvironmental effects of proposed projects.

The authority determining the planning

application2 (the IoW Council) have

confirmed that the development requires

submission of an environmental statement3.

The purpose of the EIA is to:

Provide a baseline against which actualproject impacts will be assessed

Identify and assess the anticipatednegative and positive environmental andsocial impacts of projects

Determine measures designed to avoid,minimise or mitigate negative

1Directive on the Assessment of the Effect of Certain

Public and Private Projects on the Environment(85/337/EC), as amended by Directives 97/11/EC,2003/35/EC and COM/2009/03782

Planning application submitted under the Town andCountry Planning Act 19903

The project falls under Schedule 2, Part 10b, of the Townand Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment)Regulations 2011 (S.I. No. 1824), as an urbandevelopment project of more than 0.5 hectare.

environmental or social impacts andoptimise potential positive impacts

Use the results of that assessment toinform option selection and subsequentproject design

Consult with and obtain feedback fromproject stakeholders.

Figure 4 shows the main stages of the EIA

that were followed.

Baseline environmental conditions were

identified from a range of sources and field

surveys as identified in Box 4.

The scheme master plan was developed

iteratively to allow incorporation of

knowledge of site constraints gained from

the baseline evaluations and to allow impact

avoidance and mitigation measures to be

designed-in from the outset as illustrated by

the examples in Box 5.

Box 3: Components of the development

Residential (904 units of 1 and 2 bed apartments, assisted living units, one, two, three andfour bed houses, including 35% affordable housing)

Commercial (including local shops/ caf/ offices, etc.)

Two form intake primary school (420 pupils)

Community centre/polyclinic

Two football pitches and changing facilities within local small community centre (to includecorner/coffee shop location)

Combined heat and power (CHP) station

Cycle ways (north to south and east to west)

Footpath/cycleway bridge linking existing sports stadium to the west of the railway line tothe Pennyfeathers site, with provision for future connection to the railway station

Road and junction improvements

Waterways (ponds and swales) for drainage attenuation

Enhanced landscaping, open space (around 5.7 ha) and play areas Park & ride car ark


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Box 4: Environmental baseline surveys

Soil and land survey of site (agricultural land classification)

Phase 1 ecological surveys of site

Botanical (plants and flowers) surveys Mammal surveys (bats, badger, water vole, dormouse, red squirrel)

Breeding bird surveys

Reptile surveys (snakes and lizards)

Invertebrates (such as insects and spiders)

Survey of Great Crested Newt habitat potential

Tree survey

Geophysical survey to identify archaeological remains

Box 5: Environmental design

Ecological surveys guided the layout so as to avoid valued woodland and hedgerows nearMonktonmead Brook and to provide green corridors in landscape design to improveecological connectivity of the habitat.

Layout design has avoided and/ or provided set-back from ecologically valued resourcesand flood risk areas around Monktonmead Brook.

Sustainable drainage has been designed in to the scheme so as to avoid exacerbating(and hopefully to reduce) existing flooding in areas downstream and to provide additionalhabitat.

Design of new/ improved highways junctions and internal road layouts so as to improvetraffic and pedestrian safety.

Buildings will be designed using a terraced arrangement orientated to reduce impact onviews from both within and into the site. Building heights have been limited and aregenerally higher at the top parts of the site (near Brading Road) so as to reduce visualimpacts.

Housing is not proposed alongside Brading Road, to minimise adverse effects of traffic.

Various local community facilities including a primary school and local open space andsports facilities will discourage car use.

Footpaths and cycleways are planned to maximise their usage both within the siteboundaries and also to connect to the surrounding areas, which should reduce the needfor car use.

Roads, paths and tracks through the development will be designed to blend better into the

landscaping by having a boulevard style design with general separation of roads frompaths and extensive use of landscaping.


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insulated pipework for the districtheating network

creation of construction platforms andground re-profiling comprisingexcavation and temporary storage of

excavated material for later fill, in orderto maintain a suitable cut & fill balanceon site and minimising off-site removal

drainage works to provide sustainabledrainage systems (SUDS)

highway and bridge works for roads,parking, cycle paths and footpaths

railway works for upgrading ofSmallbrook Junction Railway Station

foundation works for buildings and other

structures superstructure works and internal

building fitting out and associatedbuilding services works

hard and soft landscaping worksincluding planting.

It is anticipated that standard construction

working hours would be adopted, subject to

agreement with the local authority, for

instance Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

and Saturday mornings 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.There would be no work on Sundays or

Public Holidays and working is not expected

to take place at night.

Construction activities in the absence of

mitigation measures and controls have the

potential to generate temporary, short term

adverse impacts. Examples of such

mitigation measures include watering to

control dust, and use of noise attenuationplant, which will be under the control of the

main contractor. The EIA has recommended

a range of measures designed to mitigate

and control potential impacts, as

summarised in the above sections.

Prior to the start of construction, a

construction method statement (CMS) will

be agreed with the relevant authorities. The

CMS will define responsibilities and

procedures for the management of thepotential impacts on the environment arising

during demolition, site preparation,

excavation and construction and will include,

among other things, specific measures for

the control of pollution. It is recommended

that the main contractor be required to

register the site under the considerate

constructors scheme. A site waste

management plan will also be prepared and

submitted for approval as required by the

Site Waste Management Plans Regulations

2008.

Box 6: Types of impact considered

Direct impacts may occur when some aspect of the development, physically impinges upon avalued resource, for instance the proposed construction of a house may result in loss of ecologicalhabitat or an archaeological relic. Indirect impacts could occur in either time, or location, from the

source for instance construction works on a slope could result in heavy rainfall washing exposedsoil into a nearby watercourse, which could smother aquatic life.

Cumulative impacts are defined as:

impacts that result from changes caused by the proposed development together withother past, present or future developments

impact interactions that may arise from a combination of separate impacts on one or asmall number of receptors due to the same proposed development.

Information on possible future developments was gathered through discussions with IoW Counciland research of relevant planning documentation. The possibility of cumulative impacts arisinghas been considered in each of the technical chapters of the ES. It was concluded there would beno risk of cumulative impacts arising.


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boundary but excavation of trial trenches

confirmed there to be no finds of any merit.

Two listed buildings (outside the site) could

be visually affected by the proposals, but

both are considered of low sensitivity tovisual impact.

It is anticipated that residual impact from the

scheme will be negligible.

Ecology

A desk-based ecological background data

search was undertaken to highlight

conservation areas and records of

internationally, nationally and locallyimportant species.

The following field surveys were carried out

to identify ecological features and provide

information to determine their value: phase 1

habitat survey; detailed botanical survey;

hedgerow surveys; survey of grasslands and

woodlands; invasive plant survey; and

animal surveys for: amphibians; reptiles,

wintering birds; breeding birds; bats,

badgers; red squirrels; dormice; terrestrialinvertebrates; otters, and water voles.

Red squirrel, resident on the Isle of Wight

Best practice measures will be included in a

construction method statement and the

development will include targeted measures

such as translocation of notable plants to

safeguarded receptor sites, as well as the

creation of diverse new habitats includinggreen space, new ponds, landscaping and

wildflower meadows.

Various further surveys and monitoring will

be undertaken, with a full specification

included in an environmental management

plan. Also, a five-year habitat management

plan (HMP) will be produced for the site.

These measures will result in an overall

positive residual impact.

Landscape and visual aspects

The landscape character in this part of the

IoW has a medium sensitivity in the wider

setting and low sensitivity in the immediate

setting, mainly due to its proximity to the

urban area of Ryde. The development will

have little effect since much of the existing

landscape structure will be retained and a

strong landscape framework to reinforce this

structure is provided in the proposal.

The development could be visible from

locations close to the site or from the more

elevated locations to the west but the

screening effects of other nearby buildings

or existing landscape structures mean that

the most visible parts of the proposed

development areas are the higher parts of

the site, particularly the areas near Brading

Road.

Mitigation opportunities have been

suggested in terms of internal site tree

screening and ecological planting to

strengthen the existing landscape

framework and increase screening effects.

The use of dark colour, non-reflective

materials, especially for roofing material

would reduce the anticipated impacts, and

there will be no significant residual effects.


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Air quality

Construction of the development has the

potential to affect local air quality, principally

in terms of nuisance dust. Impacts will be

controlled and monitored by means of aconstruction environmental management

plan or construction method statement,

agreed with the local authority. As a

consequence, construction phase impacts

would be negligible.

Detailed assessment of operational impacts

used an atmospheric dispersion computer

model, with assumptions that were designed

to over-predict pollutant concentrations.

Data input to the model included anticipatedchanges in traffic flows and design data for

the energy centre. The primary pollutants

assessed were carbon monoxide (CO),

nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and fine dust

particles4.

Predicted air pollutant concentrations (up to

2027), after adding background pollutant

concentrations, were compared with

relevant air quality objectives. Every

modelled scenario predicted that therelevant short-term and long-term air quality

objectives would be achieved. With

reference to planning guidance provided by

Environmental Protection UK, the results

indicate that the overall air quality impact of

the development would be negligible.

Noise and vibration

The existing noise levels measured at the

site during both day and night are typical of

semi-rural edge of town sites. Noise levels

were also measured during a speedway

event at Smallbrook stadium so this could

be taken into account. Vibration was also

measured during train operations on the

nearby railway tracks.

The assessment concluded that achieving

suitable indoor noise levels (within habitable

4Known as PM10 as the particles have an average

size (mean aerodynamic diameter) of 10 microns

rooms) in proposed residential properties,

would need suitable mitigation to be

provided at some dwellings. This is subject

to detailed design but may include double

glazing and trickle ventilation on some

building facades.

As well, to achieve suitable noise levels at

outdoor living areas, 1.8m high fences will

be provided at properties close to

Smallbrook Lane.

Construction noise will be controlled using

standard procedures that will reduce the

noise to acceptable levels.

The cumulative vibration values at proposed

residential units for both day and night time

are at levels indicating a low probability of

adverse comment; therefore the impact of

ground-borne vibration is considered to be

not significant.

Future increase in traffic flows will generally

be less than 20% and on some roads traffic

will decrease. However, traffic flows on

Carters Road, Smallbrook Lane and Brading

Road could increase more than 20%. The

resultant increase in road traffic noise would

be less than 1.5 dB, which is not significant.

It is therefore concluded that, provided the

recommended mitigation measures are

implemented, the site is suitable for the

proposed development and will not result in

significant impact.


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Socio-economics

The development will create employment

opportunities during the construction phase,

which will last for 13 years. There will also

be some new jobs created during theoperational phase.

904 new homes will be created by the

development, which will contribute towards

the IoW Councils target of 2,100 new

dwellings in the Ryde area by 2027.

Affordable housing units will be included to

meet the 35% target.

It is expected that around 167 primary

school age children and 171 secondaryschool age children would live in the

completed development. The primary school

children will be accommodated by a new 2-

form entry junior mixed infant (JMI) school

(ages 4 11) for 420 pupils, which will be

built as part of the development. The

secondary school age children would be

accommodated by the Ryde Academy.

As part of the proposed development, a

polyclinic or doctors surgery will be providedwith at least one GP, which will

accommodate the anticipated 1,800

residents of the development.

Two multi use sports pitches and changing

facilities will be provided as well as a small

community centre (to include corner/coffee

shop location) and play equipment. The

development will provide almost 6 ha of

enhanced landscaping and public open

space. In addition, enhanced transportlinkages such as new bus routes and future

access to the existing railway station(s) and

to the local public right of way network of

footpaths and cycleways would be provided

throughout the development.

The provision of new homes, employment

opportunities, leisure and health facilities, new

school and public open space on-site and

transport linkages on- and off-site are assessed

to be beneficial for the new residents and theexisting neighbouring communities.

Traffic

The proposed development site has been

designed so that it will be accessible by a

range of non-car travel modes. This should

encourage the use of existing public

transport services in the area and reduce

the impact of the development on existing

road junctions.

Footways will be provided alongside all

roads within the site. This will ensure full

inter-connectivity between all elements of

the proposed development as well as

between the proposed development and the

surrounding areas. This should encourage

residents to walk to places in the vicinity of

the site and therefore reduce their

dependence on the car. Controlled

pedestrian crossing facilities will be installed

at major road junctions in and adjacent to

the development.

Cycle routes and cycle parking provision will be

provided within the site to encourage the use of

bicycles rather than private cars. Brading Roadcurrently presents an unattractive environment

for cycling so improvements to this link in the

form of a tree-lined boulevard with separate

cycle lane will be made to better cater for this

mode of transport.

A new footbridge will be provided across the

railway to link the development and

Smallbrook Stadium. As part of a future

upgrade to Smallbrook Junction, the rail

station could also be connected. This wouldreduce private car use.


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Vehicular access to the proposed

development site will be provided from three

points around the site connecting to the

existing local road network. Smallbrook

Lane will be re-directed, while a new

junction (a 4-arm roundabout) will beprovided on Brading Road.

The re-directed Smallbrook Lane will be

configured as an attractive boulevard with

landscaped central reservation, forming the

principal route through the site. It would

divert most existing traffic on Smallbrook

Lane away from its junction with Great

Preston Road and through the proposed

development site to the new roundabout on

Brading Road. This is likely to cause asignificant re-distribution of traffic towards

junctions with better capacity and flow

pattern.

The transport assessment (TA) identified the

baseline traffic conditions of the local road

network of the site for 2011, using traffic

counts at key junctions. It looked at the type

of junctions that already exist in the vicinity

of the proposed development site and their

existing capacity (for 2011 traffic flows). The

TA then used this information to consider

the potential impacts that the proposed

development might have on the traffic flows

and junction capacities subsequent to the

completion and occupation of the whole

development in 2027, compared to asituation that would occur in 2027 without

the proposed development.

It is expected that by 2027, six of the nine

existing junctions would operate under

capacity and with little queuing for both the

morning and evening peak periods, an

improvement compared to the situation

predicted in 2027 without the development

(see Table 2). The development proposes to

make modifications to the road network andso reduce the level of congestion at

significant junctions. With the development,

the predicted changes to traffic volume at

the three junctions that would be over

capacity in 2027 will be small and will not be

significant, and two of the three junctions

would be over capacity even without the

development.

Table 2: Predicted effect of the development on capacity of nearby road junctions

Junctions studiedWithoutdevelopment

Withdevelopment

Nicholson Road/Great Preston Road

Smallbrook Lane/Great Preston Road / Over-capacity

Great Preston Road/Marlborough Road/Bullen Road/ Brading

Road (Westridge Cross) Over-capacity

A3055 Brading Road/Cothey Way

A3055 Brading Road/Tesco access

Hornsey Road/A3055 New Road/B3395 MarshcombeShute/A3055 Morton Road (Yar Cross)

Over-capacity Over-capacity

Stroudwood Road/Upton Road/Carters Road/Gatehouse Road

Argyll Street/West Street/Green Street Over-capacity Over-capacity

Carters Road/Ashey Road/Smallbrook Lane Over-capacity


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At the junction - Carters Road / Ashey Road

/ Smallbrook Lane - the development would

increase the volume of traffic by 13% in the

morning peak hour and 20% in the evening

peak hour, but the changes would have very

little significance at the junction. Thedevelopment would tip this junction just over

capacity on only one arm of the roundabout

with the other three arms remaining under

capacity. To put this in context, this arm

would be close to capacity in 2027 without

development, with development traffic

adding only a further two vehicles to the

queuing.

SustainabilityInteraction between the master plan

designers and the EIA team ensured that

sustainability concerns were embedded in

the design from the earliest stage. In

addition, a detailed sustainability

assessment was completed for the scheme,

including code for sustainable homes and

BREEAM pre-assessments, district heating/

CHP (combined heat and power) feasibility,

and SAP modelling (energy and carbonperformance of new buildings).

Site construction activities will be managed

and monitored to ensure the potential for

nuisance impacts to local receptors such as

dust, noise and construction traffic/ plant is

minimised. A range of protection measures

will also be implemented to safeguard local

environmental conditions in respect of

ecology, air, ground and water. The

minimisation, sorting and recycling/ re-use ofconstruction materials will form a key

component of the developments

construction-phase sustainability

credentials, for which a site waste

management plan with appropriate targets

will be prepared.

In addition to protecting local ecology during

construction, the completed development

will incorporate a range of ecological

enhancement measures to benefit key

species and habitats, such as those covered

by biodiversity action plans (BAP).

Clean and zero/low carbon energy

technologies are proposed for the

development, including district heating/ CHPand high efficiency gas boilers. Energy

efficiency measures will ensure energy

demand and associated carbon emissions

are minimised. On-site renewable energy is

also anticipated for phase 2 onwards in the

form of roof-mounted photovoltaic (PV)

panels in order to further reduce carbon

emissions. The development will therefore

make a substantial contribution to climate

change mitigation, as well as to climate

change adaptation in the form of floodprotection, surface water runoff attenuation,

rainwater harvesting and potable water use

efficiency.

A high quality internal environment is

anticipated for residents, including noise

insulation above minimum building

regulations standards, good levels of

daylighting and access to private and public

outdoor space, including a range of amenity

and leisure/ play uses for residents andother users. The creation of quality open

spaces promotes healthy living through

providing places to walk, cycle and exercise,

bringing people together and nurturing

community spirit through shared spaces.

In addition to applying the waste hierarchy

during construction, the development will

incorporate convenient and accessible

waste reception and sorting facilities for

residents that promote the separation andrecycling of relevant waste streams.

The selection of construction and finishing

materials will be informed by their

environmental performance among other

considerations, with reference made to the

green guide for specification to optimise the

specification of high scoring materials. All

timber will be FSC certified. The use of

innovative and low environmental impact

construction materials will be explored anddeveloped during detailed design.


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Pennyfeathers therefore fulfils the

sustainable development expectations of the

national planning policy framework and Isle

of Wight Core Strategy by supporting

sustainable economic development through

the delivery of high quality homes andcreating a thriving local place.

Illustration of a typical low carbon CHP engine


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WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

The planning authority (IoW Council) will

consider the findings of the ES, of which this

non-technical summary forms a part,

together with other documents submitted as

part of the planning application. There is a

statutory period allowed for comments to be

returned to the IoW Council.

If the IoW Council were to grant planning

permission (with or without conditions) then

it is envisaged that the following would

occur:

developer completes purchase of thesite

detailed design of (each phase of the)development (taking into account anyplanning conditions that may have beenimposed)

contractor tendering and appointment

site investigations

discharge of planning conditions

construction including site preparationand foundations and infrastructure

construction including buildingsuperstructures

building fit-out and completion.

CONTACT DETAILS

The person to contact for further information

on the project is:

Mr Glen Hepburn

Hepburns Planning Consultancy Ltd

Cheeks Farm, Merstone Lane

Merstone

Isle of Wight, PO30 3DE

Tel: (01983) 522100

Email: [email protected]

If you would like to comment on any aspect

of the ES or non-technical summary or you

would like to make an appointment to view

the documents, then please contact Ms

Sarah Wilkinson, principal planning officer,

at the following address:

Planning Services

Isle of Wight Council

Seaclose Offices

Fairlee Road

Newport

Isle of Wight, PO30 2QS

Tel: (01983) 823552

Email: [email protected]

pennyfeathers development isle of wight environmental statement: non-technical summary

Documents