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4 The open character of the parish should be preserved andsignificant open spaces or gaps important to the form andor/setting of the parish be maintained. Section 2.1 (SPG 18)

3.1 Statistical profile of the parish

The Parish Plans Group has progressively published evi-dence of emerging material and conclusions to promotereasoned debate. A full comparison of National Censusdata for 1981 and 1991 was undertaken using Office ofNational Statistics (ONS) data1 in order to assess chang-ing trends and patterns and establish an objective parishprofile. The 2001 data for Aston was not published by ONSprior to this Plan.

Unwilling to plan using 12 year old data (parish details ofthe 2001 census would not be released until April 2004),the Steering Group drafted, consulted on and issued anAston Parish Census and Opinion Survey in January 2003,which achieved a 67% return rate. A copy of the surveyform is provided in Annex 23.

The ONS material runs to 91 tables of data, covering manyaspects of social and economic activity in the Civic Par-ish. A full copy of the analysis is included in the referencepapers. An extract of the key indicators is provided inAnnex 5. The following data helped shape opinion on keyissues such as housing and population trends

3.1.1 Population data

The nominal population increased by 8% to 917 between1981 and 1991. The 2003 sample suggests that this hassubsequently fallen.

The proportion over pension age remained broadly sta-ble (12.7%) between the two census years, but has in-creased significantly since. In 1991, 10% of the popula-tion was over 64. Today that percentage has increased to17%.

Between 1981 and 1991, the number of 0 to 4 year oldsfell 39% to 4.6% of the population. Similarly the number of5 to 16 year olds fell by 15% to 15.7%.

Those aged 16 to 20 remained broadly stable at 6.1% ofthe population.

Aston’s 2003 sample census suggests the number ofunder 20 year olds has fallen to less than 1 in 5 of thepopulation, compared with 1 in 4 in 1991.

The 2003 Parish Census found that those moving intoAston in the last five years provided 26% of the samplepopulation and 38% of children and young adults under20.

Those moving into Aston in the last five years had an im-pact on the parish profile. Figure 3 shows that they areconsiderably younger, more economically active and havea significantly higher percentage of children living at home.That said, the average age of the population is gettingsignificantly older

3.1.2 Household data

The 2003 Parish Census found that some 25% of resi-dents have lived in Aston for over 25 years, many sincebirth. About the same percentage moved into Aston withinthe last 5 years.

Household numbers increased by 14.8% to 318 between1981 and 1991. There are presently some 335 households,suggesting an increase since 1991 of 5.3%.

Residents per hectare increased by 19% to 1.3 reflectingthe loss of former Aston lands. The 1991 figure remains

1 Taken from the Aston Parish Census & Opinion Survey January 2003.2 See also Table 22 of the 1991 Census for evidence3 Hedgerow Regulations 1997, SI1160

Fig 3

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significantly lower than both the Hertfordshire and thenational average of 6 and 2.4 respectively. Comparable1991 figures for Benington are 0.8, Walkern 1 and Watton1.4.

Owner occupation rose in 1991 by 22% to 78% of allhouseholds, considerably higher than both the Hertford-shire and national averages.

The numbers of economically active residents has fallen.The Parish Survey suggests that 41% of Aston residentsare economically active. The comparable figure in 1991was 53%.

Households generally increased the number of habitablerooms per household over the period whilst, in contrast,household sizes reduced considerably - a trend which islikely to continue.

3.1.3 Other key data results and resume

The earlier census material, updated by the 2003 Parishcensus suggests:

Aston has an aging population. Residents live in larger,mainly owner occupied houses with fewer persons perdwelling than in 1981. Car ownership increased signifi-cantly over the period. In 1991 owner occupation levelsand car ownership was considerably higher than the Hert-fordshire or national average.

In 1991, 52% of families had children living at home. To-day numbers are likely to be considerably less.

Numbers of children (0 - 15) by 1991 increased from 129

to 187 (45%). Children in this age group accounted for20% of all residents in 1991 (15% in 1981). Today the fig-ure is likely to be around 110 or some 13% of Aston’sprojected population2.

The age group relevant to planning primary education inthe parish i,e, 0 to 11, rose 54% to 134 prospective pupilsin 1991. Today the equivalent figure is likely to be in theorder of 70 or 8% of the projected population. In July 1991the majority of pupils at St Mary’s CE Primary School livedin the parish. Today, just 25% do so3.

Action: A 1

The statistical profile of the parish will be updated to reflectthe 2001 Census material.

3.2 Aston’s built heritage

Aston or Estone as it is referred to in the Doomsday Bookformed part of the lands belonging to Odo, Bishop ofBayeaux. Until the time of the 2nd World War, it retained aquiet existence, in harmony with its agricultural base andrural heritage.

Aston House was part of a 17th century estate and thehouse appears to have dated from that period. During the2nd World War, the War Office requisitioned the houseand its park. The House and adjacent lands became Sta-tion 6 (WD) Special Operations Executive (SOE).

Subsequently, in 1946, Aston House became the Opera-tional Headquarters of the newly formed Stevenage De-velopment Corporation which relocated to DaneshillHouse, Stevenage Boroughs’ current offices in 1961, andAston House was demolished.

Fig 4

Fig 5

Aston Village 1953

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3.2.1 Astonbury Manor

One of the largest and oldest buildings in the immediatearea is Astonbury Manor, a Grade 1 listed building nowdivided into luxury apartments. It has a long history, butrecords indicate that during the reign of Edward the Con-fessor (1024-1066) the land was held by three vassals ofStigend, Archbishop of Canterbury. No doubt a housestood on the land and history recounts that the manor of

‘Estone’ was pre-sented to King Henry1st in dower to his sec-ond wife, eighteenyear old Adelicia, upontheir marriage in 1121.In 1135 it was be-stowed on the Abbotand Monks of ReadingAbbey and remainedunder monastic con-

trol for three hundred years until the Dissolution. The Manorpassed to Sir Philip Boteler, Sheriff of Hertford who, in 1540,started to build himself a large house using the site of aruined building. The house was completed by his grand-son, Sir Robert Boteler.

3.2.2 Bragbury House and Grounds

Built in the 16th century, Bragbury House lies to the southof Astonbury Manor House on the A602. More recently itwas the club house for British Aerospace’s (BAE) Sports& Social Club. In the Summer of 2003, GO-East endorseda departure from Green Belt Policies, to allow StevenageBorough Council to grant planning permission for thehouse to be converted into apartments, with some 15 newdwellings being built within the footprint of the formersports and leisure buildings. BAE interests will market theadjacent sports fields abutting Astonbury Wood, as apotential new sports club, for a two year period. Althoughoutside the parish boundary, progress on this will be ac-tively monitored to ensure any subsequent use protectsthe visual benefit of the grounds, particularly as viewedfrom Astonbury.

Action AD 2

The Parish Council will monitor developments affectingBragbury House and grounds to ensure that none impactlocal Policy PD 1, or cause ecological or physical damage tothe ancient Astonbury Wood, situated within the parish, ordetrimentally affect residents of Astonbury Manor.

The Parish of Aston has a number of listed buildings whichdate back hundreds of years, the earliest being the churchof Aston St Mary. The nave and chancel date back to 1230.Additions were made to the church in the 14th and 15thcenturies and, after falling into disrepair, it was restored in1850. In 1921 a Lych Gate was built as an entrance to thechurch grounds.

In the grounds of thechurch a War Memorialwas erected in 1919.Recently restored aspart of Aston’s millen-nium celebrations it dis-plays many local familynames.

Although the church hasthe longest recordedhistory, there are twentyseven properties in thevillage dating back tothe 16th and 17th cen-turies, and eleven otherlisted properties withinthe current parishboundary. These arescheduled in Annex 7.

3.3 Character & distinctive features

3.3.1 The Parish of Aston comprises three areas,each with its own character.

Aston Village is situated on top of the Beane Valley ridgeline and has developed historically around the Church ofSt. Mary’s. It has many older properties and now embracesa number of small new developments. It is more devel-oped than any other part of the parish with a higher den-sity of buildings. The village is home to the local school,village hall, cricket, bowls, football and tennis clubs andtwo public houses.

Aston End comprises a number of active farms and smallclusters of houses and cottages, many of which are listed.These are separated by many small fields in a very ruralarea. A butcher’s shop is located at Brookfield Farm anda public house is located adjacent to Holders Lane.

Hooks Cross, situated on the busy A602 which dominatesthe character of this area, is a series of active farms and

Astonbury Manor

St Mary’s Church

Service of Rememberance at the War Memorial

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small clusters of houses and cottages in a rural setting.The A602 forms a key east-west route carrying heavy traf-fic flows from the A1M at Stevenage to the A10. A by-pass has long been advocated by the Parish Council. Pro-posals to ameliorate noise and traffic hazards for HooksCross residents, and those further east at Tonwell are con-tained within the DTLR’s 2002 Long Term Capital Pro-gramme.

Whilst each of these areas is quite distinctive in characterthere are a number of strong unifying features which arecommon to the entire parish which must be maintained:

The network of ancient narrow lanes with highhedgerows.The number of small woodland areas and manyfine mature trees.The wide variety of traditional buildings of all agesand architectural styles, including many which arelisted.The strong rural character of the area.

3.3.2 Aston Village

Broadwater LaneLike all roads into Aston, Broadwater Lane, the busiest inthe parish, is a narrow, sunken lane with high hedges onboth sides. As it rises up the hill from Gresley Way, to-wards the village centre, it passes two small cul-de-sacdevelopments.

The first of these is Long Ridge, which has ten large, twostorey houses of differing designs featuring many com-mon elements and materials which produce a cohesivedevelopment. There is a variety of pitched roofs, high qual-ity facing brickwork and stained timber cladding. The in-formal layout includes open front gardens with a variety ofhedge screens and ornamental trees. Belts of trees adjoin-ing the golf course boundary enhance the landscaping.

Continuing along Broadwater lane through a canopy ofmany mature trees, the next group of buildings are in DeneLane. Now a cul-de-sac, it serves a number of distinctiveolder properties which have been subdivided into sepa-rate dwellings. These include Aston Dene, set in fine ma-ture gardens, and The Lodge which has also been ex-tended sympathetically to provide an attractive residence.The Old Rectory has also been subdivided into GregorHouse, The Braids and The Stables, to provide high qual-ity homes whilst retaining their original character. DeneLane provides access to the Lawn Tennis Club, privatestables and footpath access to Gresley Way. The proper-ties in Dene Lane are within the conservation area but notlisted.

Directly opposite the church is Yeomans Drive, which wasonce the site of Aston House. The house was demolishedin the 1960’s after it had been vacated by the StevenageDevelopment Corporation.

Fortunately the high,red brick garden wallsand many of the mag-nificent specimentrees were retained asa feature of the devel-opment when themodern houses werebuilt, and the originalcoach house (refur-bished and renamedThe Clock House) stillstands.

The whole development on this private road falls withinthe conservation area.

Aston End RoadThis road narrows to a lane which links the centre of thevillage to Aston End to the north of the parish and em-braces a wide variety of residential development, includ-ing many distinctive and characteristic older villas andcottages interspersed with modern houses. Off Aston EndRoad are three small cul-de-sacs including Arundel Closewhich has 5 large, modern, two storey houses in a varietyof individual designs, St Mary’s Close with 8 high quality,

Tudor style houses inan attractive, maturelandscape setting andGarden Field closewith 10 smaller privatedetached houses withgarages, arrangedaround a pleasantlandscaped court.

Fig 6 - Aston Village

The Clock House

Astonbury Manor

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The northern end ofAston End Road istypical of all roads intothe village, having highhedges either side ofa narrow lane. Whilstthe southern end isfairly intensively devel-oped with propertieson each side, the nar-rowness of the laneand absence of foot-paths together with the

many well kept gardens and mature trees, give the road acountry lane character. Part of the road, including St. Mary’sClose and Aston Cottage (c. 1836), fall within the conser-vation area.

None of the older properties are listed although many haveconsiderable architectural merit, especially a group oflarger houses on the northern edge of the village. Theseinclude Bareleigh, Shephall House and the Stables, all ofwhich are built in local soft red facing brick with timberwindow sashes and gabled roofs with red clay tiling.

School LaneSchool Lane is a cul-de-sac which lies tothe east of AstonEnd Road servingBrookfield andWrights Orchardhousing develop-ments and provideswesterly access to the Village Field and the Bowls Club.

The lane has some excellent historical cottages on itsnorthern side including the 17th century Glebe Cottageand 16th century Pond Cottage by Whitney Pond. Bothare listed but are not within the conservation area.

The form and layout ofthe stepped terracedhouses opposite is outof character with thearea.

Lack of garaging andoff-street parking to-gether with the prob-lem of providing rea-

sonable access to the school, create traffic problemswhich the Travel Plan will look to address. The area is wellserved by inter-connecting footpaths that provide safeaccess to the school, village hall, Benington Road & NewPark Lane.

St Mary’s School is accessed from School Lane. It is lo-cated in a pleasant ‘backland’ position providing a mod-

ern building with excellent views over open countryside.Presently some 75% of it pupils travel from the Stevenage- part of the joint diocese.

BrookfieldAn earlier local authority built development, now of mixedtenure, Brookfield is a small, modern residential develop-ment of traditional construction providing two storey ter-race housing and flats with open garden frontage andgarages in compounds. There are also a few bungalowswith high hedges to their gardens sited opposite AstonBowls Club.

Wrights OrchardWrights Orchard is accessed from Brookfield and is a1970’s private development of 28 two storey detachedand semi-detached houses linked by single storey ga-rages. The development has pitched gabled roofs andred facing brick elevations, pleasant open fronted gardensand landscaped areas, which are now maturing.

Benington RoadBenington Road formsone of the three road-side boundaries toCentre Field, which isthe most importantpublic open spacewithin Aston. It pro-vides a village greensetting to the village.

The road runs fromAston End Road eastto the neighbouring village, and parish, of Benington. Itcontains many important historical and listed propertiesfrom the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries.

These include theRose and Crownpublic house,which lies to thenorth-east of Cen-tre Field, BeehiveCottage, the oldforge, Soloman’sPightle, and the oldPost Officeamongst others.

Collectively, together with attractive old character build-ings such as the Pig and Whistle public house (late 17thcentury), they provide a core of historic development withinthe conservation area.

These properties suffer excessive noise and air pollutionlevels from the high volume of HGV’s required to manoeu-vre a 4m crossroad complex in order to travel to Bening-ton and further east.

Bareleigh House

Junction of School Lane and Aston End Rd

Whitney Pond

The Rose & Crown

Beehive Cottage

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Action AF 6

The parish will continue to press the County Council to findways of diverting HGV traffic from Queens Square andsimilar inappropriate locations.

Further along Benington Road on the extreme easternedge of the parish, are a diverse number of modernhouses in a variety of architectural styles.

HolbrookHolbrook Farm has been redeveloped to provide attrac-tive and high quality barn conversions in a rural setting.Holbrook Farm has a visually attractive manege within itsgrounds, along the pleasant Beane valley walk.

New Park LaneNew Park Lane runs north from Benington Road at its junc-tion with Stringers Lane. It has a mixture of small, Victo-rian terraced cottages (1850) and modern, stepped ter-race houses. This lane provides vehicular access to thevillage hall and Village Field, both of which are importantlocal facilities offering splendid views over the Beane Val-ley, and continues as a back lane to Aston End

Stringers LaneStringers Lane is a narrow sunken lane with high embank-ments on either side. It is bounded by a hedgerow, in part,on the eastern side and paddock fencing to the west,which is also forms the southern boundary of Centre Field.

Aston Park Farmhouse, at the junction with BeningtonRoad, is a listed 16th century property, tastefully restored.Its listed barns, stables and granary, have been convertedinto residential units, resulting in a very attractive devel-opment. Neighbouring barns have also been sensitivelyconverted into small business units.

To the south, a tradi-tional earlier localauthority developmentnow largely owner oc-cupied, comprises twostorey semi-detachedhouses with single sto-rey links between.They are located on araised embankmenton the eastern side ofthe lane.

The houses have smooth white rendered elevations andred plain clay tiled roofs with gabled ends and small, wellkept front gardens.

There is a small compound of garages, which is inad-equate in meeting the needs of the residents resulting inhigh levels of on-street parking in the narrow lane, thuscausing problems forpublic transport andother road users. Theproblem was specifi-cally identified in theTravel Survey andmeasures are beingproposed to alleviatethe situation, as part ofproposed works tocreate a one way sys-tem around Centre Field.

The houses form a physical boundary to the village coreand have wonderful uninterrupted views at the rear, to thesouth-east over the Beane Valley and over Centre Field atthe front.

Park Farm House, situated at the junction with Aston Lane,is a large traditional house which has been extensivelyaltered and extended to provide an attractive, substantialhome on a large plot. It has many fine trees and maturehedgerows abutting Centre Field.

Aston LaneThis lane forms part of the public transport route into andout of Aston village. It runs south from the village oppo-site the War Memorial to Bragbury End and the A602.Within the village core it has two modern houses whichwere developed as part of the Yeomans Drive Scheme.Opposite these houses is the western boundary of Cen-tre Field with vehicular access to the field.

As the lane leaves the village to the South it forms thewestern parish boundary abutting Stevenage Golf Course.It is another example of our sunken lanes, with high hedgesto both sides.

A private lane lined with many magnificent trees to the eastof Aston Lane provides the principal access to AstonburyFarmhouse and the Grade 1 listed Astonbury Manor.

Astonbury Manor is the most important domestic build-ing, architecturally and historically, within the parish. Itdates from 1540 and is on the site of much earlier houses.The building has been sensitively converted into apart-ments and a small complex of new two storey mewshouses have been built in the area which used to be themanor’s kitchen garden. The whole scheme sits withinbeautifully landscaped grounds containing many speci-men trees and is adjacent to the 28 hectare AstonburyWood.

HGV negotiating Queens Square

Stringers Lane from Centre Field

Stringers Lane from Centre Field

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Astonbury LaneThis lane provides access to Astonbury Farm from thevillage. It continues to Walkern Road and the A602 viaFrogmore Hill, through narrow lanes with high hedges.

The parish has supported a change in use of the farmbuildings and yard areas. Whilst the farm lands continueto produce cereal, the farm is now better known as a smallbusiness centre, housing 12 office and light industrialconcerns. Some 125 personnel are employed on the site,of whom 6 are presently Aston residents. Whilst the activi-ties of the Business Centre are generally accepted, thereis concern about the increase in traffic crossing the vil-lage, particularly HGV’s associated with tarmac andgroundwork contracting businesses housed at the farm.Measures to alleviate these local concerns will be pro-moted and are likely to be endorsed by the site owner.

Action AF 7

The Parish Council, in conjunction with the HighwayAuthority, will seek to examine ways of mitigating HGVflows emanating from the Astonbury Farm site impactingon inappropriate highways in the parish.

3.3.3 Aston End

Aston End lies to the north of Aston and is surrounded onthree sides by open farmland, reserve sites for a primaryschool and allotment facilities to the west (in Stevenage),and on the fourth side by the Green Belt boundary east ofGresley Way abutting the Stevenage and East Hertford-shire District Council boundary. The reserve sites areowned by English Partnerships.

At the last Enquiry in Public (EIP) in 1997, it was proposedthat Aston End should take some 340 new dwellings, partof an overall package to build 4,500 new homes in Aston,as an alternative to developing West of Stevenage.

With most of the proposed development land in AstonEnd then optioned to developers, the prospect of a pin-cer movement that would ultimately impact Aston Village

through to HooksCross, seemed veryreal. The Inquiry Inspec-tor ruled in favour of theconcerted energies ofAston, neighbouringparishes and over 3,000Stevenage residentsobjecting to this devel-opment. Subsequently,development optionshave not been renewed.

In 2002, at the Steve-nage Local Plan Inquiry,English Partnershipsproposed that theirreserve school andallotment sites adjacentto Edmunds Drive, be developed for further housing. Thiswas opposed by Stevenage Borough Council. In March2003, the Council further confirmed to APPG in writing, thatit considered any large scale housing development to theEast of the Borough to be unsustainable in principle.

Regrettably, contrary to general policies on coalescencethe Inspector determined, under new Government Guide-lines, that the reserved allotment site should be devel-oped for key worker housing.

100 years ago Aston End had 3 public houses and a largerpopulation than Aston. That is no longer the case. AstonEnd has small clusters of buildings scattered around thearea separated by a network of small fields with highhedges between them. This, together with the narrowlanes, gives it a strong rural flavour forming a wildlife andgreen corridor separating urban and country habitats. Thehamlet of Aston End is scattered around a loop formedby Long Lane and Tatlers Lane.

The hamlet, a tranquil haven for walkers, wildlife enthusi-asts and horse-riders during daylight hours, provides agateway to Aston and the Beane Valley. At night, whenthe sky is bright, the north ridge of the Beane Valley aboveLords Farm, plays host to Stevenage astronomers, keento escape the town’s light pollution to get a clearer view ofthe world beyond.

There are several working farms, which under farm diver-sification policies provide other facilities to significantlywider catchments. Issues around increased traffic move-ments associated with these businesses, that need to useLanterns Lane and Long Lane for access, are a concern.

Business interests include a butcher’s shop4, an eques-trian outlet, stabling for some 60 horses primarily at LordsFarm, a furniture upholstery unit and a small vehicle work-shop. There is also the Crown public house which catersfor children and families in this rural setting. Each draws

Fig 7 - Aston End

Horses at White Farm, Aston End

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significant custom from outside the parish. The traffic gen-erated creates further pressure on, and damage to, locallanes, verges and hedgerows.

Further potential rural business activities are planned: Plan-ning permission was granted in the late 1990’s for a smallhorticultural nursery adjacent to Fox Cottage. Despite lo-cal objection approval was granted, but subject to strin-gent traffic control measures. The business has not com-menced at this time.

Whilst these small and medium sized enterprises (SME’s)generally enjoy the support of residents, their location, just1km from the arterial Gresley Way route in Stevenage, to-gether with in-bound school traffic and a significant rise inthrough traffic movements, has contributed to progres-sive deterioration of Lanterns Lane, Long Lane and AstonEnd Road.

Lanterns Lane nowcarries upwards of1,000 vehicles eachday. Prior to the open-ing of Gresley Way itcarried its probabledesign load of just 20-30.

The damage done tothis ancient sunkendrovers lane from un-acceptably high trafficloadings is evidentfrom this picture takenin September 2002.

It should be comparedwith the indicativephotograph of Lanterns Lane prior to the opening ofGresley Way, shown in Section 2.6.6 Whilst other Lanesin the parish do not display such stark change in condi-tion, they display continuing deterioration, due to high traf-fic loading. The issue is covered in greater depth in Sec-tion 8 - Travel, Traffic and Highways.

Architecturally there is a wide spectrum of periods andstyles but the majority are of traditional construction withred facing brickwork or rendering and pitched gabled roofswith red clay tiles and dormer windows. Buildings are

spaced well apart andmany have attractivegardens bounded bymature, indigenoushedges and trees.

Many buildings inTatlers Lane are listedand include TatlersCottage, with its

pargetted render and Yew Cottage, which are 18th and16th century houses. Listed buildings in Long Lane in-clude the 16th century White Farmhouse, Asmores, builtas two houses in the 18th century, Lords Farm Farmhousewhich is a late medieval open hall house, Poplars Farmdating from the 18th century, which is now an equestriancentre and Fox Cottage which was once a 16th centurypublic house. Other premises of interest are 23 TatlersLane which was formally the site of the Live and Let LivePublic House and Sunnyside Cottage, formally two PoorLaw properties run by the Church Authorities, prior to theirfreehold sale in 1836.

3.3.4 Hooks Cross

Hooks Cross, known as Oaks Cross prior to the develop-ment of Stevenage New Town, is the least developed ofthe three areas within the parish. Some cereal and arablefarming continues to the south of the A602, whilst land tothe north, save that at Frogmore Estate, is increasinglybeing used for equine pursuits. Hooks Cross has an un-dulating topography and number of small woods.

The area is bisected by the A602 (Hertford Road) and theStevenage to Hertford railway line which runs parallel to itfrom east to west. Along the Hertford Road, the largestgroup of buildings comprise a mixture of small cottages,modern houses, some bungalows and Oaks Cross Farm.

These buildings suffer considerably from severe noise,pollution and dangers of living on the A602 with its hightraffic volumes. The parish supports a bypass for HooksCross.

Oaks Cross Farm has a listed 16th century farm housewith an 18th century barn sited directly on the A602 and isnow home to one of the largest equestrian centres formany miles around. A British Horse Society registeredestablishment, it has 25 stabled ponies for riding tuitionproviding 160 training session each week. In addition, ithas another 35 stables for private hire which the ownersare looking to increase to 55.

It employs 16 part-time personnel of whom 20% live in theparish. Considerable investment has converted much of

An eroded Lanterns Lane, today

Poplar Farmhouse

Fig 8 - Hooks Cross

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the 74 hectares of pre-vious arable and ce-real farmland. Thereare now 20 post andrail paddocks rangingfrom 0.2 hectares toabout 1.7 hectareswhich are used in ro-tation, and a 6.5km on-

site riding circuit as well as a floodlight manege. The own-ers wish to build an indoor riding school within the groundsto the north of the A602, adjacent to the river access ‘road’.In addition to its equestrian services the buildings housea pine furniture retail outlet.

To the south of theA602 is Raffin GreenLane, which formsthe southern parishboundary. It l inksHooks Cross toDatchworth. This nar-row lane is boundedby high hedges orwoodland and givesaccess to StaplesFarm, a 16th century listed building with later barns, a wellhouse and a granary, which are also listed.

To the north of the A602 lies the Frogmore Estate whichhas many fine mature trees and woodland areas and thelast significant remaining herd of cattle in Aston. It formsthe southern end of the Beane valley and the parishboundary.

Frogmore Hill is a nar-row winding lanewhich runs north fromOaks Cross Farm toAston through openfarmland. There are anumber of isolatedfarms and cottagesscattered along thelane includingFrogmore Farmhouse,

a listed 16th century building with 18th century entrancegates, Frogmore Cottages built in the 17th century andWaterbridge, a fine house set in extensive grounds, dat-ing back to the 15th century.

3.4 Areas of specific importance

There are four types of land with specific importance andidentities in the parish:

Open Spaces within the developed envelope.

The ‘Green Corridor’ separating Aston fromStevenage.

The lands of current and former estates.

The Beane Valley.

3.4.1 Open Spaces

Village Field (public access)Situated on NewPark Lane on theEastern edge of thevillage of Aston, thisfield belongs to theAston Village Society.It contains the VillageHall, football pitchand an enclosed

children’s playground and is the hub of many village ac-tivities including Aston Fun Day.

Centre Field (public access)Situated in the centre of the village and bounded by Ben-ington Road, Aston Lane and Stringers Lane, this fieldbelongs to a Trust (of which the Parish Councillors are thetrustees). It is used for exercise and recreation and is hometo the Cricket Club and its pavilion.

St Mary’s School playing field (private)Situated behind SchoolLane, it is used by theschoolchildren forgames.

Bowling Green (private)Situated off SchoolLane, it is the home ofthe Aston Bowls Cluband houses their pavil-ion.

Oaks Cross Farmhouse

Manege at Oaks Cross Farm

Frogmore Hall

The last remaining sizable herdof cattle in Aston, at FrogmoreEstate

Frogmore Cottages

Village Field from the Village Hall

Aston Village Hall

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3.4.2 The Green Corridor

The separate identities of Aston Village and Aston Endfrom Stevenage are critically dependent on the strip ofundeveloped land starting at Stevenage Golf Course atthe southern end and the land to the east of Gresley Way,extending about 4km from the junction of Gresley Wayand Broadwater Lane to the junction of Gresley Way andWalkern Road at the corner of Box Wood. Most of thisland is in Aston Parish although some small areas, ElmGreen, around Skeggs Lane, Niggets Hill and Millfield arenow in Stevenage Borough. The residents of the parishare totally opposed to any development in this corridor aswas demonstrated by the PACE Poll in 1997.

3.4.3 Estate Lands

In earlier centuries, Aston Parish contained four distinctestates. Two of these (Astonbury Manor and Frogmore)were written up in the South Hertfordshire LandscapeCharacter Assessment October 2001 (see Annex 24).

Aston HouseAlthough the house has been demolished, the parklandremains in the form of the Stevenage Golf Course andClub House - now part of Stevenage Borough. The foot-print of the house now forms Yeoman’s Drive, housing 16detached houses.

AstonburyThe house, now developed into apartments, retains someof its land but the bulk is now separately owned asAstonbury Farm and Astonbury Wood.

Aston DeneThis house was formerly the original rectory and wasowned and occupied during the late 18th and early 19thcentury by the Oddie Family, two members of which suc-ceeded as rectors of St Mary’s Church.

During that time it is believed that the estate extended toapproximately 29 hectares. The property was purchasedby Colonel Thompson during the 1940’s who subsequentlyacquired adjoining land which increased the size of theestate to approximately 91 hectares.

During the 1950’s, 83 hectares were subject to compul-sory purchase by the Stevenage Corporation to form partof the Poplars development, for a sum equating to ap-proximately £253 per hectare at today’s prices!

Since 1984 the house and adjoining cottage have beenconverted into four separate residences.

FrogmoreFrogmore Hall is a Grade II listed Victorian gothic countryhouse of Frogmore Hall. Set in 129 hectares of largelypasture land, the hall was re-located from the valley bot-tom and rebuilt in 1863. Home to the late Mr G B HudsonMP, it was the headquarters of Jarvis plc between1997and 2004.

The estate has many fine mature trees and woodland ar-eas and the last significant remaining herd of cattle inAston. It forms the southern end of the Beane valley andthe parish boundary.

3.4.4 The Beane Valley

The exceptional beauty and importance of the Beane Val-ley is widely recognised and referred to elsewhere in thisplan. It is the subject of a chapter in the South Hertford-shire Landscape Character Assessment (see Annex 24).

Summary of policies proposed by the Parish Plans Group forconsultation, with a view to some or all being formallyadopted as Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG) withinthe statutory planning framework, that are relevant to thisSection:

Plan Policy H

The built environment Section 3.3 (all)

1 No new development, other than proposals for ruralexceptions affordable housing schemes, will be supportedoutside the built up area of Aston Village. All developmentshould be sensitively designed, respecting the character andlandscape of Aston Village. Section 3.3 (SPG14)

2 The character and appearance of the Aston ConservationArea should be preserved and, where appropriate, enhanced- in accordance with Policy BE18 of the East Herts AdoptedLocal Plan (December 1999). (SPG15).

3 Development adversely affecting Scheduled AncientMonuments in Aston Parish will not be supported - inaccordance with Policy BE15 of the East Herts AdoptedLocal Plan (December 1999). (SPG16)

4 Development involving Listed Buildings should have specialregard to the desirability of preserving the character of suchbuildings and their settings. (SPG17)

5 The open character of the parish should be preserved andsignificant open spaces or gaps important to the form andor/setting of the parish be maintained. (SPG18)

6 Important views into and out of Aston Village should beprotected. (SPG7)

7 The scale, design and materials of any redevelopment ornew development (including extensions) should beappropriate to the locality and not detract from thecharacter of the surrounding area. (SPG19)

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AF

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8 All developments should adopt principles of good designand take account of the characteristics of existingdevelopment in the immediate surrounding area. (SPG20)

9 New development should be appropriate to the setting ofAston Village and pay careful attention to detail. Standarddesigns will be discouraged. Durable materials should beused. (SPG21)

10 A visual separation between individual properties shouldbe maintained, where appropriate (SPG22)

11 The displacement of vehicles to the surrounding area couldbe prejudicial to amenity and highway safety.New development should therefore assimilate car parkingwhere appropriate (SPG23)

12 New development should respect the local use of warm redbrick and plain tile. Where possible, extensions should bebuilt in materials closely resembling those of the originalbuilding. (SPG24)

13 Any new commercial or agricultural building should becarefully sited and designed to reduce its apparent massand minimise visual intrusion upon the wider landscape.

(SPG25)

14 Development that adversely affects sites of archaeologicalimportance will not be supported - in accordance with PolicyBE15 of the East Herts Adopted Local Plan (December1999). (SPG26)

15 Cables should be placed underground wherever possible,especially within the Conservation Area.

16 Care should be taken to use boundary treatments that areappropriate to the location (SPG27)

17 The settlement patterns of the village and hamlets are thekey to the distinctive nature of the various parts of theparish. New developments, as well as alterations andextensions to existing buildings, should harmonise withthe overall appearance of their surroundings and respectexisting patterns and densities of land use. Section3.3.1.(SPG28)

18 Buildings should as far as possible be constructed formaximum energy efficiency, using low-impact technologiesand reclaimed, recyclable or biodegradable materialswherever possible.(SPG29)

19 Ribbon development must not be allowed, and the distinctboundaries of each hamlet and settlement must bepreserved. Section 3.3.1.(SPG30)

1 OPCS References CEN 81 WCP 21 & CEN 91 WCP 21 and supporting tables2 Derived from 2003 sample data suggesting 86 recorded children on a 2/3rds sample3 Figures supplied by Aston St Mary’s School (March 2003)4 This is the last remaining food retail outlet in the parish. The Aston Post Office closed in June 1999

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